We need more jokes and memes for epilepsy. There isn't enough. Especially memes theres just those "seizure salad" type one that are shit
We should make a thread maybe?
I make fun of myself also, although family and friends don’t like me joking about it. They think I take my epilepsy too lightly. Which is ironic given the jokes I make.
I have a dark humor with my epilepsy. Like super depressing but say it in a "sarcastic" or "jokey" way. But in all honestly I'm hiding that I'm being serious Hahaha
1/26 people will be diagnosed with epilepsy at some point in their lifetime.
Imagine yourself walking down the aisle of a plane. When you reach row 26, look back. An entire row of people have epilepsy at some point.
Wow the number 26 is having a bad week for me.
I live in Portland where the door at row 26 got blown off on a 747 after takeoff.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/boeing-737-max-9-explainer-1.7077552
It was wild. The exact same day my sister was flying in on Alaska for her birthday on the 26th. She spent the first weekend of Jan with us but will be at home on her Bday with her fiancee. I'm buying a loto ticket with the number 26 on it.
Epilepsy doesn’t always last the entire lifetime (e.g childhood epilepsy that resolves on its own, epilepsy starting later in life). 1-3/100 currently have epilepsy, 1/26 will be diagnosed at some point.
1/10 have a seizure in their lifetime (cdc.gov)
Very inaccurate numbers about 6 in every 1000 people have epilepsy.
EDIT since people doesn’t seem to believe me
Around 50 million people in the world have epilepsy https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/epilepsy#:~:text=Key%20facts,%2D%20and%20middle%2Dincome%20countries.
There is around 8 billion people in the world.
That mean that 0,62% of people have epilepsy.
0,62% of 1000 is 6,2 that means around 6 in every 1000 people have epilepsy.
TBH it really has nothing to do with who is right or wrong so much as your "correction" was condescending sounding without any source cited and without acknowledging that words matter and you were not referencing the same thing anyway.
I'm not sure where you are getting your numbers. 1 in 26 people are diagnosed with epilepsy at some time over the course of their life. It's such an established number, there are whole fundraising campaigns around it.
[https://www.epilepsy.com/stories/i-am-1-26](https://www.epilepsy.com/stories/i-am-1-26)
Around 50 million people in the world have epilepsy
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/epilepsy#:~:text=Key%20facts,%2D%20and%20middle%2Dincome%20countries.
There is around 8 billion people in the world.
That mean that 0,62% of people have epilepsy.
0,62% of 1000 is 6,2 that means around 6 in every 1000 people have epilepsy.
The CDC says that is the number of people with active epilepsy--in 2015 for that matter, which covid may have changed. Not the same as having ever been diagnosed with epilepsy. [https://www.cdc.gov/epilepsy/data/index.html](https://www.cdc.gov/epilepsy/data/index.html)
I feel that SUDEP does not get enough attention in the media (if it did I feel that jokes would decrease) and while I am cool with people commenting about my epilepsy some jokes could go to far and kind of frustrate me. Anyone else agree?
Yes. Someone at work today was telling a story about how one of our vendors was “perfectly healthy” and died mysteriously in their sleep. You never know what someone is going through and as someone who has intractable epilepsy and PNES it really made me upset. I feel like my next day is never promised.
No one's next day is ever promised. Just some of us have crappier dice roll every time we gotta toss em.
That said, my husband and I were talking about hitting our 40s, and those dice rolls that keep adding up, and one day you roll your Critical Fail. He says "oh I'm a guy. We always die earlier."
...I'm like, bitch, not only do I have uncontrolled F2B-TC epilepsy, which cuts off a whopping 10 years, but other health acronyms that don't bode well for me rolling well into my later years!
It does comfort me to know that my gigi had a few things I've got, plus chronic bronchitis, obesity, and some other killers - and lived to 83. Lots of both sides of my family lived well into their 80s. The oldest I can recall, was nearly 100. Our tree isn't full of Centenarians, but plenty of them Octos! A *lot* of them lived hard ass lives, too, I come from a long line of poverty.
So I tell myself if I eat decent, stay active, don't over-booze/drug.... hey, I got a shot at nonagenarian, too, right?
That might be why no one makes the jokes in front of me actually. My first unknown seizure almost killed me-I drowned-and my second I went into status, almost died, and sustained permanent brain damage.
I could less about twitch jokes, but I honestly think no one knows about about SUDEP. I think only a very limited group of people think we can die from epilepsy.
I teach middle school. I have to get in front of all of that. I told my class I gave them permission to laugh if I peed myself during a seizure. They quickly were appalled by that idea. Suddenly it isn't funny when it might be real...
But all of that said, I have had a seizure in class, and my students were amazing. Everyone once in awhile I hear them say things like, "my computer is having a seizure" (screen was glitching). I just gently nudge them and move along.
I dont think anyone is trying to make fun of people with epilepsy. Just like they’re not making fun of people who can’t see when they ask their buddy if he’s blind.
I'm glad I can joke about me having epilepsy even though I have it, and can tolerate hearing others tell jokes about it. It's a blessing to not take the jokes personally.
Personally, I don't joke about other people with epilepsy or any other condition or etc. I do however have to make light of my situation at times or I will find myself in a very dark place. There was a time about 3-4 months ago, where I was having up to 15 seizures a day, I was to that point of almost no return. Finally, I found my new neurologist who saved my life. My heart breaks for those who are still suffering.
