Tourette’s Syndrome: Symptoms, Impact on Lives of David Beckham and Tim Howard

This study explores the symptoms of Tourette’s Syndrome by focusing on the experiences of football players David Beckham and Tim Howard. Tourette’s Syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by tics, sudden and repetitive movements that can affect various muscle groups. The disorder usually begins in childhood and can be caused by genetic or environmental factors. While there is no cure, behavioral therapy can help manage the symptoms. It is important to recognize and understand the symptoms of Tourette’s Syndrome, as it can be associated with other disorders such as ADHD and OCD.

TOURETTE’S SYNDROME

INTRODUCTION
The Tourette’s Syndrome is a neurological disorder that can be identified on the onset of
childhood, characterized by multiple varieties of ‘tics’. A ‘tic’ is a sudden motor movement that
involves respective muscle groups, including vocalization. These sudden and repetitive
movements lead to behavioral evidences like, blinking of the eye, twitching toes, making strange
vocal noise and many more. The tics are usually preceded by unwanted urge or sensation in the
respective muscles and can be suppressed temporarily (Brander et al.). This study aims to
explore the various symptoms of the Tourette’s Syndrome by focusing on the circumstances of
popular football player David Beckham and Tim Howard, and how it affected their lives and
career.
TOURETTE’S SYNDROME
Though the Tourette ’s syndrome is not a fatal disorder that reduces life expectancy, it is gaining
more importance and relevance due to its increased frequency amongst children and adults. This
disorder usually takes place in the early onset of childhood and is usually caused by genes or
environmental influence. It is a long-term disorder and the diagnosis is based on the history of
symptoms (Cavanna et al.). Usually behavioral therapy is used to treat the disorder that includes
symptoms like eye blinking, throat clearing, coughing, sniffing or other facial movements. There
can be a wide variety of tic disorders and the Tourette’s syndrome is just a part of them. Though
the symptoms are often unnoticed by the observers, it is known to have arisen from genetic
causes or environmental influences. There are no specific lab-tests that can be run for the
diagnosis of this disorder (Dietrich et al.). Since the symptoms are mild at childhood and
decreases gradually with the onset of adulthood, no perfect remedy for this disorder could be
found, other than behavioral therapy.
It is important to identify and recognize the symptoms of the disorder, as they are often coupled
with other disorders like ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), OCD (Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder and other specialty disorders (Robe et al.). When coupled with other
disorders, the Tourette’s syndrome causes more impairment to the affected individual. If not
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controlled at an early age, this syndrome can be a host to multiple other disorders for the entire
life.
This paper would explore the scenarios of David Beckham and Tim Howard, in order to
thoroughly understand how Tourette’s affect individual lives and how to overcome the
difficulties.
DAVID BECKHAM
David Beckham suffers from acute OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) as well as Tourette’s
syndrome. OCD is a condition where the patient is continuously trying to match everything and
see to it that everything is properly arranged, for example, things kept in alphabetical orders or
arranging things according to their color, size and number. David Beckham also suffers from a
wide range of Tourette tics (Misirlisoy et al.). From rearranging hotel rooms to lining up cans in
order is something that comes very naturally to Beckham. David Beckham has repeatedly
acknowledged how he is often triggered by these simple issues of having everything in order. He
has admitted his condition and has also stated that he would like to stop this behavior, but he
can’t. When playing for Manchester United, his team-mates would leave things here and there to
infuriate him. This condition is also reflected in his playing styles, as he is extremely cautious
about his movements and is a perfectionist and world famous in aiming targets with his football
(Tsetsos et al.). Even after playing when the team would return to their hotel rooms to take rest,
Beckham would first put all the sheets and leaflets away. He will keep everything that belongs to
its particular place. Only after re-arranging his room, he would finally have the peace of mind to
take some rest. The captain of the England football team is often called as a ‘weirdo’ by his wife,
Victoria for his condition. All these symptoms contribute to his tourette syndrome and will be
passed down to the next generations as this a genetic disorder.
TIM HOWARD
Tim Howard is an exceptional goal-keeper, currently playing for the team Colorado Rapids
under the United States of America. Howard suffered from anxiety issues in his childhood and
also showed some signs of hyper-activity. He stated that he was ten years old, when he first
showed the symptoms. It first started through tapping several objects in a particular manner,
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following what he called a ‘specific rhythm’. This obsession of touching things, tapping them or
picking them up was something Tim Howard was struggling with. He couldn’t stop his urge to
do things that his mind told him to do (Hirschtritt et al.). This uncomfortable sensation,
heightened awareness and this force inside his brain was troubling him and he had tough time
dealing with all this stress as teachers, classmates and kids started to make him more conscious
about himself. But introduction to soccer helped him a lot as he got distracted from all the voices
inside his head and focused on the ball only. All the conflicting mental messages and all the
uncomfortable sensations were gone in a second as soon as Howard saw the ball approaching
him. After two years he was diagnosed with OCD and Tourette’s Syndrome (Schrock et al.).
However, presently the footballer claims that the more he plays; the more control he gains over
his mind. He would sense the direction of the game and act accordingly. He would know exactly
when the winger was about to cross or whose head the ball would hit on. He could sense all the
energies present in the game and use them for his own advantage.
CONCLUSION
To conclude, Tourette’s syndrome is a wide array of behavioral and neurological disorders that
can be identified at the beginning of childhood and can continue up to adulthood and final years.
Though the disorder does not claim to be fatal or life-threatening, it causes some real behavioral
tendencies that reflect the disturbance within an individual. Many celebrities have been
diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome and they have personally acknowledged to it. Eminent
football players like David Beckham and Tim Howard have been discussed in this paper in order
to reflect on the symptoms of the disorder in practical experiences and how it can be controlled
to excel in life.
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