Facts and Myths About Epilepsy

A Sampling from Chapter 2

 

Epilepsy Facts
There are over 2½ million people in the United States diagnosed with epilepsy.
 
Epilepsy affects more people than cerebral palsy, cancer, tuberculosis, muscular dystrophy and
multiple sclerosis combined.
 
Epilepsy can occur at any time in life, and for many people the cause is unknown.
 
In epilepsy some brain cells discharge when they aren't supposed to, but the important question
is why this some happens.

Some of the things which cause an individual to have a low seizure threshold (be more likely to
have seizures than the average person) are:

 Acquired congenital and hereditary diseases

 Birth or pre-birth trauma (injuries)
 Abnormal metabolism
 Chemical imbalance
 Allergies
 Poisoning (lead is the most common)
 Brain tumors (less than 10-15%)
 Central nervous system infections, such as meningitis and encephalitis
 Scar formation in the brain from head injury or surgery
 Stroke
 Liver disease, alteration in blood sugar, vitamin deficiencies

The leading cause of epilepsy for adults is automobile accidents. The leading cause for children is
birth trauma. The leading cause for those over 65 is strokes.

Famous people with epilepsy include Julius Caesar, Socrates, Alexander the Great, Tchaikovsky,
Van Gogh, Dostoyevski, Dickens, Dante, da Vinci, Mozart and Alfred Nobel.
 

Epilepsy Myths
There are many ancient myths about epilepsy, and some of those superstitions still remain. At
various times, people with epilepsy were shunned, locked up in mental institutions or forbidden
to marry or have children.
Seizures were thought to be caused by witchcraft, insanity, possession by demons,
feeblemindedness, even masturbation.
 

Seizure Emergency Checklist

1. Do not restrain - it can make the seizure more severe.

2. Stay nearby.
3. Speak kindly.
4. If the person is moving around, remove dangerous, sharp or hot objects from the
area.
5. Stand behind the person and gently guide him or her away from danger.
6. If the person shakes or falls, turn the head or whole body to the side so that saliva
can drain from the mouth.
7. Force nothing between the teeth. The outdated practice of putting an object in the
mouth to prevent the person from swallowing the tongue is not appropriate. The
tongue cannot be swallowed. A hard object can increase damage to the tongue from
biting, and a soft object can become lodged in the throat, causing suffocation.
8. If the seizure lasts more than 10 minutes, call an ambulance.
9. When the seizure is over, let the person rest.

Yoga
Yoga is another way to find some refreshing relaxation. Yoga is an ancient East Indian practice
which means "unity of being," or "to yoke." With yoga there is harmony within our physical,
mental and spiritual faculties.

Asanas
The asanas (postures, pronounced awe 'suh nuz) are effective not only in the prevention of
disease, but also in aiding the cure of existing disease.

In my book, I describe a few asanas which you could practice in a routine of 10 to 20 minutes.
You would benefit from doing even one asana if you are short on time. Here are a few examples.

Guidelines
There are a few basic guidelines for doing asanas.

1. Wait 1½ – 2 hours after a full meal.

2. Wait at least ½ hour after a light snack.
3. Always stretch but not to the point of pain while doing asanas.
4. Inhale while raising any part of the body, and exhale while lowering the body.
 5. Do each asana 1 - 3 times (usually just once).

Neck Exercise

Sitting upright or standing, nod the head forward slowly and hold it a
few seconds. Nod to the back and hold it a few seconds. Repeat the forward and backward
nodding three times.

Nod to the left shoulder and hold it a few seconds. Nod to the right shoulder and hold it a few
seconds. Repeat the nodding to each side three times.

Slowly roll the head clockwise three times, keeping the face forward and the shoulders still, then
reverse. When you've completed this, make fists, tense and raise your shoulders up to your ears,
make a face, tensing your facial muscles. Hold for a few seconds then release.

This relieves headache, relaxes neck and shoulder tensions.

Pelvic Tilt

Lying on the back, bend the knees.

Inhale first, then exhale, drawing the stomach muscles back and tightening the buttocks, trying
to touch the entire spine to the floor.

Hold for a few seconds, then relax. This also can be done standing, with the back against a wall,
or sitting in a chair. Simply try to touch the entire spine against the wall or the back of the chair
in the same manner.

This takes away tension and pain in the lower back, as well as strengthening the muscles of the
lower back and abdomen.
Chest Expansion
From a standing position with legs together,interlock fingers and hands behind the back,
straightening the arms, standing erect.

Breathe in deeply, raise the arms up and back away from the body,
drawing the shoulder blades together.

Exhaling slowly, bend forward at the hips, keeping the knees slightly bent and the spine straight.

Let the face roll forward, keeping the arms straight. Hold this position, breathing comfortably,
then begin to come up slowly, inhaling.

As an alternative, you can remain standing without bending forward.