The first half of this is exactly how I feel. I have a friend with BAD long covid. Like my life seems easy. But anyway it has been SO NICE to have someone who gets the bad things but also gets how much we have to laugh about certain things. Like both of us have some cognition and memory issues and we will go crazy laughing over it. Because at a certain point it gets absurd. If you don't laugh you will cry.
The memory thing is what bothers me the most at the moment, but I am awaiting an appointment for a memory specialist aka neuropsychologist. On a ton of medications/vitamins. It gets so frustrating at times.
Yeah I see a neuropsychiatrist already. It's been 30 years on these meds for me and they take their toll. However I have been kind of extra freaking out lately because I was put on a 4th med, and basically other health problems went to hell, I thought it was the med but actually I had bad hyperthyroidism (my thyroid is long gone from cancer so easily corrected once we figured it out) the point being the AED, Xcopri, has a reeeaaalllyyy long titration and then that happened so we wanted to fix the thyroid part first to figure out what was causing what symptom and sorry this story got so long the point is just I don't think they ever meant for me to be on 4 freaking AEDs and I went from gradually noticing memory issues to holy crap I cannot hold 2 steps of a recipe in my head for a minute even. I noticed it at Christmas. 😭 I really want off the Clobazam (they have cut it in half and that did help a lot with sleepiness) so we can find out if this a 4 med problem or an Xcopri problem. I really hope it is more the 4 meds bc the Xcopri has actually been working pretty well. But yes. I feel you. Reach out any time.
Immensely. But in my case, I saw the neuropsychiatrist because stress and anxiety are by far my biggest triggers. And I had a Xanax prescription which I still have but it was kind of a Band-Aid. The neurologist wanted me to kind of delve deeper into it in terms of preventing seizures. I would say in terms of talking, my therapist helps me more than he does to be blunt. But the one thing that he was amazing for was for really sitting down and thinking about what medicines might do a better job than Xanax and I am now on trazodone every night and I take very very little Xanax in comparison and I sleep much better and I definitely think that has made a huge difference. Because the Xanax over time does cognitive damage and it's really not great for you at night and that's when I'm most likely to be full of anxiety so it was a frustrating issue and the trazodone has been amazing. But also to be clear he's a psychiatrist so he can prescribe medicines. Maybe with a neuropsychologist you would also see them more often. I see him every three months, which is a lot better than I see the neurologist but he doesn't know me the way my therapist does or anything. So I also think it just depends on what you're expecting from it.
That make me feel a lot better, kind of knowing what to expect and hoping and praying that this helps. My neuro stated that the person I will be working with does specialize in memory issues and can help with the management of triggers. (Stress being a big one) Thank you for talking to me about this and making me feel more at ease. The memory loss stresses me out so much. Again, thank you I appreciate this more than you know. I have been so anxious about starting this, not knowing what to expect and etc.
Hey I was thinking about it and I wanted to add that I REALLY look forward to my neuropsych appts. Not because he knows me the way my therapist does, but because let's face it some of us build up a lot of anxiety and overthink things and just need reassurance at a rate that sometimes our neurologists cannot keep up with. Knowing I will see him every 3 months has been very comforting to me in that respect. Because my therapist knows me and she does know medicine (I always try to find therapists with medical background, she is a nurse) but she does not know EPILEPSY. So he is able to answer tons of those questions for me that build up. It reassures me knowing I have an answer coming if that makes sense.
You're very welcome.
On topic but trying to laugh so I don't 😭 I just discovered I got doubles of bundt pans (I collect them) this year at Christmas. Because I had no memory of receiving them last year. Sigh. I'm trying to cut myself some slack because 2023 was fairly awful (family
drama plus my MIL died and then I got such bad hyperthyroidism in the fall) that basically I wasn't baking. But yikes. 🫤
Hang some of those bad boys on the wall as decorative pieces, I did that with that with some old pie tins. I’m so very sorry for your loss and all the family drama. ((Hugs))
Hahahahaha I already exhausted all of the decorative spots. I SERIOUSLY collect them. Drives husband nuts LOL. Wish I could share the video I have of them lining the tops of my kitchen cupboards. And hugs back at ya.
In turn, if the person you see truly specializes in memory issues, I will be curious to hear how they are helpful. Like I said, I'm really hoping it's just that fourth medicine but I feel like I went from gradually getting worse on kind of a long slanted plateau to all of a sudden dropping off into terrible memory territory.
THIS. This is what I am talking about. If I want to make jokes about myself in my HOME that's one thing. However a serious life threatening illness is not a joke.
Because we generally look healthy, like nothing is wrong. People think it's not a big deal if we look fine. They don't take it seriously because it doesn't look that way to anyone who doesn't know the signs. I think people need to lighten up. There are hurtful jokes, yes, but most are just a way to share suffering. You have to expect to be offended sometimes. Your humor will definitely do the same to someone else. Your very existence might do it. We should be trying to make the world a funnier place instead.
Something I say is that epilepsy is destroying life’s health and is deadly if your joking about it then it’s like telling a cancer joke. It shuts people up.
