Abstract
Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a chronic tic disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics. Typically, tics start in childhood and their severity declines during adolescence. Tics are partly suppressible but cannot be fully controlled. People with TS often try to control tics, but this may cause negative side effects. The purpose of the current study was to explore the process of self-coping and the contexts in which it occurs, in order to identify factors that make self-coping effective. Sixteen participants with TS were interviewed and transcripts of their interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The results suggest that patients feel simultaneously compelled to control tics and reluctant to do so because of the costs involved, and that achieving partial control is a way of striking a balance between the benefits and costs. Situations in which patients keep trying and failing to control tics were compared with situations in which they gained a sense of control by partially controlling them. Finally, the discussion explored the contexts in which self-coping was successful, along with patients' thoughts and feelings when trying to control tics.
