is there an epileptic personality?

[petero]

http://www.epilepsy.com/articles/ar_1064250059

I'm still trying to figure myself out.
I have severe mood changes at times and these are the types of things I'm trying to figure out on my own.
I have never been to an epileptologist.

 

[Aubrey]

I would like to say No. However, I think I could be said to have a number of those personality characteristics, though not all. Also, I have frontal-lobe epilepsy. For one, I think I have a much more relaxed sense of humor than many people. However, I am easily depressed, do not know how to get to the point, get caught up in details, do not have comfortable social interactions with people I do not know well, I can be impulsive. Shrug. The humorless one - not me though, I think lots of stuff is funny. Maybe that just got in there by accident.

Here are some that they did not mention that I have heard:

TLE: artistic, psychic;

frontal lobe epilepsy: cannot properly fill out forms (for me this is true)

However, I would prefer to think that we cannot be boxed in like that, and that there is no epileptic personality.

 

[petero]

I swear to God I've experienced extraordinary psychic phenomenon.
But it is definitely not as simple as, say, telling which walnut shell is covering the pea or other types of nonsense I've seen online as psychic tests.

 

[momof3boys]

I have temporal lobe epilepsy and after doing some research, I found that when it comes to certain "psychic" things... I've experienced somethings that I didnt know was actually considered Psychic. Ive always had feelings of times where I felt like I was in the same place, doing the same thing, before. Thats happened to me a few times in my lifetime. But what I noticed more, was after the passing of two very close relatives. This happened almost ten years ago... and since then, out of the blue, things will happen, and I will notice these things. No one else will. I thought it was just me at first. But then I told myself it was just all in my head, and didnt focus on any of it, til I started to see a pattern of these type of things come about. I did some researching and found that people with Temporal lobe epilepsy can have psychic abilities. Something I didnt know. So after keeping track of whats been going on, I dont feel uncomfortable about it no longer. I just see it as normal, and let it go. It could be things happening in the house, like hearing a voice, but knowing no one is there. Walking into a bedroom to the smell of colonge or a certain perfume. Having a song come on the radio when just seconds before, I was thinking of that song. Or seeing a picture frame get moved. When I was cleaning one day, I was dusting off the picture frames in my livingroom. I have a picture frame of my sisters and mom and I... then one of my cousins together before they passed. I placed the one of my cousins above the one of my sisters and I... I left to answer the phone, and when I went back into the room, my cousins picture was placed by my picture of my sisters and I! I was in shock at first. I knew I had that above, where i always kept it. Its little things like that, that just got to me at first, but now I laugh and smile when things like that happen. Im use to it.

 

[jyearta]

How did your neur. respond when you told her/him of all these things that happen to you, I just assuming you told your Neur.

When I told my, she said she has never heard of anything like this.

 

[momof3boys]

My neurologist responded by saying it wasnt unheard of for people with Temporal lobe epilepsy to have things happen to them like that. Now he has heard of people saying things like that, and it just bugs the hell out of them. He has suggested to them to see a therapist for techniques on how to deal with things when they do happen. But he said if he doesnt bother me, then he's fine with it. I told my dr about this a few years back. Ive seen a different neurologist since last year, about a year ago to be exact... and havnt brought it up to my neurologist Im seeing now. But the one prior knows about it. He said not to worry, sometimes things get better, sometimes they stay the same. As long as Im ok with it and it doesnt bother me, or affect my life in any bad ways, its ok.

 

[petero]

...when it comes to certain "psychic" things... I've experienced somethings that I didnt know was actually considered Psychic. Ive always had feelings of times where I felt like I was in the same place, doing the same thing, before.

I have that too and I'm not a big fan of it.
I tend to attribute it to a sort of obsessive contingency planning that I do on a conscious level that may go on in a subconscious way also.
I consider myself a logic-driven person as well as being very sensitive to moods and body language. So much so that social things just seem contrived when I'm in situations, or I can find myself stuck in a sortof social-bitrate synesthesia where I get stuck in translation in a way. There is no immediacy in relating, like having to translate social interactions to an intermediary and then a third language before I can interact, at which time it's really too late for me to interact. But likewise it seems I can grasp the overall concepts of things and predict things from larger social constructs. I experience this in a conscious way (another reason social interactions bother me is because they seem in a way passé, but I don't have a realization that I have a role in these social constructs, and >I don't know what the role is <--- a facet of my feelings of my feelings of worthlessness) but I also think I experience it subconsciously, thereby having those feelings you describe, über déjà vu- because I have played out results already in my head and there may be lacking a social chronology to conceive of things past/future, present/conceived result.

I will add more to this but my iPhone is being a bitch right now and I have the feeling it wants to reboot or just die and erase this entire thing like it did yesterday. brb

 

[RobinN]

I have often wondered this petox - my daughter seemed to be going into a dark place.

