SEIZURES, THANKING GOD, AND A RUBIK'S CUBE...

This is one of the most difficult things that any epileptic wants to hear. They will never be able to know what, why, where or when a seizure occurs. The worst thing that any family member, sibling or spouse could do is to get angry at a seizure, and that yelling causes and epileptic to do things so way out of the ordinary that people near you will get hurt as you place yourself in the corner of any room scared at what just happened like a child with arms crossed over their chest and worried about what else may happen.

And it’s never your fault!

Others may blame you for what you just did and continue with the agony put on your head, if you are younger you are probably stronger than the ones who stay with you, day by day - your caretakers. But, others will blame themselves for causing the problem to be worse and those are the ones that you appreciate forever for understanding your situation and they will say “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done this or that to make the seizure possibly worse”. You will feel at blame for your actions and most likely won’t remember what just happened, but others do, so ask them to explain in detail. You will say sorry, always, especially if someone did get hurt trying to keep you safe; and sometimes it can be bad; depending on the level of seizure.

If not we can thank God that the problem you may think you caused didn’t hurt the people around you - The people who watch over you - The people who love you!

You will thank God for things that you should thank God for. That you are alive, the ones you love are not hurt and come home to you every day. I tell my own family and others when they say things like, “Yes, thank God I found my car keys or thank God I found my cell phone”. I say, “Really, is that really what you want to thank God for, not that I’m still here and you're still here, that you woke up from bed this morning, but I can see that that must be very important to you”. And the best part is, nobody ever listens. You put the TV on and the first or last thing you hear in every sentence is Jesus Christ. If you are a religious person as most of you are, you should use his name in prayer or in church, by heart and never use it in vain.  

The Lord, our God was not sent down to us to have His name used in ridiculous ways but as our Savior Who was born and Who died for us. Who watches over us all the days of our lives and Who judges the living and the dead. If this is something that you have forgotten, then I pray for you to remember! I tell people who forgot or never knew themselves that there was one person here on earth who could and did cure the sick and the "demons" which were the epileptics. The deaf, the blind and all else, but the answer I get most sadly is “who?”. “His name was Jesus, have you ever heard of Him before?”.  Every day of my life, when I perform an action like getting up and walking to get a bottle of water or cup of coffee, I hate, but hear almost always, “Jesus Christ, what are you doing?”. And my reaction is always as I stop short, “First of all, I am not Jesus Christ, so stop and secondly, I only wish that I was so that I could stop all of the problems of the world, understand?”.    

This is something you can learn from and to teach others about what is going on in your head all day compared to others. Everybody knows what a Rubik’s Cube is, a 3-D combination puzzle invented in 1974 by a Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Erno Rubik, in which you have to get all six sides of different colors of the square together to an even and clean form, which some people say is an impossible game, but it is not so. There are literally 43 252 003 274 189 856 004 ways of solving the Rubik's Cube, so good luck. Now when you have figured that 3D combination out, compare that to the brain cells in a normal functioning brain. Take the Cube, scramble all the sides of the cube around in your hand to start the game over again and you now have the semi-functioning cells of an epileptic brain smacking into each other causing major problems that you need to figure out ways to control.

A Rubik’s Cube is a good puzzle for epileptics to keep their mind busy, put in control and away from things that trigger seizures from occurring. Once you figure that out you may be able to do things that you hadn’t thought before were possible keeping your mind straight. This is not something that you will hear from a neurologist because we need them for all of their studies and research.

And no neurologist will have any problem with you telling them what you do all day, what keeps you interested and busy. A hobby in life is one of the most important things to have. These are things they want you to do, how they want you to be and that you should be enjoying for a normal lifestyle. These stories are the stories that make them see that what they are doing is working for you too. If you can't share your life stories with them, either good or bad, how can a doctor help with anything that you may need them for!

And for an epileptic, that is alot!      

BECOME YOUR OWN THERAPIST

This is a simple solution that will not involve paying a therapist for therapy that basically does not work. If you choose to see on that’s fine but, is it someone that you can see every day when you choose to get the people you are stuck home with out of your head. And I do mean out of your head! When you come to those days of being tormented by them and cannot find a way keep them from causing you much bigger issues that lead to in the end, death even. You cannot see a therapist whenever you choose to but, Art Therapy may help you even more then anything else.

