← Return to Am I disabled? Now what. Can you relate?

Discussion
Dan Noyes avatar

Am I disabled? Now what. Can you relate?

Epilepsy & Seizures | Last Active: Jun 18, 2025 | Replies (23)

Comment receiving replies
Profile picture for tonyde @tonyde

Disability is an opinion and not a fact. Your level of disability is determined on how you view yourself. A seizure is an episode, it comes and goes, there's no reason to worry about what, when, where and how bad other than giving consideration to how it might negatively impact others. Seizures do not control me. I decide what I can and cannot do.

The possibility of a seizure does limit me from doing some of the things I enjoy. I'm not attending my granddaughter's graduation because my having a seizure would ruin the ceremony and that hurts. I will join my family afterwards for a dinner celebration.

There are two ways of dealing with that (1) lay around all day in self-pity or (2) consider myself fortunate to be able to celebrate her graduation with my family after the ceremony. I'm fortunate, it was my decision not to go.
I can get in and out of the car and walk under my own power, there's no reason to be concerned with who gets to drive. There are people who are bedridden and unable to leave their homes.

I work hard to put a positive spin on my situation and most of the days I can. Then there are the times when things hit me like a freight train. That's a discussion for another day.

Jump to this post


Replies to "Disability is an opinion and not a fact. Your level of disability is determined on how..."

Epileptic seizures are not a choice. I don't wake up and say, wow today wod be a great day for a seizure. Or I'm tired of working so let me have seizures in front of my clients so I am so humiliated in front of them they no longer want to work with me. No one would want that.

You are right that we can choose how we process our chronic medical condition. This is the battle anyone with epilepsy has to fight. We also have to confront our internal challenges and those who try to invalidate our own experiences.