Esha Alwani: What it's like to have Tourette's -- and how music gives me back control
Esha Alwani: Qué se siente teniendo Tourette y cómo la música me ayudó a recuperar el 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
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
what it would feel like
your left arm was continuously flapping,
su brazo izquierdo no dejara de moverse,
en blanco constantemente,
were about to break,
están a puntoo de romperse
a loud, high-pitched screech.
emitir un sonido alto y agudo.
at the young age of six,
desde que los seis años,
los siete días de la semana.
algunos de mis síntomas.
mi vida cambió literalmente en un segundo.
my life literally changed overnight.
see my friends or even eat out,
estar con mis amigos o salir a comer,
the attention of everyone in the room.
la atención de todos los presentes.
viajamos a Nueva York
neuropsychologist my parents could find.
la mejor neuropsicóloga infantil
the easy remedy we had hoped for.
el sencillo remedio que esperábamos,
with an incurable neurological disorder,
un trastorno neurológico incurable:
an essential and valuable part
esencial y eficaz de varios tratamientos.
only made things worse.
solo empeoraron las cosas.
en una silla de ruedas,
that I couldn't move them.
tan entumecidas que no podía moverlas.
and drink me as soup.
en una olla y beberme como sopa.
some sort of relief.
uno que me brindara algún alivio.
just ended up making things worse.
empeorando las cosas.
in the United States alone,
solamente en EE. UU.,
neurológicos y enfermedades mentales
and mental illness
de tratar estas enfermedades
to treat these conditions
ni tuviera efectos secundarios.
a daily dose of music.
les recetara una dosis diaria de música.
my personal experience with music
mi experiencia personal con la música
on my neurological disorder.
en mi trastorno neurológico.
is essentially a series
involuntarios, denominados tics.
what it's like to have Tourette syndrome
cómo se siente tener síndrome de Tourette
Uds. seguramente conocen bastante bien.
you're all very familiar with --
la respiración y contando hasta 10,
or drink water upside down,
you can do about it
pase y el hipo se acabe.
and the hiccups have taken their course.
sentarme en el suelo de mi habitación,
after an attack of tics,
agotamiento y desesperación.
would attempt to soothe me and herself
intenta calmarme y calmarse a sí misma
to soothe our aching hearts.
para apaciguar nuestra angustia.
de los tambores nos calme.
of the drums to uplift us.
our moods would be lighter,
I became an addict of this newfound drug.
me volví adicta a esta nueva medicina.
into my bouts of sadness and self-pity,
de tristeza y autocompasión,
ya que sabía, dentro de mí,
and rhythms from each one of those keys
de cada una de esas teclas
how much music was helping me.
lo mucho que la música me ayudaba.
música por defecto.
lo hacía para impresionar a nadie,
it wasn't to impress anybody.
the less my symptoms surfaced,
y la intensidad de mis ataques.
these songs were soothing my symptoms.
estas canciones afectaban mis síntomas,
any other cases of medicinal music.
otros casos de musicoterapia.
a highly successful US congresswoman,
congresista de EE. UU.,
un disparo en la cabeza.
and the ability to sing
y la capacidad de cantar
diferentes del cerebro,
music therapists to work with her.
a escribir canciones,
to sing her thoughts,
por medio del habla.
pudo finalmente recuperar el habla.
to regain her speech.
Gabby Giffords a recuperarse.
que la música
our brains to release a natural painkiller
un analgésico natural llamado oxitocina
un sistema nervioso saludable
for a healthy nervous system
breathing and pulse rate,
cardíaco, la respiración y el pulso,
la circulación sanguínea.
our cortisol levels,
reduciendo así la ansiedad,
for neurological symptoms.
de los síntomas neurológicos.
someone with a neurological disorder.
que sufre un trastorno neurológico.
a difundir este mensaje:
and heal us from within.
nuestra vida y sanarnos internamente.
cada hora el resto de mi vida.
for the rest of my life.
excuse myself from my classroom,
del salón de clases con frecuencia
can be extremely distracting.
pueden causar mucha distracción.
when I wink my eyes involuntarily,
un ojo de forma involuntaria,
thinks I'm flirting with him,
que le estoy coqueteando,
no estaba coqueteando".
"Sorry -- I wasn't trying to flirt."
es que cuando canto, toco el piano
and even just listen to music,
in highly stressful situations,
en situaciones muy estresantes
de personas observándome.
before my performance --
antes de subir al escenario,
los tics se toman un descanso.
the tics take a back seat.
and composed my own music.
y compuesto mi propia música,
que la música me compuso a mí.
it was the music that composed me.
my mask off too soon
and then you were not
dragged it out
prolongado más tiempo, más tiempo.
I lose a bit of myself I put it back on
que pierdo un poco de mí,
my own heart in two
hasta partir mi corazón en dos.
to know the real me
I'm not loving you
from me and my mask
de mí y de mi máscara.
I'm not loving you
just like that
it hurt more than it ever has before
más que cualquier otra.
was a little more
fue algo más, algo más.
to know the real me
I'm not loving you
from me and my mask
de mí y de mi máscara.
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