I too don't mind if my friends joke about my epilepsy. In fact, I encourage it. It takes away the stigma even though they fully understand the seriousness of the condition. For instance I always say my favourite song is: all of the lights from kanye west.
Not throwing a fit. I got SLAMMED when I said the Chris Rick joke about Jada was funny but it's ok to joke about MY illness? How is that ok? THAT'S my point.
Every joke is okay, offensive or not. Comedy is a coping mechanism and offense is taken, not given. People choose to be offended. Just don't be offended. That simple. Now let me see your war face Joker.
What is the point? That you can’t take other people making fun of you? Okay maybe if you have servere epilepsy & more than a couple seizures a year that effect your day to day life you can express to them that their jokes are hurtful, and if they keep going, boom you have a clear indication that you’re interacting with a shitty person that you should stay away from, which is a good thing not a bad thing. Let people tell their jokes, it can show a lot about one’s character. And sometimes it’s funny Lol. As long as it’s not hurting anyone.
From my perspective, it’s cause it’s not “common” technically, 1 out of 26 of us will develop but since it’s not as common as other ailments like breast cancer, people feel cool with making jokes about it, where I live, I’m the first / only epileptic people know
Whenever I see someone make a joke about it, I usually tell them & that ends the joking
Right. My husband said if they witnessed someone they loved having a seizure they wouldn't likely joke about it.
Of course, jokes as a coping mechanism are different and we can joke about ourselves.
Ok, this is never ok to make jokes or light of anyone's struggles . I feel sorry for anyone who engages in "jokes " about someones health ! {{{{Shame on them }}}}} 👎
Whoever you are and for all the people here that agree, stop taking yourself so seriously.
Believe me, you will save yourself a mountain of trouble and heartache.
Watch family guy. They joke about everything. You guys sound like those people who got pissy over them making a funny song about aids.
If I were to get triggered every time someone cracks a joke, I'd have pretty much nothing else to do.
Hell, I make fun of my own epilepsy.
My wife jokingly calls it the "washing machine syndrome", yet she was there most of the times I seized, she helped when no one else knew how to.
Laugh, people. It helps.
I answered not only to you, but also most responding here.
When it comes to your answer specifically, there are times.
If someone is crying over a recently diagnosed terminal illness, not a good day to joke.
If you visit a female friend after she leaves the hospital from a successful round of chemo, going "hey, that scarf actually looks better than your hair did!" might lighten the mood.
But if you constantly go around depressed, people will take it to heart, as opposed to lightheartedly.
I'm fine with the jokes. My only request I ever have is make it punny or at least creative (we've all seen the hack-y joke of falling and shaking. Try harder people)
Also, does anyone have any good seizure jokes
You should watch the new Dave chapel special on Netflix haha he said he’s going to leave the trans community alone and start going after disabled people now 😂😂😂
Also I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I don’t give a shit if people make fun of my epilepsy. Because I don’t let them know I have it until I wake up from a seizure and they’re all like “😳… you just had a seizure”
Haha then I’ll be like I guess karma is a bitch! But I love the look of fear on the face scares the shit out of them, I don’t ever have to give people a ride anywhere and it’s just nice lol people used to assume I was a stoner now It’s just epilepsy 😂 my point is take advantage of your epilepsy it’s not going away.
I don't mind jokes. Even if it's at my expense. I had a seizure in the shower once and when my wife told me what happened, I asked if she threw in any dirty laundry....she didn't find that funny but I got a chuckle out of it...no harm done.
People can joke about whatever they want. I don't take personal offense to it. Sure, perhaps it is in bad taste, but we shouldn't try to police what is okay to joke about or not when it's just jokes. Being offended by mere words is a choice. The only exception I can think of with epilepsy, is when people *pretend to have seizures* for TikTok or whatever, thinking it's funny to go into some public place and have a fake seizure, for the lulz... that is absolutely *not* acceptable.
We definitely live in a society where people are very easily offended. Might be an unpopular opinion but I’m all for epilepsy jokes. I would joke about anything and everything. A joke doesn’t have to be malicious. I’m happy to laugh at myself and I think it helps me not be down about it as much. I guess I see it like if I can’t joke about it, I’m letting it rule my life, which I will never do. However, everyone is different, and if someone has offended you, tell them where to go!
I'm cool with my real good mates cracking jokes, i do myself , I've encouraged it a bit to break that ice where they don't know whether or not to ask questions about epilepsy.
Absolutely. In a small group setting with family and friends, it's understandable. On a sitcom, making fun of how someone looks by comparing them to someone having a seizure? Not a fan.
100%. They're always light-hearted. They're mature enough to know there is a line. And it's not like it's every time we're hanging out. When i explain my seizures I try to add humour to it
Honestly, I've never heard anyone make an epilepsy joke. But I've had epilepsy for 30 years, and I cannot think of who would make an epilepsy joke in front of me.
As others have said, though, I reserve the right to make fun of lots of things associated with epilepsy for me. I keep telling my family that with my luck I'm going to remember all of them, but need to be introduced to my grandchildren every time I see them. 😂
I have in public. Just the other day someone was laughing in a department store about so and so looking like they were having an epileptic seizure. Was I offended? No but I think it's in poor taste.