This asana lubricates and limbers the shoulder joints, upper back muscles and vertebrae. It also
expands and stretches the rib cage and lungs which allows fresh blood and energy into the
nerves and tissues of the lungs, chest, heart, etc.

Stress & Seizures

A Sampling from Chapter 4

Stress can lead to drastic changes in the body, which can trigger seizures.

Stress can be caused by overwork, inactivity, trying to achieve perfection, dissatisfaction with
others, worry, fear, anger, not enough sleep, eating too much of the wrong foods, not eating
enough, pressure for time or money, tense situations in family or work.

When stressors aggravate us to a certain point (our threshold) the central nervous system says,
"Enough is enough!" The result could be a headache, backache, heartburn, migraine, arthritis
pain - or for those vulnerable to seizures, a seizure.
Even though the brain may be misfiring all the time, we don't have seizures 24 hours a day.
Some ways to relax so that the central nervous system doesn't have to say, "Enough is enough!"
are:

 Deep Breathing
 Yoga
 Progressive Relaxation
 Affirmations
 Exercise

A general guide for keeping yourself relaxed

1. Stop many times each day, wherever you may be; breathe deeply. Let your
shoulders and tongue drop; relax your jaw. Make positive statements to yourself.
 
2. Once or twice each day find a place to relax for a more extended period of 15 to 20
minutes. It can be any one or any combination of the methods described in this
chapter, which are deep breathing, yoga asanas, meditation, progressive relaxation,
autogenic phrases and positive thinking.
 
3. Record in a journal the number of hours you sleep each night. Later, see if there is
any correlation between seizures and how many hours you have slept the night
before. Stress management is especially important when you haven't had enough
sleep.

Deep Breathing
Deep breathing is probably the most common and the most beneficial of all relaxation
techniques. It can be done anywhere, at any time, and can be combined with other types of
stress management.

The simplest exercise for deep breathing is known by many names. Some of these are:
abdominal breathing, diaphragmatic breathing, balloon breath, and complete breath.

Position
You can be sitting, standing or lying on your back for deep breathing. Imagine your lungs are
divided into thirds, with the bottom third going as low as the abdomen.

Your hands are laid on the diaphragm with the middle fingers touching. The little fingers will be
at the waist.

Inhaling
As you inhale slowly, fill the abdomen (lower third of the lungs) first, feeling it expand. Let the
hands rise and separate. Imagine your lungs are filling as a balloon.
Next, fill the middle section of the lungs, and finally fill the top third with the healthful, energy-
giving oxygen.

Exhaling
Exhale slowly and smoothly, starting with the chest or top third, then the middle section, and
finally the abdomen as you finish the exhalation.

Gently press down with the hands to help get all the carbon dioxide from the lungs.

These sections of your lungs will each be contracting as the carbon dioxide slowly leaves the
body - just like a balloon would get smaller as it loses the air it has been holding.

Exhaling should be done slowly and through the nostrils. You may find that you have a tendency
to contract the abdomen as you inhale, rather than expanding it; if so, you will need to
concentrate on doing it correctly.

Becoming Accomplished
At first, use the same amount of time for both inhalation and exhalation, i.e., four counts as you
inhale, four counts as you exhale.

As you get more accomplished, try to take longer with the exhalation than with the inhalation.
The counting for this could be: four counts while inhaling, hold the breath for four counts, then
exhale to a count of eight.

Another way to accomplish this is to inhale fully, then exhale slowly as you direct your breath to
a burning candle. You can also simply imagine you're blowing out a candle.

An Anytime Routine
One inhalation and one exhalation make up one round of the breathing exercise. Strive for at
least three rounds twice daily.

This can be done any time you have a few minutes - when you're waiting for someone or waiting
in line somewhere, taking a break, before or after meals, before going to sleep, and many more
times when you can find the time.

The deep breathing exercise can be done without the hands on the diaphragm.

Make sure to exhale slowly. Rapid, consecutive inhalation and exhalation can cause
hyperventilation, which can trigger a seizure

Progressive Relaxation
With Progressive Relaxation, you tense, then relax various parts of the body, part by part. This is
based upon the very simple procedure of comparing tension against relaxation, much like yoga.

Since you generally have very little awareness of the sensation of relaxation, you first tense a set
of muscles as hard as you can until you feel real tension, even tenderness and pain in the
muscles.

Then you allow those muscles to relax, and try to become aware of, to feel internally, the
difference between tension and relaxation.

1. Lie flat on your back, with your feet about two feet apart and your arms a few inches
from your sides, palms up.
 
2. First think of the right leg. Slowly raise that leg off the floor. Hold it fully tensed. Point
the toes,move the ankle.Concentrate on that leg, trying to keep the rest of the body
relaxed.
 
3. After a few seconds relax the muscles of that leg, letting it fall to the floor. Shake the
leg gently from side to side, relax it fully, and forget about the existence of this leg.
 
