stigma | Epilepsy Talk

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Laws in the United States and Great Britain that prohibited epileptic people to marry were just repealed in the late 1980s and early 1990s.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

Posted in Epilepsy
Tags: Dr. Orrin Devinsky, Epilepsy, ignorance, Pulitzer prize-winning author Jon Meacham, social rejection, stigma, suicide, twitter

A neurologist talks about his own epilepsy…

November 27, 2022
7 Comments

In this eye-opening article from the New York Times, a neurologist talks about his own journey with epilepsy: his perceptions, other people’s reactions (not good) and how he decided to become a neurologist.

Posted in Epilepsy
Tags: "must" reading, eye-opening, Neurologist, perceptions, reactions, reality, stereotypes, stigma

The Isolation of Epilepsy

April 5, 2022
11 Comments

You’re reluctant to go out. Because having a seizure can be so unpredictable and embarrassing.

You think: “What if I have a seizure? What will people do? What will they think of me?”

Posted in Epilepsy
Tags: discrimination, embarrassment, Epilepsy, fear, isolation, perception, stigma

Why would a psychiatrist be embarrassed?

July 23, 2021
7 Comments

Pills. Medication. They’re a sign of mental illness.

Even if you take them for depression, stability, anxiety.

There must be something inherently wrong with you.

What does it mean if you do need medication?

Are you’re crazy? Mentally ill? Unstable? Unreliable?

What if you ARE a psychiatrist AND take medication?

Posted in Epilepsy, Medication Issues
Tags: anxiety, crazy, depression, medication, mental illness, pills, Psychiatrist, stability, stigma

Dating Disasters and Epilepsy

February 5, 2021
15 Comments

When I was a teen I fell down, walked into walls, bumped into virtually everything in my path, and almost drowned in the shower.

So, you can imagine what a disaster dating was.

Of course, in my infinite wisdom, I would never tell my dates that I had epilepsy.

My parents wouldn’t even utter the word, so rather than become a pariah, I kept my mouth shut.

Bad idea…

Posted in Epilepsy
Tags: 40 years, damaged, dating, disasters, Epilepsy, married, pariah, secret, seizures, stigma

Epilepsy in Twitter Times

June 4, 2012
10 Comments

Twitter is not our friend.

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…

Posted in Epilepsy, News
Tags: attitudes, derogatory, Epilepsy, media, millions, negative, seizures, social networking, stigma, twitter