Hey, this is John.

This is Sam.

Your OG OkStory Time podcast hosts. We have some great stories coming up. But before that, we have a quick two-minute break from the sponsors that keep the show alive. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human. My friends hated me because I can't suppress my torrents. Those are not your friends. By the way, this comes direct from the R-slash-O-K

story time suburb. When I was almost four, I was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy. Fast

forward to my 30s, I had adapted to suppressing my spasms and ticks to the point where it would

cause me pain, migraines, and worse, because I was stressing my body to fight against my

issues.

I would hide myself from people for hours to months when I couldn't suppress my symptoms.

The neurologist I had as a child ignored me when I said something was wrong and that I couldn't

control what came out of my mouth, so I felt I had no option to get help.

By the way, this comes from user Tall Lie 1328.

Uh, I got involved with a nerdy group that would do hangouts and game times online, both

publicly and privately. And I felt more alive knowing that someone other than my husband

wanted me around. Oh, sweetie baby. Your tribe is out there, folks. You can find them, I promise. This isn't a criticism

of my husband. He's amazing, and I'm so grateful that next year will be 20 years married with him.

I still fought to suppress my weird outbursts or broken speech in front of people, constantly

riding the mute and off- camera buttons to hide my trauma.

But I failed several times, and several people who swore up and down, they supported

people with mental health, neurotip, and brain disabilities would very publicly support these

issues for other people while privately blackballing me for it.

This broke my heart, so I started seeking a proper diagnosis with better doctors

since I had my husband's insurance instead of being stuck with my previous hospital. This was a long

...