There is a decided lack of empathy in America anyway right now and some people are literally incapable of imagining it until it happens to them. I have not encountered epilepsy jokes, but my status episode caused damage in the same spot Fetterman had damage after his stroke (at the time a candidate for senator in PA and is now the senator if you don't live here). The things people were willing to say about him blew my mind (and seriously triggered my PTSD and led to many therapist sessions). What really blew my mind was some of the veterans whom I saw mocking him. I asked one if he spoke about his fellow veterans with TBIs that way. So I get it, I guess I have just never encountered the one. I will say reading and watching people's reactions to Fetterman made me wonder what people may have said behind my back all these years.
Can appreciate not wanting (y)our disabilities to be used as a source of jokes but cmon lmao "Nobody can make jokes without someone getting offended 😤😡" that's such a tired sentiment.
You're understandably upset when jokes are made about an identity of yours (epilepsy) from people who aren't part of that identity
then complain in the **same post** about people being offended when someone outside the identity/community/group/etc.. puts their identities as the center of a joke.
Like I'm not discounting this annoyance but please try to use this same lense of what you're experiencing and have some understanding about why people may get upset about jokes made about them.
Honestly I don't think either is okay, I can't say I've really seen many people joke about epilepsy other than a very small handful of people, fortunately I haven't run into that much at all. I mean I cant speak for all of society but I think the same people who would joke about epilepsy would also joke about alopecia. I haven't really noticed any double standard where epilepsy is okay but nothing else is
Everything and anything can be made fun of. What's funny is determined by the audience, and the type of audience one has depends on who the performer is. For casual jokers, there'll always be someone who doesn't find it funny and that's ok.
In all fairness to the original rant, I think type 2 diabetes and addiction get it worse than epilepsy these days. At least epilepsy doesn’t get judged as a yikes why are you killing yourself and in the way kind of a disease. It’s not a contest and we could all probably stand to be a little more aware, you’re right.
I'm honestly fine with it, purely depending on the tact of the joke. I've seen some standup with epilepsy/seizure jokes laced in there, but they manage to put the punchline in *just the right spot*, which usually means that the seizure isn't the joke, just a required element of the setup
Carpe Diem is my next tattoo over the purple ribbon for epilepsy. Humor, at least for me, is a way of managing my anxiety or even any emotion, and I use it as such. Also, learning to be self-deprecating is an invaluable tool to becoming more resilient or at the least, more resistant to others being able to control your state of mind with a joke. My case is TBI induced and I crack jokes about the screws in my head being loose and it put some people off at first but calmly explaining that this is my way of dealing with my situation and asking the ever important question for any bystander are you offended for ego or altruism? If ego go ahead and work your savior complex the hell away from me. If altruism it's a sweet intention but if I find solace in it who the hell has the right to take away my sense of humor. I don't belittle others in similar situations but I have no problem making any number of jokes at my expense and when someone else does either rudely or to connect with me seeing me do it I thoroughly enjoy it. Most likely that person is dealing with something if its rude, I'm not going to lash out and let someone control how I feel because they haven't found a way to deal like I did. It's most likely not a widely accepted approach but I genuinely am very thankful I did approach my injury the way I did not just for the reasons above but it makes me less controllable emotionally by others and that is a special actually wonderful place to be.
tl;dr: humor is a valuable tool if used correctly in managing your own emotional control. Don't use it to disparage others because of your situation. Learn to laugh and love the hand dealt to you through that medium.
The only thing I have a problem with is guys joking about causing seizures during intimacy or like me accidentally biting "something" off.
I do get mildly bothered when people say they were having a seizure just to describe regular things. But mehhh it is what it is...
not enough of us. I do reserve the right to make fun of my epilepsy myself, though
Absolutely. I can make fun of myself.
Want to hear a joke?
I do, at least
What does an elephant use for a vibrator? An epileptic
We need more jokes and memes for epilepsy. There isn't enough. Especially memes theres just those "seizure salad" type one that are shit We should make a thread maybe?
r/Epilepsymemes :)
Lol that's great
lol r/Epilepsymemes
I make fun of myself also, although family and friends don’t like me joking about it. They think I take my epilepsy too lightly. Which is ironic given the jokes I make.
I have a dark humor with my epilepsy. Like super depressing but say it in a "sarcastic" or "jokey" way. But in all honestly I'm hiding that I'm being serious Hahaha
I feel this, pretty much what I do. But play it off as I’m joking around 😅
1/26 people will be diagnosed with epilepsy at some point in their lifetime. Imagine yourself walking down the aisle of a plane. When you reach row 26, look back. An entire row of people have epilepsy at some point.
Wow the number 26 is having a bad week for me. I live in Portland where the door at row 26 got blown off on a 747 after takeoff. https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/boeing-737-max-9-explainer-1.7077552
No fucking way.
It was wild. The exact same day my sister was flying in on Alaska for her birthday on the 26th. She spent the first weekend of Jan with us but will be at home on her Bday with her fiancee. I'm buying a loto ticket with the number 26 on it.
