What is Epilepsy?

I see what you mean about trying to explain it to others who are interested. I think seizures are still a word that people don't really understand either. I guess a better way to ask the question would be: How would you explain it to a 5 yr old? 

Yes, i know there is a lot of stigma around epilepsy, thats why I am trying to find a good way to explain it. A better way to ask the question would be: How would you explain it to a 5 yr old? How would you finish the sentence of "Epilepsy is like when..." Thanks for your help!

I think it depends on who the 5 year old is and the context of why you are having to answer the question in the first place. In general, I would say, epilepsy is what we call it when someone tends to have seizures, but seizures are different for people that have epilepsy. At that point you might say that a person doesn’t have any control over what happens to them because the brain is misfiring when they have a seizure, but the person is usually ok after a couple of minutes and often doesn’t even know that something happened. If they have witnessed a seizure and they are afraid, you might want to talk to them about how to get an adult to help and tell them some basic things about first aid like don’t put anything in the mouth, check what time it is, and so forth. If they themselves have epilepsy, then you can talk about how to begin paying attention to noticing changes in the way that they feel because this may help identify smaller focal seizures that can help them get to a safe place before the bigger ones come or may help their treatment plan by the doctor finding out that they are having more seizures than what are observed by others. Now, I raised a child after I was diagnosed with epilepsy and I never told him when he was 5 years old that I had “epilepsy”. I felt he was too young at that point to understand and I was concerned that it would make him more afraid. I am a psychotherapist. I waited until he was old enough before I even notified my spouse that I was having a seizure in the presence of our child, otherwise I would just get through them on my own. There are some seizures that are unavoidable and that the child will see though, so if that’s the case, then perhaps trying to explain it a little will help, but please keep in mind that there are some things that children don’t understand and it will take repeating and they will understand more as they get older. The important thing is that they know that they don’t have to be afraid and they will get that security from you by other things that you do to help them feel safe in other areas of life.