Esha Alwani: What it's like to have Tourette's -- and how music gives me back control
Esha Alwani: Como é ter a síndrome de Tourette e como a música me devolve o controle
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
imaginassem como seria
your left arm was continuously flapping,
esquerdo ficasse balançando sem parar,
constantemente,
were about to break,
estão prestes a quebrar,
a loud, high-pitched screech.
um grito alto e estridente.
at the young age of six,
com a idade de seis anos,
de meus sintomas.
my life literally changed overnight.
literalmente mudou da noite para o dia.
see my friends or even eat out,
ver meus amigos ou até comer fora,
the attention of everyone in the room.
a atenção de todos na sala.
viajamos para Nova York
neuropsychologist my parents could find.
pediátrico que meus pais pudessem achar.
the easy remedy we had hoped for.
o remédio fácil que esperávamos.
with an incurable neurological disorder,
com um distúrbio neurológico incurável:
an essential and valuable part
uma parte essencial e valiosa
only made things worse.
só pioravam as coisas.
that I couldn't move them.
que eu não conseguia movê-las.
correndo atrás de mim,
and drink me as soup.
e me tomar como sopa.
some sort of relief.
algum tipo de alívio.
just ended up making things worse.
acabavam piorando as coisas.
in the United States alone,
somente nos Estados Unidos,
and mental illness
e doenças mentais
to treat these conditions
de tratar essas condições
a daily dose of music.
uma dose diária de música.
my personal experience with music
minha experiência pessoal com a música
on my neurological disorder.
em meu distúrbio neurológico.
is essentially a series
de movimentos e sons involuntários,
what it's like to have Tourette syndrome
como é ter a síndrome de Tourette
you're all very familiar with --
bem familiarizados:
or drink water upside down,
ou beber água de cabeça para baixo,
you can do about it
que possam fazer a respeito
e o soluço tome seu rumo.
and the hiccups have taken their course.
after an attack of tics,
depois de um ataque de tiques,
would attempt to soothe me and herself
tentava nos acalmar
to soothe our aching hearts.
para acalmar nosso coração dolorido.
of the drums to uplift us.
dos tambores nos elevasse.
e as melodias se desdobravam,
our moods would be lighter,
nosso humor ficava mais leve
I became an addict of this newfound drug.
nesse medicamento recém-descoberto.
into my bouts of sadness and self-pity,
crises de tristeza e autopiedade,
and rhythms from each one of those keys
e os ritmos de cada uma daquelas teclas
how much music was helping me.
a música estava me ajudando.
it wasn't to impress anybody.
para impressionar ninguém.
the less my symptoms surfaced,
menos meus sintomas surgiam,
these songs were soothing my symptoms.
aliviava meus sintomas.
any other cases of medicinal music.
outros casos de música medicinal.
a highly successful US congresswoman,
norte-americana de muito sucesso,
and the ability to sing
music therapists to work with her.
para trabalhar com ela.
a cantar seus pensamentos,
to sing her thoughts,
de falar sobre eles.
to regain her speech.
conseguiu recuperar seu discurso.
our brains to release a natural painkiller
libere um analgésico natural
de bem-estar: a dopamina.
for a healthy nervous system
para um sistema nervoso saudável
breathing and pulse rate,
nossa frequência cardíaca,
our cortisol levels,
nossos níveis de cortisol,
for neurological symptoms.
para sintomas neurológicos.
someone with a neurological disorder.
alguém com um distúrbio neurológico.
ou um colega de trabalho.
a espalhar esta mensagem:
and heal us from within.
e de nos curar a partir de dentro.
for the rest of my life.
excuse myself from my classroom,
que me desculpar em minha sala de aula,
can be extremely distracting.
extremamente distrativos.
when I wink my eyes involuntarily,
pisco os olhos involuntariamente,
thinks I'm flirting with him,
que estou flertando com ele,
eu não estava tentando flertar".
"Sorry -- I wasn't trying to flirt."
and even just listen to music,
toco e até ouço música,
in highly stressful situations,
em situações altamente estressantes,
before my performance --
antes de minha apresentação,
the tics take a back seat.
eles ficam em segundo plano.
and composed my own music.
e minha própria música,
it was the music that composed me.
que foi a música que me compôs.
my mask off too soon
minha máscara cedo demais ♪
and then you were not
e depois não estava ♪
dragged it out
arrastado para fora ♪
I lose a bit of myself I put it back on
um pouco de mim, coloco de volta ♪
my own heart in two
meu próprio coração em dois ♪
to know the real me
conhecesse meu verdadeiro eu ♪
I'm not loving you
from me and my mask
e de minha máscara ♪
I'm not loving you
minha máscara cedo demais ♪
just like that
it hurt more than it ever has before
doesse mais do que nunca ♪
was a little more
tenha sido um pouco mais ♪
to know the real me
conhecesse meu verdadeiro eu ♪
I'm not loving you
from me and my mask
e de minha 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