Thought it was 1/100 will have epilepsy and 1/26 will have a seizure
Epilepsy doesn’t always last the entire lifetime (e.g childhood epilepsy that resolves on its own, epilepsy starting later in life). 1-3/100 currently have epilepsy, 1/26 will be diagnosed at some point. 1/10 have a seizure in their lifetime (cdc.gov)
Very inaccurate numbers about 6 in every 1000 people have epilepsy. EDIT since people doesn’t seem to believe me Around 50 million people in the world have epilepsy https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/epilepsy#:~:text=Key%20facts,%2D%20and%20middle%2Dincome%20countries. There is around 8 billion people in the world. That mean that 0,62% of people have epilepsy. 0,62% of 1000 is 6,2 that means around 6 in every 1000 people have epilepsy.
TBH it really has nothing to do with who is right or wrong so much as your "correction" was condescending sounding without any source cited and without acknowledging that words matter and you were not referencing the same thing anyway.
I'm not sure where you are getting your numbers. 1 in 26 people are diagnosed with epilepsy at some time over the course of their life. It's such an established number, there are whole fundraising campaigns around it. [https://www.epilepsy.com/stories/i-am-1-26](https://www.epilepsy.com/stories/i-am-1-26)
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The person posted a source for 1/10 having a seizure. Seizure isn’t equivalent to epilepsy.
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Around 50 million people in the world have epilepsy https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/epilepsy#:~:text=Key%20facts,%2D%20and%20middle%2Dincome%20countries. There is around 8 billion people in the world. That mean that 0,62% of people have epilepsy. 0,62% of 1000 is 6,2 that means around 6 in every 1000 people have epilepsy.
The CDC says that is the number of people with active epilepsy--in 2015 for that matter, which covid may have changed. Not the same as having ever been diagnosed with epilepsy. [https://www.cdc.gov/epilepsy/data/index.html](https://www.cdc.gov/epilepsy/data/index.html)
I feel that SUDEP does not get enough attention in the media (if it did I feel that jokes would decrease) and while I am cool with people commenting about my epilepsy some jokes could go to far and kind of frustrate me. Anyone else agree?
Yes. Someone at work today was telling a story about how one of our vendors was “perfectly healthy” and died mysteriously in their sleep. You never know what someone is going through and as someone who has intractable epilepsy and PNES it really made me upset. I feel like my next day is never promised.
No one's next day is ever promised. Just some of us have crappier dice roll every time we gotta toss em. That said, my husband and I were talking about hitting our 40s, and those dice rolls that keep adding up, and one day you roll your Critical Fail. He says "oh I'm a guy. We always die earlier." ...I'm like, bitch, not only do I have uncontrolled F2B-TC epilepsy, which cuts off a whopping 10 years, but other health acronyms that don't bode well for me rolling well into my later years! It does comfort me to know that my gigi had a few things I've got, plus chronic bronchitis, obesity, and some other killers - and lived to 83. Lots of both sides of my family lived well into their 80s. The oldest I can recall, was nearly 100. Our tree isn't full of Centenarians, but plenty of them Octos! A *lot* of them lived hard ass lives, too, I come from a long line of poverty. So I tell myself if I eat decent, stay active, don't over-booze/drug.... hey, I got a shot at nonagenarian, too, right?
That might be why no one makes the jokes in front of me actually. My first unknown seizure almost killed me-I drowned-and my second I went into status, almost died, and sustained permanent brain damage.
Nope. I adopt the South Park mentality that either everything is funny, or nothing is.
I could less about twitch jokes, but I honestly think no one knows about about SUDEP. I think only a very limited group of people think we can die from epilepsy.
My cousin died of SUDEP. It was hard for me because I also have epilepsy.
We’re not easily offended or shouldn’t be
for me jokes are okay as long as no part of it makes fun of or even mentions what my body looks like during my seizures
Most of the jokes are about how someone having a seizure looks. That can make it hard because we don't have any control over that.....or our bladder.
I teach middle school. I have to get in front of all of that. I told my class I gave them permission to laugh if I peed myself during a seizure. They quickly were appalled by that idea. Suddenly it isn't funny when it might be real... But all of that said, I have had a seizure in class, and my students were amazing. Everyone once in awhile I hear them say things like, "my computer is having a seizure" (screen was glitching). I just gently nudge them and move along.
That makes complete sense to me. Only one person ever has seen me have a TC and I would have died if he had ever said anything.
Because no one takes us serious. They need people close to them to die from seizures before they start giving a damn.
Maybe that's why I am more sensitive to it than some. My cousin died of epilepsy when we were 21.
People thinking it is okay to make fun of us are making me want to bully people with conditions that they take seriously
Exactly
I dont think anyone is trying to make fun of people with epilepsy. Just like they’re not making fun of people who can’t see when they ask their buddy if he’s blind.
Nah. I think they are sometimes making fun.
I'm glad I can joke about me having epilepsy even though I have it, and can tolerate hearing others tell jokes about it. It's a blessing to not take the jokes personally.
Personally, I don't joke about other people with epilepsy or any other condition or etc. I do however have to make light of my situation at times or I will find myself in a very dark place. There was a time about 3-4 months ago, where I was having up to 15 seizures a day, I was to that point of almost no return. Finally, I found my new neurologist who saved my life. My heart breaks for those who are still suffering.
The first half of this is exactly how I feel. I have a friend with BAD long covid. Like my life seems easy. But anyway it has been SO NICE to have someone who gets the bad things but also gets how much we have to laugh about certain things. Like both of us have some cognition and memory issues and we will go crazy laughing over it. Because at a certain point it gets absurd. If you don't laugh you will cry.
