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mood swings temporal lobe epilepsy

Wed, 10/04/2006 - 16:03
Hi, I am new to Epilepsy.com. I am hoping someone could help me. I have left temporal lobe epilepsy, recently diagnosed after 40 some years of diagnostic symptoms. The mood shifts are painful and very troubling to me emotionally, and I have become a terific actress to hide them expecially in social settings. Would any of you be able to tell me what you have done to cope or calm some of these brain lies down? I would so appreciate some suggestions. I'm tired. thanks, Bev

Comments

Re: mood swings temporal lobe epilepsy

Submitted by Bloodyrose on Thu, 2006-10-05 - 18:30
Hi Bev, Sorry to hear things are stressful at the moment. The moods are a pain, aren't they? They drain you when you try and hide them, and they drain you when you let them run free. The best things I have found are methods of reducing stress as much as possible. This seems to calm them somewhat. These range from little things such as grabbing some time to watch a favourite show, or read a book, pamper myself with a soak in a bath, or even some chocolate. The important thing is finding time for YOU to do something you enjoy. Then there are the big things, like a good diet, proper exercise, plenty of rest. And I find that taking charge of certain aspects of my life is incredibly empowering, and leads to reduced stress levels. Things like minimising my exposure to people who tire me out or make me angry, and making time to spend with those who make me happy. Doing something new or learning a new skill can be energising too. I hope you feel better soon.

Re: Re: mood swings temporal lobe epilepsy

Submitted by Mark Janjigian on Fri, 2006-10-06 - 16:21
Music - it works for me. Instrumental, if possible, but if the stuff you love has vocals, treat the voice as another instrument. Don't try to decipher the lyrics into language. Close your eyes - just let a carpet of sound surround you.

Re: Re: Re: mood swings temporal lobe epilepsy

Submitted by skifanatic on Fri, 2006-10-06 - 19:18
Thank you so much, Mark. Instrumental music makes so much sense. I'll try listening when the swings get out of control. I do concentrate on the language of the songs if the music has lyrics. I think I will need to make a list of things that may help, because in the worst of it, I have trouble figuring out what to try. I just bought a cd of Jake Shimabukuro classical (of all things) ukelele. Sincerely, bev

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