Esha Alwani: What it's like to have Tourette's -- and how music gives me back control
عائشة علواني: ماذا تعني إصابتي بـ«متلازمة توريت» وكيف تمنحني الموسيقى السيطرة مجددًا
Esha Alwani's message to the world is simple: "Music is healing therapy, and we need to make a place for it in our lives." Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
what it would feel like
your left arm was continuously flapping,
لمدة دقيقتين كاملتين،
were about to break,
a loud, high-pitched screech.
at the young age of six,
في سن مبكرة،
في كل يوم من أيام الأسبوع.
my life literally changed overnight.
تغيرت حياتي بالتأكيد بين ليلة وضحاها.
see my friends or even eat out,
أو حتى أتناول وجباتي في خارج البيت،
the attention of everyone in the room.
neuropsychologist my parents could find.
بعلم النفس العصبي يمكن أن يجداه والدايَّ.
the easy remedy we had hoped for.
الذي كنا نتطلع إليه.
with an incurable neurological disorder,
شخصتني باضطراب عصبي لا علاج له،
an essential and valuable part
جزءًا مهمًا ومفيدًا
only made things worse.
أن أجلس على كرسي متحرك،
that I couldn't move them.
ولم أتمكن من تحريكهما.
and drink me as soup.
وتناولي كحساء ساخن.
some sort of relief.
just ended up making things worse.
in the United States alone,
أنه، وفي الولايات الأمريكية المتحدة فقط،
and mental illness
to treat these conditions
لعلاج هذه الحالات
a daily dose of music.
من الموسيقى.
my personal experience with music
مع الموسيقى
on my neurological disorder.
is essentially a series
what it's like to have Tourette syndrome
الإصابة بـ"متلازمة توريت"
you're all very familiar with --
or drink water upside down,
أو تشربون الماء وأنتم رأسًا على عقب،
you can do about it
and the hiccups have taken their course.
after an attack of tics,
بعد نوبة التشجنات،
would attempt to soothe me and herself
التخفيف عني وعن نفسها
to soothe our aching hearts.
of the drums to uplift us.
our moods would be lighter,
وتصبح حالتنا المزاجية أقل حدة،
I became an addict of this newfound drug.
دون أن أعرف ذلك.
والشفقة على نفسي،
into my bouts of sadness and self-pity,
and rhythms from each one of those keys
لكل مفتاح من هذه المفاتيح
how much music was helping me.
it wasn't to impress anybody.
the less my symptoms surfaced,
these songs were soothing my symptoms.
كيف أن هذه الأغاني قد خفّفت أعراضي.
any other cases of medicinal music.
من الموسيقى الطبية.
في الكونجرس الأمريكي ناجحة بدرجة كبيرة،
a highly successful US congresswoman,
على رأسها.
and the ability to sing
music therapists to work with her.
للعمل معها.
to sing her thoughts,
to regain her speech.
استعادة نطقها.
our brains to release a natural painkiller
تُطلِـق مسكّـنًا طبيعيًا للألم
for a healthy nervous system
breathing and pulse rate,
ومعدل تنفسنا ونبضاتنا،
our cortisol levels,
إنها تخفض مستويات الكورتيزول عندنا،
for neurological symptoms.
someone with a neurological disorder.
يعاني من اضطراب عصبي.
and heal us from within.
وشفائنا من الداخل.
for the rest of my life.
excuse myself from my classroom,
أن أعتذز عن حضور فصولي الدراسية.
can be extremely distracting.
أن تصرف الانتباه للغاية.
when I wink my eyes involuntarily,
أغمزُ بعيوني لاإراديًا،
thinks I'm flirting with him,
أنني أتغزلُ به،
"Sorry -- I wasn't trying to flirt."
"آسفة، لم أحاول مغازلتك."
and even just listen to music,
وحتى عندما أستمعُ إلى الموسيقى،
in highly stressful situations,
في حالات توتر شديدة،
before my performance --
the tics take a back seat.
تتراجع تشجناتي وتتوارى إلى الخلف.
and composed my own music.
وألفتُ الموسيقى الخاصة بي.
it was the music that composed me.
لقد أدركتُ أن الموسيقى قد شكلتني.
my mask off too soon
and then you were not
dragged it out
سحبه خارجًا
I lose a bit of myself I put it back on
أعودُ وأضعه مجددًا
my own heart in two
to know the real me
I'm not loving you
لا أحبك
from me and my mask
I'm not loving you
لا أحبك
just like that
وببساطة...
it hurt more than it ever has before
إنها تؤلم أكثر من أي مرة قبل ذلك
was a little more
التي تلقيتها أكثر بقليل
to know the real me
I'm not loving you
لا أحبك
from me and my mask
I'm not loving you
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Esha Alwani - Singer-songwriterEsha Alwani's message to the world is simple: "Music is healing therapy, and we need to make a place for it in our lives."
Why you should listen
Esha Alwani's passion for singing, songwriting and performing started at a young age. It quickly gained priority in her life when she realized that music had the ability to help manage the symptoms of her neurological disorder, Tourette's syndrome. She shares a message of positivity, hope and perseverance to people in similar situations.
A singer-songwriter from the happy island of Aruba, Alwani wrote and recorded her first EP, Beautiful, with a desire to share her music and awareness of the healing effects of music. She quickly found herself in partnerships with the Autism Foundation of Aruba and the Tourette Association of America, and she appeared at the TAA annual conference in 2016 in Arlington, Virginia.
Soon after the release of her second EP, Dangerous, Alwani began performing as the opening act for international superstars on some of Aruba's biggest stages. From arena shows with audiences of 10,000 -- opening for artists like Alicia Keys and Maluma -- to private events with artists like Nicky Jam and companies like Hublot and Cartier. Alwani has also performed at two sold-out performances at the legendary Bluebird Café in Nashville, Tennessee.
Esha Alwani | Speaker | TED.com