Yesterday evening I hit the wall – a physical wall and a wall of tiredness.

It’d been a busy day and by 11pm I felt my body giving up. I moved from feeling fine to being overtaken by the discomfort of constant tics.

My body’s often more wiggly when I lie down, but when I get overtired my tics don’t just increase a bit – they go haywire. I find it impossible to be still, often banging my head against the mattress, or the wall next to my bed (which is why it’s padded).

These moments distress me and make me feel alone.

Thankfully last night Lottie was on hand, providing both physical and emotional support during the onslaught of tics.

She put pressure on my head, as well as holding it still and massaging it gently. Her intervention meant my body began to settle and I relaxed enough to get to sleep.

A few years ago head-banging was a frequent feature of my night-time routine, which thankfully happens a lot less now. When it does I really appreciate the sensitive support of my night time worker.

Hopefully tonight things will be calmer and my tics will revert to berating the lamp-post instead of wrestling with the wall.