Introduction
In this blog, I will be discussing the cultural stigma surrounding epilepsy and how people (both those with epilepsy and those without) view the disease. For this month’s spotlight, I will be discussing the cultural stigma surrounding epilepsy and how people (both those with epilepsy and those without) view the disease. Nowadays, most of us will have heard of epilepsy in some form or another; whether it be from a friend, family member or even TV. However, even though people are aware of the condition, they may not actually know much about it; specifically regarding the cultural side.
Hello all!
Hi, I’m Alyssa. I’m a high school student with epilepsy and I’ve been writing this blog for over two years now! I want to share my experiences and insights on living with epilepsy in the hopes that other people will find it helpful or at least interesting.
I’ll be discussing cultural differences between how Japanese and American people view epilepsy. In particular, I’ll be talking about how Japan has a very low incidence rate of new cases of epilepsy compared to America and how there are many stereotypes about having the disease that affect real life situations like getting a job or going through customs at an airport overseas.
In this blog, I will be discussing the cultural stigma surrounding epilepsy and how people (both those with epilepsy and those without) view the disease.
Epilepsy is a neurological condition that can be difficult to live with because of the stigma surrounding it. Epilepsy is defined as a seizure disorder, characterized by the tendency for clusters of seizures (including tonic-clonic, absence, myoclonic and generalized) that are associated with abnormal electrical activity in the brain. A person who has epilepsy will have recurrent seizures (approximately one every two years), which can be caused by abnormalities in their brain chemistry or genetics. In this blog post we will explore cultural stigma surrounding epilepsy and how people view this disease in our society today so that you may better understand how to support yourself or loved ones who may be affected by it.
For this month’s spotlight, I will be discussing the cultural stigma surrounding epilepsy and how people (both those with epilepsy and those without) view the disease.
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by the occurrence of seizures, which can be caused by a number of factors ranging from brain injury to hereditary disorders such as tuberous sclerosis. Cultural stigma refers to the negative attitudes and stereotypes surrounding epilepsy that are perpetuated in mass media and society. The cultural flashlight series is designed to explore how cultural stigma affects people with epilepsy and those without it.
For this month’s spotlight, I will be discussing the cultural stigma surrounding epilepsy and how people (both those with epilepsy and those without) view the disease.
Nowadays, most of us will have heard of epilepsy in some form or another; whether it be from a friend, family member or even TV. However, even though people are aware of the condition, they may not actually know much about it; specifically regarding the cultural side.
Epilepsy is a neurological condition that affects the brain. The most common symptoms are:
- convulsions (jerking movements) or seizures
- loss of consciousness (being unaware)
In order to treat this condition, antiepileptic medications are usually prescribed. In addition to this, people with epilepsy should avoid certain activities and situations that can trigger their seizures. These include:
- bright lights or flashing lights (e.g., strobe lights in nightclubs)
- alcohol or recreational drugs
- tiredness or lack sleep
- sudden changes in temperature
There have been several different studies which have looked into how we perceive epilepsy across different cultures around the world; one example is a study conducted by Bialystok et al., 2015 where it was found that there were significant differences between attitudes towards people with epilepsy between three countries; Canada (English), Australia (English), and Poland (Polish).
Cultural stigmatisation refers to the negative perceptions that society may have of an individual due to their disease. It can be used for many different illnesses and conditions across a wide spectrum of cultures, but for now we’ll concentrate on epilepsy and its impact on our culture.
Epilepsy is a broad term, and the word may refer to many different things. For example, it can be used to describe any abnormal tendency for seizures throughout the brain. Seizures are sudden changes in behavior caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain; this abnormal electrical activity happens because of certain chemicals in your body (known as neurotransmitters) not working properly. Epilepsy is also a common symptom of another condition called Alzheimer’s disease; this means that someone who has Alzheimer’s may have seizures even though they don’t have epilepsy!
There are many different types of epilepsy: partial, generalized, focal and unclassifiable epilepsies are just some examples. Partial epilepsies cause only small areas of your brain to become uncoordinated while generalized epilepsies affect large regions at once with no apparent patterning or order – meaning there could be many different kinds all happening at once! The most common type however is focal epilepsy which causes isolated disturbances within specific regions such as motor cortexes (those responsible for voluntary muscle movements) or sensory cortexes (those responsible for processing sensations).
After being diagnosed with one type
Conclusion
We hope that you have gained a better understanding of what cultural stigmatisation is and how it impacts individuals with epilepsy in our society. If you want to learn more about this topic, then be sure to follow our blog series on it!