Highlights from Community Day 2016 and the Wellness Institute

On February 27th, people from California and beyond came together to learn, share, and support each other as we heard about the latest advances in epilepsy treatment and wellness. I was struck by the excitement, passion, and community present throughout the entire day.

Sessions from Community Day can be viewed on epilepsy.com as well as the Epilepsy Foundation YouTube channel. A few highlights I found particularly helpful:

• The impact of epilepsy and the importance of new therapies from the perspective of family members and people with epilepsy who have well controlled seizures and devastating forms of epilepsy
• The promise and potential side effects of new medicines, devices, diagnostic methods, medical cannabis, and surgery.
• Results of long term studies that show thinking, memory, and mood may be affected at time of diagnosis in many children with epilepsy
• The biology of mood disorders and how they can be affected by a number of issues in adults with epilepsy. Since mood is one of the most important things that affects a person’s quality of life, recognizing and treating mood changes is critical – for people with epilepsy, families, and caregivers.

The Epilepsy Foundation’s Wellness Institute was also launched at Community Day. Jim Abrahams, founder of The Charlie Foundation, shared his vision of this partnership with the Epilepsy Foundation to highlight four pillars of wellness: nutrition and dietary therapy, exercise, art therapy, and mental health. Sessions are available that addressed each of these pillars.

• Introduction to the Wellness Initiative
• Healthy Eating and Dietary Therapy
• Art Therapy and Studio E (watch Wellness Institute Part 1)
• Mental Health
• Exercise
  • Exercise Fitness and Epilepsy in Adults
  • Fitness for Families
  • Jenny LaBaw – Athletes vs Epilepsy

Thank you again to everyone who participated in Community Day in person and online! A special thank you and call out to our local Epilepsy Foundations in Northern California and Los Angeles for all their help and support and to our many sponsors and partners.

Best wishes and thanks for an awesome community of friends!