Esha Alwani: What it's like to have Tourette's -- and how music gives me back control
Esha Alwani: Como vivo com síndrome de Tourette — e como a música me devolve o controlo
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,
durante dois minutos seguidos,
were about to break,
estão prestes a partir-se
a loud, high-pitched screech.
um grito agudo.
at the young age of six,
quando tinha seis anos,
sete dias por semana.
my life literally changed overnight.
a minha vida mudou do dia para a noite.
see my friends or even eat out,
estar com os amigos ou até mesmo sair,
the attention of everyone in the room.
atraíam a atenção de todos.
voámos para Nova Iorque,
neuropsychologist my parents could find.
neurologista psiquiátrico
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 importante
only made things worse.
só piorava a situação.
numa cadeira de rodas,
that I couldn't move them.
e não as conseguia mexer.
and drink me as soup.
de me cozinhar e beber como sopa.
após medicamento,
some sort of relief.
que me desse algum alívio.
just ended up making things worse.
fizeram piorar a situação.
in the United States alone,
só nos Estados Unidos da América,
and mental illness
neurológicos e mentais,
to treat these conditions
de combater estas situações,
a daily dose of music.
uma dose diária de música
my personal experience with music
a minha experiência com a música
on my neurological disorder.
no meu distúrbio neurológico.
é basicamente um conjunto
is essentially a series
what it's like to have Tourette syndrome
como se vive com síndroma de Tourette,
you're all very familiar with --
estar familiarizados...
or drink water upside down,
ou beber água de cabeça para baixo,
you can do about it
and the hiccups have taken their course.
e os soluços se libertem.
after an attack of tics,
a ficar deitada no chão do meu quarto
would attempt to soothe me and herself
to soothe our aching hearts.
para nos acalmar.
of the drums to uplift us.
our moods would be lighter,
os nossos ânimos melhoravam,
I became an addict of this newfound drug.
fiquei viciada neste novo medicamento.
into my bouts of sadness and self-pity,
em tristeza e com a moral em baixo,
and rhythms from each one of those keys
de todas essas teclas
how much music was helping me.
de quanto a música me ajudava.
não era para impressionar ninguém.
it wasn't to impress anybody.
the less my symptoms surfaced,
menos os sintomas se manifestavam,
these songs were soothing my symptoms.
me aliviava os sintomas.
any other cases of medicinal music.
mais casos de cura através da música
a highly successful US congresswoman,
que fora alvejada na cabeça.
and the ability to sing
music therapists to work with her.
musicais para trabalhar com ela.
a cantar os pensamentos,
to sing her thoughts,
to regain her speech.
acesso à sua voz.
our brains to release a natural painkiller
faz-nos libertar um analgésico natural
for a healthy nervous system
para um sistema nervoso saudável
breathing and pulse rate,
sobre o ritmo cardíaco, a respiração
our cortisol levels,
for neurological symptoms.
dos sintomas neurológicos,
someone with a neurological disorder.
alguém com distúrbios neurológicos.
and heal us from within.
a nossa vida interior.
for the rest of my life.
para o resto da vida.
excuse myself from my classroom,
frequentemente da sala de aulas,
can be extremely distracting.
podem ser uma distração.
when I wink my eyes involuntarily,
os olhos involuntariamente
pensa que me estou a meter com ele,
thinks I'm flirting with him,
"Sorry -- I wasn't trying to flirt."
não me estava a meter contigo."
and even just listen to music,
toco ou ouço uma música,
in highly stressful situations,
em situações de "stress",
before my performance --
antes de entrar em palco...
the tics take a back seat.
os tiques ficam nos bastidores.
and composed my own music.
e composto a minha música,
it was the music that composed me.
foi a música que me compôs.
my mask off too soon
a máscara cedo demais
and then you were not
e deixaste de estar
dragged it out
demorado mais,
I lose a bit of myself I put it back on
um pouco de mim, recomponho-me
my own heart in two
até o meu coração se partir em dois
to know the real me
me conheças de verdade,
I'm not loving you
from me and my mask
e da minha máscara
I'm not loving you
a máscara cedo demais.
quando a tirei.
just like that
it hurt more than it ever has before
é maior que alguma vez foi
was a little more
foi um pouco mais,
to know the real me
conhecesses verdadeiramente,
I'm not loving you
confiar em ti,
from me and my mask
e da 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