| This audio documentary focuses on issues surrounding, and attitudes towards, epilepsy. The speaker gives accounts of her own experiences with epilepsy - how she initially discovered she had it and what her first seizure was like. A brief history of attitudes to seizures is also outlined. Epilepsy is defined as a disorder of the brain caused by sudden electrical discharges; it is a neurological condition - not a mental illness. Types of seizures are discussed, along with numerous side effects of different types of medication. Figures are given that one in every 130 people in Britain have epilepsy, with around 80 people a day being told they have it.
The main speaker gives her account of her first seizures whilst completing A levels at college and the attitudes of those around her at the time and how she got into a negative living pattern, leaving her job as she was afraid to leave the house at one time. She goes on to describe how she found new friends and a more positive attitude through a local radio course, also gaining a BTEC Diploma.
Details are given of a number of groups and organisations, representatives of which also speak in the documentary, who are contactable for help and advice:
British Epilepsy Association tel. 0808 8005050 or online at http://www.epilepsy.org.uk
National Society for Epilepsy tel. 01494 601400 or online at http://www.epilepsynse.org.uk
Epilepsy Scotland tel. 0808 800 2 200 or online at http://www.epilepsyscotland.org.uk
Brainwave - The Irish Epilepsy Association tel. (01) 455 4133 or online at http://www.epilepsy.ie
Epilepsy Wales - tel. 0845 7413774. This audio programme lasts 19 minutes and 11 seconds. |
