Esha Alwani: What it's like to have Tourette's -- and how music gives me back control
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
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what it would feel like
your left arm was continuously flapping,
were about to break,
a loud, high-pitched screech.
at the young age of six,
my life literally changed overnight.
see my friends or even eat out,
the attention of everyone in the room.
neuropsychologist my parents could find.
the easy remedy we had hoped for.
with an incurable neurological disorder,
an essential and valuable part
only made things worse.
that I couldn't move them.
and drink me as soup.
some sort of relief.
just ended up making things worse.
in the United States alone,
and mental illness
to treat these conditions
a daily dose of music.
my personal experience with music
on my neurological disorder.
is essentially a series
what it's like to have Tourette syndrome
you're all very familiar with --
or drink water upside down,
you can do about it
and the hiccups have taken their course.
after an attack of tics,
would attempt to soothe me and herself
to soothe our aching hearts.
of the drums to uplift us.
our moods would be lighter,
I became an addict of this newfound drug.
into my bouts of sadness and self-pity,
and rhythms from each one of those keys
how much music was helping me.
it wasn't to impress anybody.
the less my symptoms surfaced,
these songs were soothing my symptoms.
any other cases of medicinal music.
a highly successful US congresswoman,
and the ability to sing
music therapists to work with her.
to sing her thoughts,
to regain her speech.
our brains to release a natural painkiller
for a healthy nervous system
breathing and pulse rate,
our cortisol levels,
for neurological symptoms.
someone with a neurological disorder.
and heal us from within.
for the rest of my life.
excuse myself from my classroom,
can be extremely distracting.
when I wink my eyes involuntarily,
thinks I'm flirting with him,
"Sorry -- I wasn't trying to flirt."
and even just listen to music,
in highly stressful situations,
before my performance --
the tics take a back seat.
and composed my own music.
it was the music that composed me.
my mask off too soon
and then you were not
dragged it out
I lose a bit of myself I put it back on
my own heart in two
to know the real me
I'm not loving you
from me and my mask
I'm not loving you
just like that
it hurt more than it ever has before
was a little more
to know the real me
I'm not loving you
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