Days away from Purple Day, the international day for epilepsy awareness (March 26th) I thought it was fitting to post a video about epilepsy. Epilepsy is my medical issue I don’t hide it, I will talk about it and it came from nowhere we have no family history of epilepsy, so I spent years having semi-regular seizures without getting treatment (communication is not a strong point in my house).
BBC Three has a series called Things Not to Say to…(BBC Three, 2015-2018) one of the videos is Things Not to Say to Someone With Epilepsy (BBC Three, 2017), it is the most accurate videos on the human side of epilepsy, clearing a lot of the misconceptions associated with living with what is a largely hidden condition. Namely, it’s not all dangerous flashing lights and seizures on the ground, it is different for all of us we all have different triggers and show different symptoms. The whole series Things Not to Say to… is good for clearing misconceptions in an approachable manner by the people living with them, answering questions you never knew you had. For a simple medical overview of epilepsy try Things We Don't Know (2015) it is straightforward and a little humous.
How does can libraries help? Accept that it is something in our society and don’t treat suffers as pariahs, be the safe space. If you realise that you don’t know what to do if someone has an epileptic episode in front of you educate yourself or ask for training for yourself and others. If you know of people in your community who are epileptic or feel so inclined host an event for Purple Day in 2019, there are so many ideas online. Libraries are public spaces, community hubs, chances are someone in your community is epileptic. They are normal, their normal, their reality is just a little different to yours.
References
BBC Three. (2015-2018). Things not to say to... [YouTube Playlist]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlOvwlNP2bU&list=PL64ScZt2I7wGxZlXAu0r0UPqpvzF23mgc
BBC Three. (2017, June 20). Things not to say to someone with epilepsy. [YouTube Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNSi3iDJlro
Home. (n.d.). In PurpleDay. from http://www.purpleday.org/index.html
Purple day logo. (n.d.). PurpleDay. [Image File]. Retrieved from http://www.purpleday.org/images/logo.png
Things We Don't Know. (2015, March 10). What is epilepsy? [YouTube Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tjylj7sPaD4
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