Home » Epilepsy Blog » Lifestyle + Epilepsy » Emotions » Patience and Epilepsy: A great ally when it comes to managing stress

Patience and Epilepsy: A great ally when it comes to managing stress

Justin’s Story

For 35 years I have had epilepsy and have found that although I have my seizures under control with medication, occasionally they will happen even with taking medication. Over the years I have been on more than 15 different medications. A more likely number would be 20, however I can’t exactly recall to be honest.

One of the side affects of having seizures and some medications are memory loss. Some days are good and things go smooth, and some days are not so good and are a bit turbulent more or less. It’s important to understand this in the moments of frustration when you can remember a sentence and or event that was just on your mind. Has memory loss ever been part of your frustration?

To keep the turbulence to a minimum accepting that our brain and the neural networks may be a little over worked, and taking it slow for the time being is probably a good idea. These moments happen to me from time to time and are certainly uncomfortable and frustrating, especially around others in day to day life or work. I encourage you to try to remain calm in these moments and let them pass, they are only temporary but at certain times can happen.

Patience and Epilepsy

Patience has been my best ally, and by recognizing these moments for what they are helps to reduce any stress and anxiety that is potentially causes. Those with epilepsy and partners of epileptics should be aware of this so to help remember or remind us that it’s much easier to be aware and except this. Some days will be good, some in between and some will be better spent being patient and compassionate with ourselves.

Although it has been difficult at times living with some of these side effects It takes strength to adapt to the constant changes and ups and downs that come from epilepsy. I used to view my condition in a negative light, however there is an opportunity to embrace the positive. I hope this helps you or someone you love that has epilepsy.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.