Yet, after making the nutritional changes my daughters personality lightened up quite a bit. Back to a more positive outlook. I didn't take before and after notes on this subject so it is just a side note that I have always wondered about.

My daughters seizures were attributed to blood sugar imbalance, and I did see a video of a gal with hypoglycemia, and she ended up in a psych ward, before they realized she had a sugar imbalance. She said once she had the information to be able to monitor her levels her personality changed dramatically.

Chemical imbalance for some. IMO

 

[Brent]

Is there an epileptic personality? Probably not ... not exactly. However, here are a few things to think about:

Everyone has a seizure threshold. That is, anyone can have a seizure under the right conditions. Some people simply have a lower threshold for seizure activity. There is some research being done to investigate possible physiological reasons for this. But, recall a seizure is just a seizure - there are dozens of causes for seizures. So, looking for a personality type, one should also narrow the investigation to a certain seizure cause.

Having frequent seizures, regardless of the cause, will tend to have a certain sort of impact on the physiology and psychology of the person. There is bound to be some commonality, therefore, among people who suffer frequent seizures. This is not necessarily causal.

My epileptologist explained to me that a major part of seizure activity frequently has to do with pattern analysis. More specifically, the seizure is triggered by the brain's response to certain patterns (not necessarily visual). I don't know if he meant that this was generally the case, or if was just true in my case. But, if the analysis of certain patterns induces neurological activity that triggers a seizure, then this is bound to have a psychological effect on the person. By analogy, imagine that a person felt mild pain every time he/she, for example, talked to a stranger. This would modify your personality. Similarly, if a group of people had adverse neurological reactions to certain sorts of patterns, then we might see some common psychological responses.

Just conjecture, but certainly possible.

 

[Lewall]

I don't know about an Epilepsy Personality -- but I recently read research that showed people with epilepsy have a statistically significant occurrance of anxiety and depression. More interesting, I think, is that it worked both ways -- people with anxiety and depression had the same liklihood of having a diagnosis of epilepsy. There is a chemical explanation for this tie (GABA). As for personality, I would not be surprised at all if one could find patterns of personality in people wtih epilepsy. Epilepsy shapes our experiences and our experiences have a profound effect on our personalities.

 

[Occupy Epilepsy]

Well I just started posting here last night and I already feel like I have tons in common with a lot of the folks here!!

On a more serious note though, I have noticed I'm a very....how can I say....emotionally numb person. I haven't shed a tear in years, I NEVER jump at scary movies, I laugh at jokes many would consider offensive, little things like that. This is all 100% honesty, especially since I've always wondered if there was a link between epileptic brains myself. My parents divorced early and I developed epilepsy shortly after, so in a very short time span I went from an almost perfect happy childhood to an almost cliche sad and tragic adolescence. The epilepsy came about a year after the divorce. Hard to say which is the real "cause," but the fact remains I am and probably forever will be this way.

I was reading recently about how they believe each time you have a seizure irreparable brain damage is done. So I wonder if after all the seizures I've had (probably around 40-50, give or take) some part of my brain used to process emotions has become weaker than normal. It could also be because of all the embarrassment and pain I've gone through having epilepsy, which as I learned to accept my JME and dealt with the pain just hardened me against a lot of emotionally harmful things. Again, just random theories I've had trying to explain why I am the way I am, I could go on and on...

Or maybe...it's all of the above??

 

[gigi]

Brent's post:

"Having frequent seizures, regardless of the cause, will tend to have a certain sort of impact on the physiology and psychology of the person. There is bound to be some commonality, therefore, among people who suffer frequent seizures. This is not necessarily causal."

That is a good summary. Any health problem can alter the way we perceive things. Epilepsy is there at the top. I will say that the stigma associated with E. can have a strong affect on personality. Any disorder affecting the brain is not an easy topic to casually bring up.

Right before my first seizure when I was eleven, I heard choirs when I lay in bed at night. Only when my eyes were shut. Try telling your parents that over morning pop tarts. I was always sensitive and analytical. Quit going to church years ago, because my brain was obsessed with trying to decipher the hypocrites and the hidden agendas from the people who were genuinely there to get something out of church. Too tiring and engaging. Socializing produces the same effect. My brain does not allow me to relax because I spend an inordinate amount of time reading people. Scary enough, I end up right on the money at times. The dark side of me produces the depression and anxiety which I work on constantly. For me, I would say my E. brain produces both those. Being female on top on this just adds to the fun. :bigsmile:

 

[jyearta]

I don't know if this belongs in this thread, but here goes.

I have a had E. all my life, was diagnose on 1971.

It has been in the last 5 to 6 years, I don't seem to be able to say what I'm trying to say.

It also seems I'm can't process what someone is telling me, and responding according.

I feel like I'm in everyone way, by this I mean when I checking out at the groc. store, I feel I can't take the time to fill out my checkbook register there, I need to get out the way.
When I get home, sometimes I've lost my receipt and I am in a mess with my checkbook.