4. Repeat the same process with the left leg, then with each arm.
 
5. Next, bring the mind to the muscles of the pelvis, buttocks, anus and abdomen. Tense
them, squeeze the buttocks together, then push the stomach muscles toward the floor.
 
6. Now relax. Move up to the chest and shoulder area. Raise the body up slightly, drawing
the shoulder blades close together, stretching the chest upward.
 
7. Hold for a few seconds, then let the chest area sink down, relaxed.
 
8. Lift the head off the floor about one inch. Slowly turn the head from side to side three
times, then stop at the center and let it down gently.
 
9. Now turn the head from side to side while it is on the floor, then let it relax.
 
10. Coming to the facial muscles, squeeze them all together, pouting, wrinkling the nose,
squinting the eyes, gritting the teeth, making big chewing movements.
 
11. Let the facial muscles relax.
Now that you have relaxed all the muscles of the body, allow your mind to go over the entire
body, searching for any spots of tension.

If you come across tension anywhere, mentally concentrate on this part and will it to relax. You
can tense and relax any part again if it is needed.

This is complete relaxation. After a few minutes, you may stretch, gently imagine that fresh
energy is entering into each part of the body, then slowly sit up.

Affirmations
Making positive statements to yourself (affirmations) can be a valuable method for increasing
your self-esteem, confidence and well being.

Any or all of the things described in this book can contribute to your well being, and if you
believe in yourself the results will be quicker and more lasting.

Mental Chatter
We have a tendency to talk to ourselves constantly, as you're probably very much aware if you
have tried to meditate or quiet your mind. The subconscious mind records all this "chatter" and
uses it as it thinks it's meant to be used.

The subconscious cannot discriminate between negative and positive information. For this reason
it is important to notice what you are saying, which many times is a common phrase that you
don't even mean.

Repetitive Sayings
If you have epilepsy, notice your repetitive sayings. See if you use the expression,"I about had a
fit," or "I could have fainted," or "I about passed out," or "I can't stand any more of that."

Even if someone else says, "She just threw a fit!" your subconscious hears those phrases, and if
repeated enough times, may act on them.

When you are conscious of yourself or someone else using a phrase like this, say to yourself,"I
won't really have a fit or seizure. I'm only surprised." (or angry, shocked, frustrated, etc.) Or
simply say,"Cancel."

Suggested Affirmations
An affirmation you might use is, "I am free of seizures now." or "My brain cells are working in
perfect harmony."
Say the affirmation each day and say it aloud when you can. The brain is most open to
suggestions when it is producing very slow brain waves, such as right after meditation, just
before falling asleep or right after awakening.

Repeat any combination of statements which sound like they fit your needs. A good rule is to
begin with,"I am," add a few words,and end with the word, "now."

Positive and In The Present

Affirmations should be positive and in the present tense. If you believe the statements you will
see results very quickly. Even if you don't quite believe what you're saying to yourself, the
statements will have an effect.

It's not unusual to be skeptical at first; but if the affirmations are repeated enough times, your
subconscious mind will finally start to come in line.

Exercise
You could eat a wonderfully nutritious diet, practice biofeedback, yoga, meditation, and do a host
of other healthful things for yourself, but without some vigorous aerobic exercise none of them
would give you the optimum health you are looking for.

Our bodies need oxygen. We cannot go for more than five minutes without it.

The 'Modern' Lifestyle

Many years ago, humans had to use their bodies a great deal. It was necessary to run, walk, and
lift every day just to survive.

Today, with cars, planes, boats and appliances we only use a small percentage of the physical
power with which we are endowed.

Exercise increases the metabolism, which helps to send blood, oxygen and essential nutrients to
all part of the body, including the brain.

Raise Your Heartbeat

To make sure your brain and nervous system get this important energy, get some aerobic
exercise — anything that will raise the heartbeat.

Walking, jogging, running, hiking, bicycle riding, racquetball, tennis, swimming, dancing, martial
arts, basketball, volleyball, jumping rope, and garden work are some good examples of this.

Outdoor Benefits
Notice that many of these forms of exercise are outdoor activities.
This is ideal, since you will be getting some of the invaluable vitamin D from the sun and some
fresh oxygen while you are toning up your muscles.

Transportation Safety
If you don't drive, then walking or riding a bicycle can accomplish two things at once! You can
travel to your destination while getting some healthful exercise.

You will need to decide when it is safe to ride a bicycle. If you're still having a lot of seizures, you
should wait until you're confident that you won't have a seizure while riding your bike.

A backpack will come in handy for the times when you need to carry groceries or other items.
You might try going to the grocery store two or three times a week so you can fit everything into
the backpack.

Positive Effects
People who spend some time keeping fit usually show an increased ability to manage stress,
have better eating habits, feel happier, and are more self-confident.