I hadn’t thought would work either until my wife picked a few up for me, not that I was asking but, am glad now that she did. I always told her that I enjoyed drawing characters of all sorts from comics when I was younger and later in my college years trying to become a architect and got pulled out of school twice, from NYIT. Teachers had liked my drawings and sketches of models very much but, those days are over now and I have other interests in my life for others in need. So anyway, until that gets finalized not as of yet but will, I need to tell you about Art Therapy books. Pictures that others have drawn in black and white of all sorts of figures, comics, shapes and sizes laid out beautifully for you to color and paint if you wish with markers, pencils, artist watercolor pencils that turn your colored drawing into a painting by adding drops of water and spreading the paint around gently that releases the color vibrant when a wet brush is applied. When you are looking down on the paper, studying your artwork, it keeps your head in one place and one place only when being bothered by others screaming and making noise around you, lots of noise and stupidity that is not necessary! Make your own drawings on an easel and sketch paper from an art store if you wish to, whatever keeps your head on straight and in control of your own problems and predicaments. Most of these Art Therapy books though are for adults needing more therapy than a child but, there are therapeutic art books for children as well. some artist pens and pencils can be a bit pricey but, most of them are cheaper and work just as well as the more expensive ones. If you choose to use Crayola crayons, it can become very difficult for you and Crayola markers will dry-out quickly which is why you should use pens and pencils which are much more fine pointed when sharpened well, are much stronger and easier to hold and shaped as not to roll away either. The one brand that keeps me interested in my art work are Faber-Castell Art Set of pens, pencils and markers. A brand from Germany since 1761 and four generations later still being handmade in Germany by the same family manufacturer. Something that I do appreciate in the quality of a product.                     

Second thing that may work for you as well besides putting the television on as the others which is therapeutic is listening to music and reading comics. Music is simple and easy to put on whether it be on the radio in your car, in your home or on any devise you choose to play music off of from your phone, tablet, computer with headphones or without. From your home speakers off of a record player, CD player or any other devise you have in the house that you may enjoy listening from as well as headphones and music during an exercise routine you may have. Playing your music rather load is not a problem either but it may disturb others in your house or home. It is best to be played in your own vicinity, if it is available for you to do so.

Now reading a comic may sound stupid just because most people think that they are. Many comics are not for children to read but for adults as you and me. To read something funny indeed while looking at the pictures drawn on them is simple and joyful, which is why they were made in the first place, are they not. Many movies are made from a comic as well as what makes the most money in a theater from. Many are more serious then stupid which is why I have it on list of things that you can do to become your own therapeutic reader. A DC comic may have the NEW52 logo on the top right on it or a MARVEL comic will have the MARVEL NOW! logo below it. These are the new generation of comics which are mostly more for adults to enjoy. Some of these comics have a Parental Advisory! Not for kids! logo on them and which is very true. The whole world now know who the real DEADPOOL is, and the first character comic ever created by Stan Lee, CAPTAIN AMERICA.

Graphic novels, many by Frank Miller and many others is similar to a comic but, without words, just pictures and drawings. Some are rather long, and some are short but can be more enjoyable for some who would rather look at the artwork then reading the actual novel that it came from.

Third thing that helps, as long as it does not get to out of hand with others like gambling is Card Playing. Playing with family members during the day at home is a good way to pass the time and to keep yourself seated and your mind in one place. It works well as long as nobody gets to into the yelling and angry part of it. Card Playing with your siblings, other family members and even your parents is a great help. If not play solitaire on your own if you must, but not on your phone which leads to seizures almost instantly. My own favorites to play are Poker, Black Jack and Rummy, simple games that becomes quite addicting which is not a bad thing to be addicted too, as long as you can find a partner to play along with. The classic children’s games are Old Maid, Go Fish and War, the simplest of games to play with a 52card deck as seen here. There are literally thousands of games to play from every other country with playing cards of all different types, shapes and sizes, larger ones even to be able to see the card better, if you need the help too.           

And finally back to Meditation as is the last but, most gracious thing that you can do every morning by prayer and picking up a Bible, a Weekday Missal and a Sunday Missal and start reading it day by day, whatever time you choose to. Personally I choose mornings because it just seems the right time for me or anyone suffering from a condition or not to read the Word of God everyday. And who better is it to start of your day with than God and Jesus Christ himself for the first 15minutes of your day. A daily Missal is a true use for meditation, and I have said always that if you cannot bring yourself to church every Sunday because you are afraid that something bad might happen, then bring the faith in God home to you and become your own priest and visitor. This is not condemned by God, nothing is, besides causing sinful actions to yourself or others. You do not have to read the Bible unless you choose too, but the entries in a Missal are taken from the Bible which makes it a rather easy treatment to give to yourself. This though, is recommended to be done alone, so wherever you are or with needs to give you privacy in a room and if not, use the meditation on your own behalf, however it may have to be. Not everyone follows the word of God and that’s okay too, we all make our own decisions in life but, for those who do, it’s a good way to start your day off right! Many digital versions of the Bible are available and most are for free. The King James Version has a KJV Listener's Bible with it as well, with it, since 2007 from the Fellowship for the Performing Arts which is well spoken for those who wish to listen and pay attention. The man speaking sounds a lot like Anthony Hopkins with a strong British voice, especially when speaking as the Lord God! Whoever the speaker actually is, he makes it enjoyable to listen too and fallow.

So in the end there are ways to becoming your own therapist, not to being bothered by others who may drive you crazy all day long from Art Therapy, to music and Adult Comic books, to Graphic Novels and Card Playing and in the end, Meditation. Enjoy!