The Stigma of Epilepsy

Colin is a 15-year-old boy, who goes to school everyday only to be repeatedly punched in the head, pushed to the ground and called "spaz boy" by his peers.

Later on, he would wind up going home and attempting to commit suicide.

Janelle is a 22 year old college student, great looks, great attitude, but afraid to date and feels unloved fearing what her future will bring her. She's incontinent after years of prescription medicine, and afraid to go on a date.

What do they have in common? Epilepsy.

Does that give people the right to beat on Colin, or make Janelle afraid to live a normal life? Most people would say, "no" it doesn't.

There is a certain stigma that's related with epilepsy. It is a disease, or a condition, that's considered in the dark ages of awareness. Everyone knows about cancer, or HIV, or any similar condition, why not epilepsy?

Going back to Biblical times, people that had seizures were considered possessed by the devil. Believe it or not, there are still people that follow that belief today. One would hope that our openness to accept others has moved on past that, and grown, but apparently it hasn't to everyone.

Did you know that over 3 million people in America are living with epilepsy today? Every year 200,000 people can develop epilepsy for the first time. It knows no race, gender or age limits. It is completely unbiased.

This means that if you ever leave your house, go to the supermarket, go to the mall, or even a movie theatre, chances are you're going to walk past someone that has seizures. Do they look any different to you than the average human being? In some cases, maybe, in most cases, no.

There are several people out in the world today that have epilepsy; some are professional sports players, actors and actresses, band members and artists. Epilepsy isn't something that always has to control your life, why should those around them control anyone just by being known as an "epileptic?"

So what's going to happen to Colin and Janelle? Colin is undergoing intensive therapy, and is finding his way back into life, and living, without fear. Janelle is continuously struggling with her "secret" and avoiding anyone that might become to close to her. Time can only tell what will happen to either of these two.

Seizures are a horribly scary thing to watch, and I can understand why a person with epilepsy would intimidate people, but they are still entitled to live their life as they see fit, without the negative influences of those in our society today.