In a new interview, Billie Eilish opened up about her experience having Tourette syndrome, calling her tics “very exhausting.”
David Letterman speaks with me about his Netflix show. My guest does not need to be introducedAfter recording a tic on the camera, Billie began talking about Tourette syndrome. “If you film me for long enough, you’re gonna see lots of tics,” she said.
Billie was diagnosed at the age of 11 with Tourette syndrome. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Tourette syndrome is a condition of the nervous system that causes people to experience tics, or “sudden twitches, movements, or sounds that people do repeatedly.” Since she was diagnosed, Billie said some of her tics have faded with age, while she experiences others regularly.
Billie admitted that many of her tics aren’t obvious to others around her and don’t often appear while she’s onstage or moving about, but she said they’re exhausting to experience. “These are things you would never notice if you’re just having a conversation with me,” she said, “but for me, they’re very exhausting.”
Billie stated that people often don’t know what to do when they notice her tics.
“The most common way that people react is they laugh because they think I’m trying to be funny…and I’m always left incredibly offended by that,” she said.
Billie stated that she is happy to talk about Tourette syndrome. This is in keeping with her openness about her mental health. Billie has previously spoken out about panic attacks and depression right around the time that she became famous.
“It’s funny. “It’s funny. Rolling Stone2019 “But all that I can think about is how miserable it was. How confused and distraught I was. Thirteen to 16 was pretty rough.”
Billie stated that talking about Tourette syndrome has made her realize that she is not the only one.
“What’s funny is so many people have it that you would never know,” Billie said. “A couple artists came forward and said, ‘I’ve actually always had Tourette’s,’ and I’m not gonna out them because they don’t wanna talk about it, but that was actually really interesting to me.”
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Source: Glamour
