Destigmatizing Tourette Syndrome through storytelling – with Kevin Helgren

"You can choose to keep living your life in isolation... Or, you can break yourself out of that isolation and start to own the things that make you, you. One of which is having Tourette's, right?"

Kevin Helgren's mom shared these encouraging words with her son after seeing him struggle with his Tourette Syndrome diagnosis in middle school. This conversation helped give Kevin the confidence to talk about his Tourette's and start accepting it as a unique and authentic part of himself.

Last year, Kevin shared his story in a keynote speech at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he recently got his MBA. His speech, called “You're Scaring the Bears: The Power of Tourette's,” helped him educate even more people about Tourette's when it was published on YouTube.

In this episode, Kevin talks about living with Tourette's and sharing his experiences publicly, where the unique name of his speech comes from, the importance of leaning into your authentic self, and the intersection of his identities as a neurodivergent gay man.

Learn more about Kevin and his Tourette’s advocacy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also watch his 13-minute talk, “You're Scaring the Bears: The Power of Tourette's,” on YouTube.

Watch the video of this interview on YouTube!

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Read the episode transcript.

*Disclaimer: The views, guidance, opinions, and thoughts expressed in Beyond 6 Seconds episodes are solely mine and/or those of my guests, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer or other organizations.*