is there an epileptic personality?

[jyearta]

In the past I had thought it had more to do with the fact my mother HAD ALWAYS told me "you can't do that" --no matter what it was, that is all I heard.

This is going to sound horrible of me, because my mother has past away, however this is the same mother, who didn't take to a dr. for what her reason was. She would just put me in a closet when I would started to have a seizure.

When I was young child the only words I had for this was "I've seen it before" I would cry and run, as if trying to get away from IT.
My mother would mock me saying "I've seen it before" along with her sisters. They would tell me that I was trying to get attention.

After I was first married, my husband would say the same thing, "you can't do that"
But his came from a caring place. He was the one who took me to a Dr. where I was diagnosed.

I did work in accounting for 23 years and up until about a year ago I was decorating homes and offices.

This is why I so badly want EPILEPSY not to have the stigma ithat it has.

 

[Aubrey]

Jyerta, of course, no - you're not horrible, you're just fine - you are just stating facts. It is horrible that your mother would put you in a closet because you are having a seizure.

Here's a thought, to all that would think that there is an "epileptic personality" put all of us together in a room, and you may quickly find how wrong you were. You would not find a single personality type, any more than a random bunch of people off of the street. You may find among some here or there a common response or set of responses or sets of responses that were related to the experience of having epilepsy, but those would not occur across the board. I do not think that there is anything so concrete as an "epileptic personality." However, if psychologists could not put everyone in a box or multiple boxes, then they would be out of a job.

There is my current take on the matter. No reason for being limited in how we can just be, or be stigmatized just by virtue of having epilepsy. The world tried that already, and they were less than successful. If you are not already familiar with it, google Buck v. Bell: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_v._Bell or http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0274_0200_ZO.html. This decision denied essentially all due process rights in the US to "epileptics" and other undesirable persons. Rape victims, the developmentally disabled, and those suffering from psychological disorders also became fair game for institutionalization and subsequent involuntary sterilization.

So labeling a single "epileptic personality" may be dangerous thing, though on the other hand, it is good to connect through shared experiences which likely seem to be related to epilepsy, because we have not observed them in people who do not have epilepsy.

 

[jyearta]

Thanks,

I know my friends meant well, but they used to tell me that I should apply for disability. That would make me mad, I could work just as well as they could and I did. It might have taken me longer, but I always got a good review.

It wasn't until my mother became ill, that I quit to take care of her until she passed away. After that I went for what I enjoy doing, decorating. This is until I got all mess up with medication. Now I'm finally getting better with the help my new neur. - not to metion my being able ask the right questions and myself being able to speak up for myself. I don't know if I would have gotten the courage if it hadn't been for this forum.

 

[Occupy Epilepsy]

Jyerta, of course, no - you're not horrible, you're just fine - you are just stating facts. It is horrible that your mother would put you in a closet because you are having a seizure.

Here's a thought, to all that would think that there is an "epileptic personality" put all of us together in a room, and you may quickly find how wrong you were. You would not find a single personality type, any more than a random bunch of people off of the street. You may find among some here or there a common response or set of responses or sets of responses that were related to the experience of having epilepsy, but those would not occur across the board. I do not think that there is anything so concrete as an "epileptic personality." However, if psychologists could not put everyone in a box or multiple boxes, then they would be out of a job.

There is my current take on the matter. No reason for being limited in how we can just be, or be stigmatized just by virtue of having epilepsy. The world tried that already, and they were less than successful. If you are not already familiar with it, google Buck v. Bell: This decision denied essentially all due process rights in the US to "epileptics" and other undesirable persons. Rape victims, the developmentally disabled, and those suffering from psychological disorders also became fair game for institutionalization and subsequent involuntary sterilization.

So labeling a single "epileptic personality" may be dangerous thing, though on the other hand, it is good to connect through shared experiences which likely seem to be related to epilepsy, because we have not observed them in people who do not have epilepsy.

Though I don't really want to, I think I'll have to agree with you...to an extent. If there is an epileptic personality, I'm not sure it would be caused directly BY the epilepsy. More likely it's that we all share some level of confidence issues or acceptance issues or superiority issues or inferiority issues simply because of how we, as epileptics, are seen in society. This creates commonalities between us and since the common denominator is epilepsy, that would be the first conclusion. However, I think when it comes to the personality types, it's more mental than physiological.

However I'm not sure if I even believe this completely. I have spoken to other epileptics, some times it's like we're sharing the same brain, other times they're a completely different person with UNDENIABLE similarities that can't merely be coincidence. So maybe ultimately...it's both?

 

[Aubrey]

That is not too different from what I think. I don't have a fixed opinion on the issue. I have observed some traits in myself which I don't see in people that don't have epilepsy. For example, I have never seen anyone react to a fax machine the way I do (badly). Or get something akin to stage fright using a debit card. But far from everyone with epilepsy experiences these things.

Perhaps it could be related to isolation? Have people with these particular behavioral traits spent a lot of time housebound or dependent on others? In which case it would be indirectly related to epilepsy but not an epileptic personality. I am trying to think of reasons why I personally might do the things that in my experience are unique to people with epilepsy.

I also have a problem pinpointing larger issues, while spending excess time on lesser details, to a huge degree. I am not sure that can be attributed to lack of confidence. And some of the things on the master list of distinctive characteristics definitely do not apply. Like the vast majority of people on here I am far from humorless; where else can you go to find great jokes?

So... both? Plausible. Certainly.

 

[Aubrey]

The reason I posted in my first post on this thread (I think) about different source points is just from stuff I have picked up on here. A lot of people with epilepsy are psychic/musical/artistic/creative - and many of them identify themselves as having TLE. Fewer people with FLE will be found posting on the creative writing and poetry threads and will be more likely to be perplexed by a form or checking out at a grocery store. But that could easily be a false correlation. For example, people who hear music prior to a seizure are not as likely to have FLE, but they still might have grocery store difficulties, like I do. And none of this has any reflection on intelligence, whatsoever, but that is a given.

Very complex for sure.

I forgot, are we supposed to be hyper-emotional or lacking emotional expression, or super-religious or atheistic, because you will find all of the above on here.

 

[redravin]

Mixed feelings on this one.
I'd say that drug side effects can certainly create common features and character traits so we have to deal with that.
Of course we aren't all on the same drugs so ...

Of course when you have and electrical storm going inside your brain there must be some kind of damage but since the fine folks who have been studying this stuff can barely figure out how it works it in the first place, I don't give too much credence to them discovering how or why it effects personality.
And once again, since folks storms storms are light drizzles while others are F5 tornados there's no consistency to build a case on.

The other part is psychological aspect.
I have to take medication for depression and I know it is a very common problem for people with epilepsy.
Depression is going to have a major effect on your personality but how much of that comes from the epilepsy and how much from things like joblessness or other issues caused by epilepsy?

Last but not least there's the fun aspect of sloshing your brain around.
A lot of us have managed to get concussions.
I have had at least 4 or 5 from banging my head on the floor.
That does all kinds of fun things to your memory and personality.

So yeah, while I think there is probably an epilepsy personality I think it comes a lot more from having to be straight up honest about yourself because you don't ever know when your body is going to start lying to you.
You learn to trust a tiny handful of people, the ones you know will be standing there when you wake up.
And you are always ready to give someone a hand up because you know there is a time when you might need it.