November in the United States is designated as National Epilepsy Awareness Month. Each year the Epilepsy community comes together during November to celebrate Epilepsy.
Many people are often confused when they see “celebrate” and “Epilepsy” in the same sentence. We aren’t suggesting celebrating Epilepsy, but celebrating the community around the condition. Honestly, we wish that no one had Epilepsy, but there are an estimated 65 million of us with active Epilepsy worldwide. There’s nothing we can’t accomplish if we band together. Epilepsy Month provides a great opportunity to do just that to raise awareness about Epilepsy.
Though November is officially National Epilepsy Awareness Month only in the United States, we invite our friends from other countries to participate too. Though we are based in the United States, we also plan to celebrate Canadian Epilepsy Awareness Month in March and UK’s National Epilepsy Week in May! (Honestly, we will use any excuse to raise epilepsy awareness.)
There are plenty of ways to get involved during Epilepsy Month!
Tell Your Friends and Family About Your Epilepsy
If you haven’t already shared with your friends and family that you have Epilepsy or experience seizures, Epilepsy month is a great time to talk about it.
Use Social Media
Telling your Epilepsy story through social media is a great way to raise awareness. Its short format allows casual reading. Fewer people without Epilepsy are interested to invest an afternoon to learn about the condition and far more interested in learning about how it affects you and the people you love.
Liking, commenting on, and sharing other Epilepsy awareness content goes a long way to spread the word too. There are so many great advocates in the Epilepsy community on Twitter who are planning to celebrate Epilepsy Month. Here are just a few to follow now:
If you’re looking to plug in and learn from medical professionals in the Epilepsy community here is a great list of accounts:
Use the #EpilepsyMonth Hashtag
Hashtags on social media are important as algorithms can use them to populate posts to further timelines. In the past, our community ended up using varying hashtags and our message got diluted. We hope to get #EpilepsyMonth trending this year on Twitter. As it trends, Twitter will basically populate tweets containing the hashtag to any and all timelines.
Why #EpilepsyMonth and not #NationalEpilepsyMonth or #NEAM? Again, we want our friends from other nations to feel like they are able to contribute.
Answer the Call from Socal Epilepsy
Each year, Socal Epilepsy publishes a calendar that includes simple prompts to motivate posts on social media. Not only is it a great way to get involved, but it’s also interesting to see and support posts from other people with Epilepsy. Here is this year’s calendar:
Reach Out to Your Local Epilepsy Organization
The Epilepsy Foundation of America, the Epilepsy Society (in the UK), and the Canadian Epilepsy Alliance have plenty of local chapters that have activities planned during Epilepsy Month. Finding local people to share your celebration plays a big part in making the month fun.
If you reside in the United States, here’s a great tool to find the local Epilepsy Foundations in your state.
Attend a Support Group
Whether you are a person with Epilepsy or a caregiver to one, you are definitely not alone. A great way to learn the stories of other people that have Epilepsy is to attend a support group. We have four support group meetings on Brain Ablaze each month, but most local epilepsy organizations also host their own too. Here is a list of the groups we are hosting this month:
- Wednesday the 9th at 12 PM PST, 3 PM EST, 8 PM GMT
- Thursday the 10th at 6 PM GMT, 1 PM EST, and 10 AM PST
- Wednesday the 23rd at 12 PM PST, 3 PM EST, 8 PM GMT
- Saturday the 26th at 6 PM PST, 9 PM EST
Treat Yourself to a Purple Manicure or Pedicure
This one isn’t just for the ladies. If you’re a guy those nails will definitely get noticed too. It provides a great way to start a discussion when people ask about them.
Cook an Epilepsy-Themed Dish for Thanksgiving
This one is unfortunately only for our friends in the United States as the Canadian Thanksgiving is in October. What is an Epilepsy-themed Dish exactly? Anything purple, of course! We highly suggest just adding some roasted purple cauliflower to the table. It is simple to make and its different color is a great way to start a dialog.
