In a viral video, a TikToker shares her new reality after being diagnosed with what she calls “functional tics” upon returning from vacation.
In her video, TikToker @mimidarlingbeauty explained that after returning from a trip to Ibiza, Spain, she started to experience tics while watching a movie.
A psychiatrist subsequently diagnosed her with a functional tic.
According to Neurosymptoms.org, functional tics are part of a functional neurological disorder (FND) that can be broadly described “as a disorder of movement and sensation where there is a particular problem with voluntary movement, but not of automatic movement.”
“This is my reality. I wanna be open and honest with what I’ve been going through,” the TikToker, Jessie, writes in the video.
She shows clips of herself shopping and eating out as she jolts from the tics, which can be anything from head jolts to involuntary body movements. (She did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment.)
Jessie said that now she can’t drive her car or go anywhere alone.
“Everything changed in a heartbeat,” she said. “It’s affected every aspect of my life right now.”
The video, which has now amassed over 5.1 million views, has been flooded with support in the comments and stories of people with similar experiences.
“You’re very brave to share this, sending lots of love,” one user wrote. “Hope things improve soon.”
“I have functional tics as a part of FND and they present in a very similar way. I am now in remission—it can get better! Lots of love,” another user commented.
Jessie has also shared videos on her profile documenting her struggle with her “stammer,” also known as a stutter. Her videos show how she orders at drive-throughs or talks to strangers in order to bring awareness about the realities of a stutter.
“It’s so complex but we’ve got this,” she wrote in one of her videos.
However, she writes the FND is “just another chapter” in her life.