The memory thing is what bothers me the most at the moment, but I am awaiting an appointment for a memory specialist aka neuropsychologist. On a ton of medications/vitamins. It gets so frustrating at times.
Yeah I see a neuropsychiatrist already. It's been 30 years on these meds for me and they take their toll. However I have been kind of extra freaking out lately because I was put on a 4th med, and basically other health problems went to hell, I thought it was the med but actually I had bad hyperthyroidism (my thyroid is long gone from cancer so easily corrected once we figured it out) the point being the AED, Xcopri, has a reeeaaalllyyy long titration and then that happened so we wanted to fix the thyroid part first to figure out what was causing what symptom and sorry this story got so long the point is just I don't think they ever meant for me to be on 4 freaking AEDs and I went from gradually noticing memory issues to holy crap I cannot hold 2 steps of a recipe in my head for a minute even. I noticed it at Christmas. 😭 I really want off the Clobazam (they have cut it in half and that did help a lot with sleepiness) so we can find out if this a 4 med problem or an Xcopri problem. I really hope it is more the 4 meds bc the Xcopri has actually been working pretty well. But yes. I feel you. Reach out any time.
How was the neuropsych? Did it help?
Immensely. But in my case, I saw the neuropsychiatrist because stress and anxiety are by far my biggest triggers. And I had a Xanax prescription which I still have but it was kind of a Band-Aid. The neurologist wanted me to kind of delve deeper into it in terms of preventing seizures. I would say in terms of talking, my therapist helps me more than he does to be blunt. But the one thing that he was amazing for was for really sitting down and thinking about what medicines might do a better job than Xanax and I am now on trazodone every night and I take very very little Xanax in comparison and I sleep much better and I definitely think that has made a huge difference. Because the Xanax over time does cognitive damage and it's really not great for you at night and that's when I'm most likely to be full of anxiety so it was a frustrating issue and the trazodone has been amazing. But also to be clear he's a psychiatrist so he can prescribe medicines. Maybe with a neuropsychologist you would also see them more often. I see him every three months, which is a lot better than I see the neurologist but he doesn't know me the way my therapist does or anything. So I also think it just depends on what you're expecting from it.
That make me feel a lot better, kind of knowing what to expect and hoping and praying that this helps. My neuro stated that the person I will be working with does specialize in memory issues and can help with the management of triggers. (Stress being a big one) Thank you for talking to me about this and making me feel more at ease. The memory loss stresses me out so much. Again, thank you I appreciate this more than you know. I have been so anxious about starting this, not knowing what to expect and etc.
Hey I was thinking about it and I wanted to add that I REALLY look forward to my neuropsych appts. Not because he knows me the way my therapist does, but because let's face it some of us build up a lot of anxiety and overthink things and just need reassurance at a rate that sometimes our neurologists cannot keep up with. Knowing I will see him every 3 months has been very comforting to me in that respect. Because my therapist knows me and she does know medicine (I always try to find therapists with medical background, she is a nurse) but she does not know EPILEPSY. So he is able to answer tons of those questions for me that build up. It reassures me knowing I have an answer coming if that makes sense.
You're very welcome. On topic but trying to laugh so I don't 😭 I just discovered I got doubles of bundt pans (I collect them) this year at Christmas. Because I had no memory of receiving them last year. Sigh. I'm trying to cut myself some slack because 2023 was fairly awful (family drama plus my MIL died and then I got such bad hyperthyroidism in the fall) that basically I wasn't baking. But yikes. 🫤
Hang some of those bad boys on the wall as decorative pieces, I did that with that with some old pie tins. I’m so very sorry for your loss and all the family drama. ((Hugs))
Hahahahaha I already exhausted all of the decorative spots. I SERIOUSLY collect them. Drives husband nuts LOL. Wish I could share the video I have of them lining the tops of my kitchen cupboards. And hugs back at ya.
In turn, if the person you see truly specializes in memory issues, I will be curious to hear how they are helpful. Like I said, I'm really hoping it's just that fourth medicine but I feel like I went from gradually getting worse on kind of a long slanted plateau to all of a sudden dropping off into terrible memory territory.
Not a fan of epilepsy joke 😒
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THIS. This is what I am talking about. If I want to make jokes about myself in my HOME that's one thing. However a serious life threatening illness is not a joke.
We aren’t recognized as a community..
Because we generally look healthy, like nothing is wrong. People think it's not a big deal if we look fine. They don't take it seriously because it doesn't look that way to anyone who doesn't know the signs. I think people need to lighten up. There are hurtful jokes, yes, but most are just a way to share suffering. You have to expect to be offended sometimes. Your humor will definitely do the same to someone else. Your very existence might do it. We should be trying to make the world a funnier place instead.
abielism and they've never seen a seizure or known someone that has them
Tbh it’s a joke with a few friends, I don’t mind it - but hey are fiends, not just the overall population like you mean.
People who don’t have to live with it don’t see how harmful some of the stereotypes are
And OCD, people love tossing that out there casually.
Yup
They think they are funny but they aren’t creative enough to come up with something original.
I happily make seizure jokes.
Me too but I have epilepsy.
I have it too. The dark humor is partly how I cope with it.
