Hi guys! It’s a little late, but — November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month! This is a good a time as any to get educated about this very dangerous and extremely misunderstood/underestimated condition. Here are few facts about epilepsy: (courtesy of epilepsy.com)
- Epilepsy affects over 3 million Americans of all ages.
- Epilepsy can develop at any age and can be a result of genetics, stroke, head injury, and many other factors.
- In over 30% of patients, seizures cannot be controlled with treatment.
- Risk of sudden death among those with Epilepsy is twenty-four times greater [than the general population].
- Each year NIH spends $30 billion of medical research, but just ½ of 1% is spent on epilepsy.
Epilepsy is incredibly underdiagnosed, and doctors have admitted that they know next to nothing about it. Most people associate seizures with thrashing and tongue-biting, but there are dozens of kind of epilepsy, and many of them don’t involve convulsions. (Many involve altered mental states and physical tics.) Along with seizures, epileptics experience varying degrees of anxiety, depression, suicidal tendency, medication side-effects, and more. As an epileptic myself, I can testify to just how much of a struggle it is to live with this condition, and how frustrating it can be to see the lack of awareness.
Here are some (very easy!) things to learn and stay informed — especially if you know someone with epilepsy:
- Know what to do when someone is having a seizure.
- Read up! Follow epileptics and epilepsy awareness advocates, who can provide you with informative posts. (More Than A Diagnosis, Epilepsy Awareness, Epilepsy Awareness Squad, and my fellow epilepsy warrior, Sam Humphries)
- Be considerate/don’t perpetuate the stigma. Making jokes about seizures, calling epileptics “spazzes,” making fun of side effects of medication (which often include memory problems, drowsiness, or a general altered mental state), or just dismissing epilepsy in general is very, very harmful. Having epilepsy is, again, a true struggle, and acting like that doesn’t just hurt someone’s feelings; it also perpetuates toxic stigmas that have followed epileptics for decades and feeds into the layers of depression+anxiety. Don’t be a part of the problem.
- Most importantly — ASK, and LISTEN. Epilepsy is extremely misunderstood and often dismissed, so it’s difficult to talk about. Many epileptics (including myself!) more than anything just want people to listen and understand what we’re going through. If you know someone with epilepsy and they feel comfortable discussing it with you, ask questions about their condition and their feelings, and then listen to what they have to say. This will help more than you know.
Finally, I currently run a comic called mis(h)adra about living as an epileptic. It is based 99.9% on my personal experiences with epilepsy, and I aim for it to be both a connection to fellow epileptics and a platform for awareness and education to everyone else. Please feel free to give it a read, and if you have any questions or comments, message me, tweet at me (@DELTAHEAD_), or email me at iasminomarata@gmail.com. I am more than happy to discuss or answer questions about epilepsy at any time.
Stay safe, everyone! ☆
