One of the biggest concerns for people with epilepsy and their families is how epilepsy affects their daily lives. Do they need to limit their activities? If so, how? Other concerns may arise, such as how the seizures will affect family life, other relationships, school, work, and recreation.
Everyone deals with epilepsy differently. People with well-controlled seizures may have different problems and concerns than people with poorly controlled seizures. Also, frequent seizures and taking seizure medications can affect the way people think, feel, and ability to cope with the effects of epilepsy. Young people, parents, adults with seizures, and the elderly have different experiences and concerns. Gender also influences how we view epilepsy, how we deal with it, and the problems we may face.
There is no magic formula for living with epilepsy, but consider the following questions: It will help you think about your needs and where to start.
- How does epilepsy affect you and your family?
- Do you know your rights and responsibilities to manage your health?
- Do you know how to deal with discrimination?
- Do you know how to balance staying safe and living your life the way you want?
- Do you know how to find the support and resources you need?
- Do you want to talk about living with epilepsy? If not, would it be helpful to hear others talking about it? Share your story, connect with others online, or speak directly to people at your local Epilepsy Foundation. What do you think?