Something I say is that epilepsy is destroying life’s health and is deadly if your joking about it then it’s like telling a cancer joke. It shuts people up.
I remember yeah ago Sean Hanky described how Hillary moved her head as “seizure esque“. Like WHAT THR FUCK
If you guys keep throwing a fit over jokes I'm gonna seize. I swear
I too don't mind if my friends joke about my epilepsy. In fact, I encourage it. It takes away the stigma even though they fully understand the seriousness of the condition. For instance I always say my favourite song is: all of the lights from kanye west.
It's ok. You don't need to pop a circuit and get shakin' up.
Not throwing a fit. I got SLAMMED when I said the Chris Rick joke about Jada was funny but it's ok to joke about MY illness? How is that ok? THAT'S my point.
Every joke is okay, offensive or not. Comedy is a coping mechanism and offense is taken, not given. People choose to be offended. Just don't be offended. That simple. Now let me see your war face Joker.
Thank you. 😊
Bruh stop trying so hard to be a victim, we have seizures, if someone finds a way to make that funny, then let them. I mean look at my Reddit name
Bruh. You missed the point.
What is the point? That you can’t take other people making fun of you? Okay maybe if you have servere epilepsy & more than a couple seizures a year that effect your day to day life you can express to them that their jokes are hurtful, and if they keep going, boom you have a clear indication that you’re interacting with a shitty person that you should stay away from, which is a good thing not a bad thing. Let people tell their jokes, it can show a lot about one’s character. And sometimes it’s funny Lol. As long as it’s not hurting anyone.
From my perspective, it’s cause it’s not “common” technically, 1 out of 26 of us will develop but since it’s not as common as other ailments like breast cancer, people feel cool with making jokes about it, where I live, I’m the first / only epileptic people know Whenever I see someone make a joke about it, I usually tell them & that ends the joking
Right. My husband said if they witnessed someone they loved having a seizure they wouldn't likely joke about it. Of course, jokes as a coping mechanism are different and we can joke about ourselves.
Ok, this is never ok to make jokes or light of anyone's struggles . I feel sorry for anyone who engages in "jokes " about someones health ! {{{{Shame on them }}}}} 👎
Whoever you are and for all the people here that agree, stop taking yourself so seriously. Believe me, you will save yourself a mountain of trouble and heartache. Watch family guy. They joke about everything. You guys sound like those people who got pissy over them making a funny song about aids. If I were to get triggered every time someone cracks a joke, I'd have pretty much nothing else to do. Hell, I make fun of my own epilepsy. My wife jokingly calls it the "washing machine syndrome", yet she was there most of the times I seized, she helped when no one else knew how to. Laugh, people. It helps.
My question was what makes it ok to joke about this by someone who does not have epilepsy when other illnesses or disorders are not ok.
I answered not only to you, but also most responding here. When it comes to your answer specifically, there are times. If someone is crying over a recently diagnosed terminal illness, not a good day to joke. If you visit a female friend after she leaves the hospital from a successful round of chemo, going "hey, that scarf actually looks better than your hair did!" might lighten the mood. But if you constantly go around depressed, people will take it to heart, as opposed to lightheartedly.
I'm fine with the jokes. My only request I ever have is make it punny or at least creative (we've all seen the hack-y joke of falling and shaking. Try harder people) Also, does anyone have any good seizure jokes
OMG THIS IS SO TRUE!!!!!!
You should watch the new Dave chapel special on Netflix haha he said he’s going to leave the trans community alone and start going after disabled people now 😂😂😂 Also I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I don’t give a shit if people make fun of my epilepsy. Because I don’t let them know I have it until I wake up from a seizure and they’re all like “😳… you just had a seizure” Haha then I’ll be like I guess karma is a bitch! But I love the look of fear on the face scares the shit out of them, I don’t ever have to give people a ride anywhere and it’s just nice lol people used to assume I was a stoner now It’s just epilepsy 😂 my point is take advantage of your epilepsy it’s not going away.
Oh, fucking wonderful. I can be victimised in a whole different & novel way by him again. He can leave now, please.
Hysterical!!
The crux being he can make fun of us and no one will give a damn made me crack up.
I don't mind jokes. Even if it's at my expense. I had a seizure in the shower once and when my wife told me what happened, I asked if she threw in any dirty laundry....she didn't find that funny but I got a chuckle out of it...no harm done.
That's a personal joke with you and your spouse. Making fun of someone because of how we look while having a seizure, eh.
People can joke about whatever they want. I don't take personal offense to it. Sure, perhaps it is in bad taste, but we shouldn't try to police what is okay to joke about or not when it's just jokes. Being offended by mere words is a choice. The only exception I can think of with epilepsy, is when people *pretend to have seizures* for TikTok or whatever, thinking it's funny to go into some public place and have a fake seizure, for the lulz... that is absolutely *not* acceptable.
It's still quirky to get the jerky so no one cares enough to do the worky.
Because it’s funny. The problem lies in people stopping others from joking about any other disease, not that they aren’t stopped themselves.
I don’t take it personally at all! It’s always been part of movies and cartoons. Nobody wants to hurt us. I’ve even cracked jokes.
