Yesterday marked the beginning of Tourette's awareness month (15th May - 15 June). Throughout the month, I will try my absolute best to post as much as I can. But first, I want to apologise for the lack of posts on this page as of late. In all honesty, I have hit a brick wall in regard to what to write about. I am a chronic over-writer. That means, as you may have noticed, I am barely capable of writing a small paragraph - I always like to make my blogs lengthy and worthwhile. So to simply update you about my day or how things are going just slips my mind. To answer the question of how things are going, though, my answer is "fantastic". I actually joined a gym recently. My goal is to build up my fitness levels and muscle to a somewhat normal level... Whatever that means. This brings me to my first point for awareness: difficulties when trying to exercise. One tic that I frequently forget exists, yet still is very much there, is that every three or so steps I hit the back of my left heel with my right heel. I am used to walking pretty slowly, so I completely tune out and no longer realise I'm doing it. However, I'm going to the gym. Whilst there, my first port of call is the treadmill. For arguments sake, let's say I walk at a "5" speed in daily life. In the gym, I build it to 5.2, 5.4, 5.6 etc. With this, my routine of walking is interrupted and it takes more effort and energy to walk. This is because I notice that the "heel tic" makes it hard to maintain such speeds. I have actually been pushing myself to run. Whilst I can only manage it for 20 or so seconds (right now), it is not just an exercise that makes me run out of breath. It is an exercise that Tourette's REALLY likes to get in the way of. I start running, feel the tic coming and end up doing an almost gallop trying to hit my heel in just the right way. I must look absolutely mad to everyone else at the gym! (Partly, that's why I go late at night) It's a little dangerous because I lose my balance, the treadmill goes too fast to incorporate the tic into my running, and I don't maintain a steady pace. When people hear "Tourette's" they automatically think about the weird kid shouting profanities in the middle of Tesco. I can assure you that this couldn't be further from the truth. Tourette's can impact daily life in both minor and astronomical ways. This month, I will be demonstrating how