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    Acceptance of epilepsy

    My steps in the acceptance of my epilepsy:

    Epilepsy! -- What's epilepsy?

    Denial
    No I DON'T have epilepsy!

    Why me?
    Why is God punishing me?

    I'm some sort of freak!
    My life is ruined!
    I can't do any of the things that I want to do!

    OK I have epilepsy...
    Guess I'm going to have to learn to live with it!
    Now I'll find out who my REAL friends are!

    I am not an epileptic, I am a person who happens to have epilepsy!
    Lots of great people have had epilepsy!

    Life goes on.

    Epilepsy/epileptic what's the big deal?
    People with diabetes are diabetic; people with asthma are asthmatic.
    It's just a word...

    Epilepsy is just one facet of what makes me ME!
    This is ME, take it or leave it!
    (It took me more than 35 years to get to this last step!)





    Some of these steps were simultanious.
    I got past some of these steps very quickly (less than a week.)
    Some of these steps took several years to get past.


    If you had additional steps or if your sequence was different, please share!
    Last edited by howdydave; 08-23-2011, 10:28 AM. Reason: clarification
    Dave ©¿©¬
    Ego sum quis ego sum quod ut est quicumque ego sum - Popeye
    www.howdydave.com

    #2
    Howdy Dave,

    This is a great way of putting the acceptance of epilepsy. I would add on the following:

    Why are you afraid of me?
    Why the rejection what did I do wrong?

    I've become a stronger person and
    I can relate to others with medical problems better.

    I am I and I like being what I am and that's ME!

    Comment


      #3
      Howdy Sue!

      Did you ever take Latin?

      My quote from Popeye in my signature says:
      I am what I am and that's all that I am!

      More properly translated:
      I am what I am, whatsoever I am -- is.



      Quicumque latine dictum sit, altum viditur
      Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound
      Last edited by howdydave; 08-23-2011, 09:04 PM.
      Dave ©¿©¬
      Ego sum quis ego sum quod ut est quicumque ego sum - Popeye
      www.howdydave.com

      Comment


        #4
        Howdy Dave,
        No I never took latin. The last line that I wrote came from a poem I wrote yrs. ago and that's why it sounds so wierd. You have to read the entire poem to understand it.
        Thanks for you time. I wish you the best and May God Bless You!

        Sue

        Comment


          #5
          Great you guys.

          Dave, Would you like to come over & have some spinach?
          Lorraine (lor)

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by lor View Post
            Great you guys.

            Dave, Would you like to come over & have some spinach?
            Howdy Lor!

            Better make arrangements for that sorta' thing offline...

            You know how "frisky" Popeye gets when he eats his spinach! :ambivalence:

            Strong to the finach?

            Well! I never... :o
            Dave ©¿©¬
            Ego sum quis ego sum quod ut est quicumque ego sum - Popeye
            www.howdydave.com

            Comment


              #7
              acceptance is a vital part of moving forward... but i get it, it takes time.

              i was in the woe is me, i am a freak stage for numerous years. those were some dark times. (spent many of those years on here, hence the name change!) when i finally accepted E was just a condition and not who i am, my perspective changed. i started to love myself for who i really am. everyone else seemed to follow suit. i don't think i'll ever be in the advocate stage or wear a t-shirt or do one of those running thingamagigs. but, i'm comfortable in my own skin and thats really all that matters in the end. :o

              Comment


                #8
                I think I play a bit of hopscotch with the steps, depending on how I am doing with my control and/or side effects at the time! :) 12 years after my official diagnosis...I have accepted it. Realized that it probably impacted my life more than I can ever know and deal with it as I go.

                It is not the first thing I tell people about myself. But when it comes up, I am blunt and honest about it. And you either like me for me (nothing has changed about this person you were talking to a minute ago, prior to the disclosure), or you can move on.

                I would like to have a better grip on the depression part though.

                Stace

                Comment


                  #9
                  Although it is only 3 little words in my list, the:

                  Life goes on

                  stage was where I started to really accept the fact.
                  Last edited by howdydave; 08-30-2011, 09:08 AM.
                  Dave ©¿©¬
                  Ego sum quis ego sum quod ut est quicumque ego sum - Popeye
                  www.howdydave.com

                  Comment


                    #10
                    It was sometime hard to deal with depression that comes along with epilepsy but I took a look around me and I found other people who had things a lot worse in life than
                    I ever did with my seizures. I had an Aunt who had MS and couldn't walk and was in a wheelchair having to depend on others. I've dealt with students in school who are
                    down syndrome, come from broken homes and have severe emotional and some with mental disabilites and all of this woke me up and made me realize how lucky I am.
                    So what if I blank out for a few seconds and feel a little tired all of that goes away after awhile and I feel fine. This is what has kept me going over the yrs. with epilepsy.
                    Here's wishing you well and May God Bless You!

                    Sue

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Sue, I feel the same way. Also, I apparently have less sz's than some of you.
                      Lorraine (lor)

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I just had a tonic clonic on tuesday.

                        But what the heck, life goes on...

                        I don't know exactly how many years have gone by since I got past that stage, but I remember how depressed I was before I did.

                        Now, the worst times for me are only when I'm post-ictal, then I have a nasty headache.
                        Firehorse
                        *fire*rodeo

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Porkette View Post
                          It was sometime hard to deal with depression that comes along with epilepsy but I took a look around me and I found other people who had things a lot worse in life than I ever did with my seizures. I had an Aunt who had MS and couldn't walk and was in a wheelchair having to depend on others. I've dealt with students in school who are down syndrome, come from broken homes and have severe emotional and some with mental disabilites and all of this woke me up and made me realize how lucky I am. So what if I blank out for a few seconds and feel a little tired all of that goes away after awhile and I feel fine. This is what has kept me going over the yrs. with epilepsy.
                          Here's wishing you well and May God Bless You!

                          Sue
                          I had a hard time when my seizures returned, but then I thought about my brother and his friends. My brother got caught in the birth canal, and the doctor grabbed forceps to pull him out, rather than doing a c-section. This caused a cerebral hemorrhage, he has cerebral palsy, mental disabilities, and needs 24 hr. care. I grew up helping my parents care for him, and started volunteering at his summer recreation in high school. I always enjoyed working with him and his friends. Anytime they need to talk, they know I'm there to listen. Knowing that there are a lot of people with disabilities worse than epilepsy, and working with them, helped me to stop worrying about having seizures.

                          As soon as I found out about surgery and testing, I was willing to give it a try. Since surgery, I hardly ever have a seizure anymore. When I do have one, I don't have migraines anymore. I've only had a bit of trouble with memory, after 2 seizures over the last 9 yrs. I usually feel fine not long after having one.
                          Last edited by Michelle83; 09-02-2011, 10:38 PM.
                          Life's greatest gifts are often found in friendships.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Michelle, Soon as I saw your part telling that the Dr used forceps I got a 'Oh My God' look on my face. (Are those still being used?)

                            I went into an ice cream place last night & thought I saw blinking lights. It was ceiling lights constantly being blacked out cuz the ceiling fans were beneath them blacking out the light real quick then 'back on'. Whenever I see stuff like that I want to tell them. (I learned about it here). I told my DH & he wonders how anybody effected by blinking lights, can "live".
                            Lorraine (lor)

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Next time you are real down because you just had a seizure, remember this:

                              Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...
                              Lorraine (lor)

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