Any phrase, idea that helped you navigate life with epilepsy?

@louissc
So glad to hear @keeg1010 has helped you learn to sometimes take your hands off the wheel. Being able to take our hands off the wheel in certain circumstances is a real skill, and often one we have to unlearn rather than learn, depending on the kind of upbringing we had.
It actually reminds me of something Dr. Jackson said in a Seizing Life episode — that the more we fight against something internally, the more activated it becomes, and the more we learn to accommodate it, the more freedom we gain.
It sounds like the worry often falls more on your family's shoulders than your own. How do you handle that? Just a thought, Louis — perhaps you could start a discussion about it here in our group. I believe it's a challenge many of us face. If you ever need a hand getting a new discussion started, just let me know!
I'm very happy to see you're holding onto that glass-half-full view.😃
Chris

@santosha

Hi Chris,

Yeah I’m sure this may help others. Although I believe most in this forum are the ones with this condition, any advice to living with it together with family members successfully will sure help. Maybe for those with depression too. People with different culture and upbringing can also share experiences together.

Cheers,
Louis

most people seem to have gotten epilepsy later in life and they were lucky to have years
without seizures,I don't know what it's like to have that.
That is why I was so angry growing up never driving or working being med resistant.
I don;t recall how many places I went to. I just went NIH as a teenager when I was a senior in Highschool.
My husband seemed care more. He'd take me places I live by Emory bah humbug.
So why do ppl complain when they had a life with out seizures I never have?

I know no one will reply to this because u guys never do.
Beklinda

@belinda5000
I developed epilepsy at 14. At least you were a senior in high school. They threw me out because of seizures when I was a sophomore. But I hear what you're saying. Many people don't know how well off they have it even people with epilepsy. I've known too many people who have died from epilepsy. It can always be worse so we are all very lucky.
Jake

@belinda5000, I hope that you saw @jakedduck1's reply to you. I see that other posts you have made in the past have received replies, like this discussion:

- Anger and epilepsy
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/anger-and-epilepsy/
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@jakedduck1
I was 2 when my seizures started I knew epilepsy and was found dead at the bottom of the steps at they automatically said she had a seizure.
There is not a test to say someone had a seizure.not one person was around that can say she had a seizure and fell down the steps.
Know one knows what happens they where guessing.

@belinda5000
Yes, your absolutely correct. They are making guesses or playing clairevoyant. That's one reason why some patients hide their diagnosis. When someone hears "epilepsy" they automatically think seizure.
I was in an car accident and while in ER a nurse comes in and says "the doctor thinks you had a seizure" even though I told them exactly what happened, which I couldn't have done because of the memory issues the that accompany my seizures. Medical professionals don't seem to care what position they put seizure patients in when they make these inaccurate diagnosis. The first thing that usually happens is that your drivers license is revoked. So I got to pay thousands of dollars to hire an attorney to get it back. All because someone made an assumption that was wrong but if you have epilepsy, get used to it and get geared up for a fight! I've been at the bottom of a staircase too but I did have a seizure. It just makes me mad that professional people are allowed to get away with being wrong and the truth often doesn't even enter in the equation. Doctors and medical professionals have the ability to think, logic and reason but if epilepsy is in the equation logic and reason aren't. At least that has been my experience.
Take care,
Jake

To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.

@royanthony
What a powerful phrase, Roy. Thank you for sharing it! Looking back at my own epilepsy journey, it speaks to me deeply. For a long time, I was my own prisoner, held back by many fears of my own. The diagnosis didn't build those walls. I did. Through therapy, I came to better realize that and found my way back to freedom.
Have any of you ever felt the same? And if so, what helped you break free?
Chris