Even when typing in this forum, I feel I have to hurry, that someone else is waiting to post into the same forum that I'm in.

I don't what is this, but is embarrassing.

 

[gigi]

Ditto!
My comprehension level is zero at times, and I am slow to absorb information. At the check out register at store, same thing. I get flustered when trying to use debit card. It is as though I am learning how to use it for the first time. The sacker is asking if I need help out with groceries (no just with my brain) and multitasking becomes a strain. I wish I had a quarter for every time my family tries to finish a sentence for me. I can get it out, just hold on! I know exactly how you feel! Meds and seizures, along with age comes all the above for me. I can not remember seeing most of the movies we see, much less the titles. I do analyze sometime if my thought process belongs in a certain thread, but then I think, well hell my brain is the reason I love this site so much! If the blithering idiot comes out in me, oh well.

 

[Occupy Epilepsy]

Another thing I found really interesting about that article is how it mentions our attention to detail. I've always been a big gamer, and in the past 5 or so years I've sort of noticed I play games differently. Others seem to breeze through them and have beaten the game or something way ahead of me, while I'm barely half way through, though I feel like I've been playing way more than them. However, I experience things differently and will try and talk about something others totally missed. So regardless of your a gamer, my analogy points to the fact that at some level I AM paying more attention to the little things than others, though I might occasionally miss out on the bigger picture.

 

[petero]

Another thing I found really interesting about that article is how it mentions our attention to detail. ... my analogy points to the fact that at some level I AM paying more attention to the little things than others, though I might occasionally miss out on the bigger picture.

I am very detail oriented. When I was diagnosed after having tonic-clonic seizures I started thinking back to my detailed nature. I can daze off for a while just piecing things together in my head and when I heard about types of simple seizures this made me wonder about my periods of focus and how they come up, etc.

if healing me from epilepsy means getting rid of these periods as well as an occasional tonic-clonic, every couple months - I say "no thanks" to being cured

but I'm quite sure simple partials have nothing to do with that
but otoh I am very introspective, etc. as mentioned in that article
so I very much agree with the occurence of these types of traits in people who have seizures.
I have considered that seizures may simply show that certain people are able to conceive of things differently - synesthetically, ex. and that as such their brainwaves just shake themselves loose

 

[jyearta]

I had never piece together having E. and my being able to take in inform. and process it.

I worked for 25 years in accounting, It took me forever to get the procedures for my job, I made notes and had to refer to them for almost a year. ( there were others making notes for their jobs, so I didn't much thought to it)

I have always had a hard time remembering names and it has gotten worse the last 3 to 4 years, I know I'm older, but GOOD GRIEF.

 

[Aubrey]

I don't seem to be able to say what I'm trying to say.

It also seems I'm can't process what someone is telling me, and responding according.

I feel like I'm in everyone way, by this I mean when I checking out at the groc. store, I feel I can't take the time to fill out my checkbook register there, I need to get out the way.
When I get home, sometimes I've lost my receipt and I am in a mess with my checkbook.

Even when typing in this forum, I feel I have to hurry, that someone else is waiting to post into the same forum that I'm in.

Oh Wow! Check, check, check and check. I can't use a self-check out, I feel like my posts don't have priority, I can't formulate a response when put on the spot, or decide where to sit in a restaurant... it takes me hours to fill out a form, and a fax machine is cause for dread. Can't remember names either, of people that I have met over and over. I lose keys, cell phone, notebooks, textbooks, jewelry, money. I leave stuff places and spill things. Most of this stuff is misplaced as opposed to lost - I end up finding it eventually.

I do not think this is age. I am older, but I am not that old (36). What is the commonality here? I am not sure? I don't know that I think it is an epileptic personality, per se, but some aspects of it are likely epilepsy-related.

("it" here referring this common experience of being befuddled by the modern grocery store experience and related activities or the experience of psychic phenomena or whatever other peculiar-to-a-few-of-us difficulties people on this thread have experienced or other related problems).

 

[Brent]

I don't know that I think it is an epileptic personality, per se, but some aspect of it are likely epilepsy-related.

Well, there is a good and growing body of evidence that suggests that memory, decision-making, and problem-solving are all closely linked to confidence in one's ability to do those things. That is, problems in those areas often has less to do with physiological causes than simply lacking the ability to commit mentally to a cognitive process due to decreased confidence.

Regardless of exactly how you deal with it, I think that epilepsy has a way of shaking one's confidence in one's own mind. That alone may produce, or at least strongly contribute to some of these problems.

Again, just conjecture.

 

[Aubrey]

Well, there is a good and growing body of evidence that suggests that memory, decision-making, and problem-solving are all closely linked to confidence in one's ability to do those things. That is, problems in those areas often has less to do with physiological causes than simply lacking the ability to commit mentally to a cognitive process due to decreased confidence.

I don't disagree. Indeed, I am certain that is a likely contributing factor. I don't know that I think it is a complete explanation, but it almost can't help but play a part.