Purple Exterior Home Lights
Who says that only cities should light up their buildings to raise awareness for Epilepsy? Some of us are used to putting up lights for the holidays. While strands of purple lights are usually heavily on sale after Halloween, there are plenty of “smart” lights that allow color configuration. If one was inclined, they could put up the purple lights in early November, switch the colors for Thanksgiving, switch back, then switch again to a completely different theme for December.
Another way to accomplish the same task is to use purple flood lights. These are also highly reduced in price after Halloween. Plant them in front, and you’re ready to celebrate Epilepsy Month.
Put Up Posters Around Town
Some coffee shops and small businesses have a small bulletin board available to their customers. One can use an existing poster, but creating a small flyer about Epilepsy month might attract more attention.
Chalk Up the Neighborhood
If you can’t find a bulletin board, why not create your own? A bit of purple chalk on a busy sidewalk gives a simple way to provide a short message to passersby.
Listen to an Epilepsy-Themed Podcast
Of course, there is always The Brain Ablaze Epilepsy Podcast, but there are a ton of other great advocates casting these days.
Tell Your Epilepsy Story
One of the best ways to raise epilepsy awareness is when people who have the condition tell their stories. If you are already a media creator Epilepsy Month is a great excuse to add a blurb to your own blog, podcast, youtube channel, or TikTok video. If you are looking to contribute your story but don’t feel like you have a platform, we would love to hear from you. Maybe we can help you contribute to ours.
Read an Epilepsy Blog
Even if you’re not ready to blog your Epilepsy story, there are a ton of talented bloggers out there blogging about theirs. Here are just a few in addition to our own Epilepsy blog:
Become Seizure First Aid Certified
The Epilepsy Foundation of America provides an on-demand certification process that is completely free. If certification is just too much for you, we also have an episode of our Epilepsy Podcast dedicated to Seizure First Aid.
Teach a Seizure First Aid Class
If you already know seizure first aid, why not help others learn? Would your family and friends know what to do if you had a seizure? We certainly hope so. What about your coworkers? What about the teachers and administrators at your (or your child’s) school? Or the employees at the stores you frequent most? What about your neighbors? Asking around to see if there is interest takes little time, but you’re improving the odds of finding the right help when you or the ones you love will need it most. A seizure first aid class can be as long or short as you wish. It can be as simple as a five-minute presentation or a whole TED Talk.
Donate to an Epilepsy-based Charity
If you have the means, by all means, do so. There are a ton of great charities that could really use the help:
Hold an Epilepsy Awareness Party
It can be as big or small as you wish. Throwing a gala is amazing, but a dinner party with your close friends is great too. The theme doesn’t have to be just “Epilepsy Awareness” either. Get creative! How about an eighties-themed “Party Like it’s 1999” party? Hey, did you know that Prince had childhood Epilepsy?
Wear a Purple Ribbon
“Hey, what’s that ribbon for?” Perfect! Let me tell you about Epilepsy.
Buy the Epilepsy-Themed Swag
Another great way to get the word out is to wear an epilepsy-themed shirt or hat. Just watch out, our experience is that your whole wardrobe may quickly turn purple.
Pass out Purple Ribbons, Stickers, or Balloons
Our family is going to stand outside the local grocery store (with their permission of course) and pass out purple balloons with a small paper flyer about Epilepsy.
Read a Book About Epilepsy
Not every book about Epilepsy is created for neuroscientists. If you are looking for an entertaining read, here are just a few that we really enjoyed:
- Vivien’s Rain: My Daughter’s Battle with Epilepsy by Mike Knox
- Gotham Girl Interrupted: My Misadventures in Motherhood, Love, and Epilepsy by Alisa Kennedy Jones
- A Mind Unraveled: A Memoir by Kurt Eichenwald
- Dings by Lance Fogan
- SEIZURE TRIGGERS: Neurotoxins and Epilepsy in Adults and Children – Learn to avoid possible seizures as you read my personal story by Judi Bruns
Thank Those Around You
Rarely do we face Epilepsy alone. Epilepsy Month is a great time to tell family, friends, and caregivers how much you appreciate their support. A simple “thank you” goes a long way.
That’s Our list!
Do you have any others of which we didn’t think? What are some of the other ways you and your family are going to celebrate Epilepsy Month?
Enjoy your Epilepsy Month!
