Chude Jideonwo Opens Up About Living With Tourette’s Syndrome in His Best-Selling Memoir “How Depression Saved My Life”

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Media entrepreneur and storyteller Chude Jideonwo has revealed a deeply personal chapter of his life in his memoir, “How Depression Saved My Life”, sharing for the first time the long and confusing journey that led to his diagnosis with Tourette’s Syndrome.

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For years, Jideonwo struggled with unexplained twitching, vocal tics and compulsive behaviours that doctors repeatedly dismissed as being “in his head.” It was only after a neurologist carefully examined his symptoms that he received clarity. “What I had was Tourette’s Syndrome.” Chude says.

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The diagnosis, Tourette’s Syndrome, a neurological condition associated with movement and vocal tics and often linked with ADHD, OCD, anxiety and depression, finally gave language to experiences he had lived with since childhood. He reveals “It started when I was a child and I began to show symptoms that frightened my mother… A friend had apparently told me it could be Tourette a while before, but though the symptoms fit, I just didn’t take it seriously. It sounded too ‘foreign’.”

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In the book, Jideonwo reflects on the relief that came with understanding what he was facing. The diagnosis helped him see that many of the behaviours he had battled privately, involuntary twitching, sudden words or sounds, obsessive repetitions and intense anxiety, were not character flaws but symptoms of a neurological condition. Although medication initially proved difficult due to severe side effects, the knowledge itself became a turning point. Understanding the condition helped reduce the emotional tension around it and allowed him to begin managing it through therapy, self-awareness and compassion for himself.

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Jideonwo says the experience shaped his lifelong commitment to empathy, mental health awareness and creating safe spaces for difficult conversations. By sharing his story publicly, he hopes to challenge stigma around neurological and mental health conditions and remind people that difference should never be a cause for shame. “Normal is a loaded word,” he writes. “Instead of shaming those who are different, we should create a world where difference is accepted with the same ease as sameness.” Through his memoir, Jideonwo continues to use storytelling as a tool for healing, understanding and connection.

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The book is now available on Amazon, Kindle and all book stores in Nigeria. You can also order on book.withchude.com

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