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suicide and seizures

Fri, 05/25/2007 - 22:00
what can you say? can you honestly speak to people about epilepsy? can they understand? i doubt it. and who has not made plans? be honest if you can. talk about the seriousness of these events. They do change your psyche. But how?

Comments

Re: Re: suicide and seizures

Submitted by spaznurse on Sun, 2007-05-27 - 03:21
Marty, I'm so sorry but I have to say this. I am appalled that people who profess to love you would be so callous. No wonder you fell into a depression. I honestly would have likely left them (for my own sanity and self esteem)by now. Did your daughter learn from your wife how to be so self absorbed and cruel to her father?? I'm sure most teens FEEL SOME embarassment around their parents, but to come right out and SAY THIS it to a parent with a disability? along with their mother? Quite tactless and unforgiveable... from an adult in particular. Your wife wins the gold star for cruelty in my book. God Bless. You are obviously a very loving and patient man to stick with them...but I am concerned you are not getting anything in return for the love you give them. I hope they are treating you better these days and YOU are getting the love and support YOU need and DESERVE. Be well and happy. Spaznurse

Re: Re: Re: suicide and seizures

Submitted by xgi on Wed, 2007-05-30 - 13:43
Things are a little better now that I got things under control. This last week was the week from hell as my daughter got hurt then we had family issues then my dog gets hurt. A lot of people get upset with people with sez's I was told even that I brought them on myself and I had ways to control with my mind. YEA RIGHT. Now they handle them a lot better. New med help me alot. Now if only daughter would get a life I can get mine bAcK........MaRtY

Re: Re: suicide and seizures

Submitted by walthowat on Mon, 2007-06-11 - 15:02
It is surprising that more people with seizures do not attempt suicide. For many many reasons. FIrst of which is that studies have shown that almost 40 percent of people with a seizure disorder live with some kind of a chronic depression. Some of this is due to medication. Some to the emotional trauma. But it is realized that depression is often a natural part of the epileptic disorder, much like migraines often accompany a large number of people with seizures. The unusual part is that the symptoms of the depression were often not the classic ones, so it is often harder to diagnose. Another reason for suicide is that several of the meds have "suicide prompting" as a side effect. I have experienced this part first hand so I know it happens. A third factor is that every time we eppies have a major seizure, we die. And we have to fight our way back to life. So .. the fear of death is not that strong. We have experienced it again and again. So you might wonder, why the heck aren't we all taking our lives? Well... that dying and fighting our way back also gives us a very strong appreciation of life. Many of us demand life. You can see it in several weird ways when you get a group of eppies together. They talk their heads off... no seconds of silence. We need sound and speech to prove we are alive. We who have seen death a hundred times have a great love of life. That is why we are not all going off committing suicide, despite the fact thast we have depression yelling in one ear, meds hollering in the other....and often a hopelessness steaming from the grates of life. We still demand life. So we live. WALT.

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