Epilepsy: improving basic education
For many people living with epilepsy, stigma and exclusion is often part of their reality. Amidst advances in understandings and treatment of epilepsy, the condition is still highly stigmatised in society.
There are immense variations in attitudes towards the disease. For example, whilst it was once believed that a person with epilepsy is possessed by a supernatural being, today, individuals who may have never encountered the disease personally (i.e., through family relations) or otherwise, are not always sure of their personal attitude towards the disease: until they are confronted with it.
A few years ago, on my way home from college, I was at the bus stop waiting for a bus when suddenly a lady collapsed and started to have a fit. Everyone at the bus stop huddled toward the lady. Then suddenly, a lady, who was a nurse, rushed in and administered to the lady fitting on the pavement. Prior to this however, for a split second, none of the onlookers (myself included), did not know what to do. This, I believe, was largely due to fear and ignorance. This raises serious concerns as to the extent to which most of us, particularly those who have never faced such situations, are capable to deal with life threatening circumstance such as epilepsy. It made me wonder what might have become of that lady had she had an epileptic arrest in an isolated place, where there was no one around to help, even if it was by simply calling ‘999’ emergency service.
