Tourette’s Makes Woman Say ‘Biscuit’ Thousands of Times a Day

Jessica Thom doesn’t think about biscuits all the time — but she says “biscuit” 16,000 times every day. But she can’t help it — Tourette syndrome is devastating her life.

She was on Good Morning America this past week, and said the affliction makes her repeatedly say the world. It also makes her beat her chest, let out swear words and bang her head on walls.

Thom’s written a book, “Welcome to Biscuit Land: A Year in the Life of Touretteshero” that’s coming out next year.

She said her brother-in-law counted her “biscuit” outbursts once, and found she was saying the word 16 times a minute and about 900 times an hour. She told ABCnews.com:

“I know I tic all the time and it sort of pisses me off — biscuit, biscuit. But if I paid attention to it all the time, I wouldn’t get much done. Sometimes with the Tourette’s, I get overloaded — biscuit, biscuit. I’ll punch myself in the chest hundreds of times a day and my legs move erratically about.”

She said the neurological disorder has challenged her, but it’s also made her more resilient and empathetic.

The disorder is defined as one that causes motor and vocal tics that last for more than a year. According to the National Tourette Syndrome Foundation, the verbal tics can include throat cleaning, grunting, barking, and shouting. Or, apparently, saying “biscuit.”

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