I am so thankful to be living in this era.

Yesterday I was thinking about what epilepsy was perceived as in the past.  Nowadays it is easier to live and be accepted by society.  I was told from family that back in the day people thought of epilepsy as being possessed by demons, just to show me that I am lucky to be living in today's modern era.  Well my family is from Europe, and I currently reside in America, (I'm first generation here in the states) so I decided to do some research and see if other parts of the world thought the same way.

• Babylonians-thought seizures were caused by demons.
• Ancient Greeks-thought epilepsy was caused by offending the moon goddess, Selene.
• Ancient Romans-believed epilepsy came from demons and that it was a contagious disease.  People with epilepsy would have to live alone.
• Europe-in the Middle Ages, epilepsy was called the “falling sickness.”  If you had epilepsy you were to wear a special ring that would help control your seizures.
• Renaissance Era-believed some people with epilepsy were prophets because they could see past, present, and future during a seizure.
• Enlightenment-from the late 1600’s belief that demons caused epilepsy faded.  Since epilepsy was thought to be contagious, people were institutionalized and kept separate from society.
• Nazi Germany & America in 1920’s-people with epilepsy were not allowed to marry or have children.  They had operations so they could not have children.
• During Present times-no matter what the case may be in America, people with epilepsy are covered under The Americans With Disabilities Act, which makes it illegal to discriminate against people with epilepsy in the workplace.

When I was thinking about all of this and reading up on all of these different facts I realized I’m glad I have epilepsy in the modern world.  In my opinion I believe some people probably still feel that epilepsy is contagious or that it means someone like me is possessed by demons or whatever the case may be.  However, that may be a small percentage of the world's population. 

On a better note, the Aztecs used dahlia flowers to treat epilepsy.  So that is why I will be attempting to grow dahlia flowers again this year as a symbol of my epilepsy, and living with it.

 

http://library.thinkquest.org/J001619/history.html