Epilepsy Talk

Truth or Lies: Epilepsy in Movies and TV

May 9, 2023
3 Comments

Apart from tuberculosis and syphilis, few diseases have been as steeped in myth as epilepsy.

The generalized tonic-clonic seizure has been associated with phenomena ranging from divine powers and possession by spirits to mental and moral depravity.

This has been chronicled and described extensively in fiction and feature films.

They do nothing but reinforce the stigma that is rampant about the condition.

But not always.


Epilepsy – a dirty little secret? 

April 28, 2023
2 Comments

Why would you say: “I have epilepsy.”

To be included — or excluded?

To be accepted — or rejected?

To be understood — or misunderstood?


Epilepsy and Diabetes — Confusion or Common Cure?

April 18, 2023
2 Comments

A seizure can be quite serious and can be a scary experience for not just the person experiencing it but for the people around them.

While seizures are caused due to many reasons, one of the prime reasons for a seizure to occur is when people have epilepsy.

Among those types of seizures are diabetic seizures, which can sometimes turn into an emergency quite quickly.


What most offends YOU about how people treat epilepsy?

April 14, 2023
19 Comments

I call epilepsy the “stealth condition,” because most people don’t actually witness a seizure.

Which results in an abundance of ignorance…misinformation..and to be frank, discrimination and slurs.


Did you know Snow White’s “Dopey” had epilepsy?

March 31, 2023
3 Comments

No he wasn’t dumb…slow…or retarded. “Dopey” had a condition known as Angelman syndrome (AS).


Seniors — Alzheimer’s, Epilepsy or Seizures?

March 13, 2023
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The question of whether a person has epilepsy or Alzheimer’s can be a tough one.

Take those “senior moments” — memory lapses, zoning out and other temporary confusion. These seemingly harmless incidents may actually be a sign of epilepsy. Roughly 1-2 percent of seniors develop epilepsy — and that rate is rising.

But experts at the U.S. National Council on Aging warn that often epilepsy goes undetected in seniors.


The Stigma of Epilepsy…

March 5, 2023
10 Comments

The stigma is ancient and it still remains today.

Laws in the United States and Great Britain that prohibited epileptic people to marry were just repealed in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Until the late 1970s, legislations in the United States also prevented epileptic people from entering public buildings such as restaurants, shopping centers, and theaters. [US Department of Health]


Combined Meds — What They Are Doing to Your Body

January 27, 2023
7 Comments

For many of us, monotherapy just doesn’t work.

However adjunct therapy has its dangers.

For example, some seizure medicines can lower or raise the levels of other types of medicines in your blood.

Some combinations cause the levels of both medications to fall.

Some cause one level to fall and one level to rise.

And some cause unpredictable side-effects.

So I hunkered down to discover the unhappy marriages between anti-seizure meds.


MS or Epilepsy?

January 19, 2023
2 Comments

Recently a woman wrote to me telling about the awful diagnostic disaster that she had been through.

In her words: “It took 3 years, 3 primary doctors, and 7 neurologists to diagnose me.

I told everyone that ‘it feels like my brain is shaking in my head.”

If they had listened to me the first time and had done a simple EEG, it would’ve saved us and the insurance company a lot of money!”


Twitter is not our friend.

November 8, 2022
6 Comments

And the misconceptions and stigma of epilepsy live on.

A revealing study published in Epilepsy & Behavior provides evidence that the perception of epilepsy is not faring well in social media. Kate McNeil and colleagues from Dalhousie University in Canada analyzed data collected from Twitter to provide a snapshot of how epilepsy is portrayed within the Twitter community.


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    About the author

    Phylis Feiner Johnson

    Phylis Feiner Johnson

    I've been a professional copywriter for over 35 years. I also had epilepsy for decades. My mission is advocacy; to increase education, awareness and funding for epilepsy research. Together, we can make a huge difference. If not changing the world, at least helping each other, with wisdom, compassion and sharing.

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