My tics rarely embarrass me, but yesterday one did. I caught myself by surprise during a normal day at work. Here’s how:

I was in the office – everyone was busy so the atmosphere was quiet and concentrated. My regular tics punctuated the silence as always, but no one was taking any notice. Then, out of the blue, I loudly proclaimed, “I’m allergic to penis!”

There was a spluttering of laughter and I glanced up to see all my colleagues grinning at me. I couldn’t meet anyone’s eye and I felt myself blushing with embarrassment.

It was the first time in ages this had happened – my tics seldom make me feel self-conscious. I’m not sure what it was about this one in particular – plenty of others could’ve been just as embarrassing.

Perhaps what’s most surprising is realising how rarely my tics make me feel embarrassed at all.