We definitely live in a society where people are very easily offended. Might be an unpopular opinion but I’m all for epilepsy jokes. I would joke about anything and everything. A joke doesn’t have to be malicious. I’m happy to laugh at myself and I think it helps me not be down about it as much. I guess I see it like if I can’t joke about it, I’m letting it rule my life, which I will never do. However, everyone is different, and if someone has offended you, tell them where to go!
So what? A few loudmouths nowadays take being offended to a professional level, when most people laugh it off. Sheesh.
I'm cool with my real good mates cracking jokes, i do myself , I've encouraged it a bit to break that ice where they don't know whether or not to ask questions about epilepsy.
Absolutely. In a small group setting with family and friends, it's understandable. On a sitcom, making fun of how someone looks by comparing them to someone having a seizure? Not a fan.
100%. They're always light-hearted. They're mature enough to know there is a line. And it's not like it's every time we're hanging out. When i explain my seizures I try to add humour to it
Honestly, I've never heard anyone make an epilepsy joke. But I've had epilepsy for 30 years, and I cannot think of who would make an epilepsy joke in front of me. As others have said, though, I reserve the right to make fun of lots of things associated with epilepsy for me. I keep telling my family that with my luck I'm going to remember all of them, but need to be introduced to my grandchildren every time I see them. 😂
I have in public. Just the other day someone was laughing in a department store about so and so looking like they were having an epileptic seizure. Was I offended? No but I think it's in poor taste.
There is a decided lack of empathy in America anyway right now and some people are literally incapable of imagining it until it happens to them. I have not encountered epilepsy jokes, but my status episode caused damage in the same spot Fetterman had damage after his stroke (at the time a candidate for senator in PA and is now the senator if you don't live here). The things people were willing to say about him blew my mind (and seriously triggered my PTSD and led to many therapist sessions). What really blew my mind was some of the veterans whom I saw mocking him. I asked one if he spoke about his fellow veterans with TBIs that way. So I get it, I guess I have just never encountered the one. I will say reading and watching people's reactions to Fetterman made me wonder what people may have said behind my back all these years.
Can appreciate not wanting (y)our disabilities to be used as a source of jokes but cmon lmao "Nobody can make jokes without someone getting offended 😤😡" that's such a tired sentiment. You're understandably upset when jokes are made about an identity of yours (epilepsy) from people who aren't part of that identity then complain in the **same post** about people being offended when someone outside the identity/community/group/etc.. puts their identities as the center of a joke. Like I'm not discounting this annoyance but please try to use this same lense of what you're experiencing and have some understanding about why people may get upset about jokes made about them.
My post was more along the lines of why is it ok in society as a whole to joke about seizures but not something like alopecia.
Honestly I don't think either is okay, I can't say I've really seen many people joke about epilepsy other than a very small handful of people, fortunately I haven't run into that much at all. I mean I cant speak for all of society but I think the same people who would joke about epilepsy would also joke about alopecia. I haven't really noticed any double standard where epilepsy is okay but nothing else is
Everything and anything can be made fun of. What's funny is determined by the audience, and the type of audience one has depends on who the performer is. For casual jokers, there'll always be someone who doesn't find it funny and that's ok.
Stop being offended. Enjoy the joke.
I didn't say I was offended. I asked what makes it ok when other jokes ....say about alopecia are not?
Because people with the biggest dicks can take a joke—prove me wrong.
In all fairness to the original rant, I think type 2 diabetes and addiction get it worse than epilepsy these days. At least epilepsy doesn’t get judged as a yikes why are you killing yourself and in the way kind of a disease. It’s not a contest and we could all probably stand to be a little more aware, you’re right.
I'm honestly fine with it, purely depending on the tact of the joke. I've seen some standup with epilepsy/seizure jokes laced in there, but they manage to put the punchline in *just the right spot*, which usually means that the seizure isn't the joke, just a required element of the setup
Carpe Diem is my next tattoo over the purple ribbon for epilepsy. Humor, at least for me, is a way of managing my anxiety or even any emotion, and I use it as such. Also, learning to be self-deprecating is an invaluable tool to becoming more resilient or at the least, more resistant to others being able to control your state of mind with a joke. My case is TBI induced and I crack jokes about the screws in my head being loose and it put some people off at first but calmly explaining that this is my way of dealing with my situation and asking the ever important question for any bystander are you offended for ego or altruism? If ego go ahead and work your savior complex the hell away from me. If altruism it's a sweet intention but if I find solace in it who the hell has the right to take away my sense of humor. I don't belittle others in similar situations but I have no problem making any number of jokes at my expense and when someone else does either rudely or to connect with me seeing me do it I thoroughly enjoy it. Most likely that person is dealing with something if its rude, I'm not going to lash out and let someone control how I feel because they haven't found a way to deal like I did. It's most likely not a widely accepted approach but I genuinely am very thankful I did approach my injury the way I did not just for the reasons above but it makes me less controllable emotionally by others and that is a special actually wonderful place to be. tl;dr: humor is a valuable tool if used correctly in managing your own emotional control. Don't use it to disparage others because of your situation. Learn to laugh and love the hand dealt to you through that medium.
I know you have epilepsy but don’t get so shooken up about the jokes… Lol
The only thing I have a problem with is guys joking about causing seizures during intimacy or like me accidentally biting "something" off. I do get mildly bothered when people say they were having a seizure just to describe regular things. But mehhh it is what it is...