“Just Scramble These Wires” — Woman Loses Ability to Speak During Migraine, Records Whole Thing

A woman suffering a bout of aphasia (the same illness that Bruce Willis has, although in a different form) after experiencing a migraine recorded what it's like attempting to talk during one of these attacks, and the reaction she had to her own speech problems has TikTok laughing...sympathetically of course.

Allison (@allison_jxn) begins her first video by excitedly talking into the camera where she begins speaking in what sounds like gibberish. She still smiles into the camera and appears to be in a pleasant mood, or appears that she's trying to be in one.

What she's actually documenting in a series of clips of how Aphasia affects her speech whenever she gets a migraine. "It's happening," she says, grinning into the camera after attempting to speak but ends up slurring, "I'm having a migraine it makes me really hap...happily, it's now...I cannot..." she says again, trying to regain control of her speech but failing to do so.

She gives herself a moment to gather herself, "It's f----- happening all I can f----- ask out of...them a na say is holy s--- this is one of the bullest the pain hasn't stoppding, happened the stop having far, the fat," she sits down on the floor as she attempts to speak into the camera but her words keep getting jumbled.

Allison closes her eyes in what seems like an attempt to focus, "The, I cannot heeven, I can't make a, I can't make any sense making sense, the pain has not happened starpened," she stops herself realizing how the words that are coming out of her mouth are coming across.

"The hasn't f----!" she exclaims, readjusting herself as she sits on the floor.

"The, I mean like I can't think, I can't think, mothing, nothing i- nothing init minat thin," getting increasingly frustrated with her inability to effectively communicate her thoughts, Allison hysterically laughs and then screams into the camera.

"The pain hasn't start yintin, it hasn't happened but I think if I start singing that it will fix it," she speculates aloud as she starts acknowledging her dog who comes up to lick her face.

"It kind of felt like it it dickit, physic, was a dissmedissiphys," she starts to laugh again, unable to piece together her words. She laughs in a sing-song way. "I have, I'm getting a, I'm having a migraine," Allison states, proud that she was able to make the statement without stuttering.

"Hey, I'm okay? Am I back to rectular demote, no? No? Not yet quite, not quite, what? Not quite just, not insememnyededyes," she begins to shake out of what appears to be frustration with her inability to get the words out.

"Yesss, yeeessss this is so fun this is actually one of my favorite think of when I think of like life and...how everything happens and happens to me. This is my favorite part of life. I can tell that I'm doing really good at some of them and some I can tell that I can not them it's not that, it's like," she begins to trail off and mumble some more before laughing again.

According to WebMD, one of the symptoms of aphasia is slurred speech, or harming someone's ability to effectively communicate: "It can affect your speech, writing, and ability to understand language.

Aphasia results from damage or injury to parts of the brain that control language. It's more common in older adults, particularly those who've had a stroke."

The online resource also pens a piece of information that's readily apparent in Allison's video — that those afflicted with aphasia don't have their intelligence inhibited by the illness, just their ability to communicate.

"Aphasia affects a person's ability to communicate, but it doesn’t impair intelligence. People who have aphasia may have a hard time speaking and finding the "right" words to complete their thoughts. They may also have problems understanding conversation, reading and comprehending written words, writing words, and using numbers. People with aphasia may also repeat words or phrases," the online resource read.

As per the site's list of symptoms for the condition, many of which were exhibited in Allison's clip:

• Trouble speaking
• Struggling with finding the right term or word
• Using strange or wrong words in conversation
• Trouble understanding what other people say or following conversations
• Writing sentences that don’t make sense or trouble expressing yourself in writing
• Speaking in short sentences or phrases
• Using unrecognizable words

According to UCLA Health, Allison is experiencing what is known as "transient aphasia" which states that the condition can be triggered by either migraines or a stroke.

As you have learned, it can occur as part of the cluster of symptoms that precede a migraine, which are known as an aura. Transient aphasia is somewhat rare."

Commenters who responded to her post shared that, from a viewer's perspective, there were some benefits to listening to people with aphasia struggle to get their thoughts across: "My favorite thing about aphasia is that somehow swear words always find a way out," one individual penned.

Another person explained why cuss words sometimes just fall out: "The reason swear words find their way out is because aphasia affects the left side of the brain and swear words are emotional. They are stored in the right side. Same with [rhythm]."

But there were also folks who lauded Allison's abilities to keep it together during the communication breakdown she was experiencing:

"Your attitude during this is amazing because what can you do? Also, thanks for being vulnerable. I never heard of aphasia."