My name is Rachel and I just wanted to share my epilepsy story for Brain Ablaze with the hopes that I could help others. I suffer from epilepsy, specifically JME (juvenile myoclonic epilepsy), and was diagnosed at age thirteen. Which for me resulted in loss of consciousness when I’d seize Read more…
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pieces of pottery with gold. It’s a clear metaphor for embracing flaws and accepting imperfections. Don’t panic. This isn’t a sneaky art history seminar (although I encourage you to check out some Kintsugi pieces. It’s stunning.) Kintsugi is part of the wabi-sabi Read more…
Updated Saturday, November 18, 2023. Purple was one of my favorite clothing colors as a child and young teen but not so much as an adult. Purple is the color chosen for Epilepsy Awareness, but I wanted to share purple in ways other than wearing it… Generally, I enjoy cooking Read more…
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 Read more…
Stigma, Noun. A mark of disgrace or infamy: a sign of severe censure or condemnation, regarded as impressed on a person or thing; a ‘brand’. Oxford English Dictionary. In ancient Greece, the verb stizo described tattooing of the skin to mark out those who were the property of others or Read more…
In sharing my story, I hope to help you understand you aren’t alone. I understand you feel like it and the best advice I can share with you is to know it’s a process of accepting your diagnosis and there are so many more resources to help support you today. Read more…
To Chris with Love. Thank you for always being there. “You have epilepsy.” Can you imagine hearing that? Have you heard it yourself or know someone who has? How did you feel when hearing words like these? Were you ready? Speaking from my own experience, I can say it was Read more…
Just when I thought life couldn’t get any harder, I became pregnant with my second child. This was not unplanned, mind you, and I was not upset. My first pregnancy had been very easy – one seizure in nine months, a slight uptick in meds, the labor was long, but Read more…
Having seizures in college and succeeding in college is a big juggling act. There is no doubt in my mind that people with epilepsy can go to college, and more than that, be successful in college. I am a full-time college student at the University of California, Davis, studying English Read more…
Catamenial epilepsy is a condition in which seizures are more likely to occur around the time of menstruation. There are three types of catamenial epilepsy, (C1), that occurs before a period begins, during ovulation (C2), and during the luteal phase, (C3), the time between the ovulation and the next period. Read more…