November is Epilepsy Awareness Month, and one in 26 people will be diagnosed throughout their lives, according to the Epilepsy Foundation. Several University of Tennessee students share their experiences with this disorder and why awareness around it is important.

Will Grubb, a junior human resource management major, has been affected by epilepsy since he was born due to a subarachnoid hemorrhage that occurred during birth.

“I had seizures as an infant,” Grubb said. “Then they laid dormant for a while and came back during middle school.”

He continued to describe how his seizures can be managed through a medication prescribed by his neurologist. However, if a dose of the medication is missed, it can lead to feelings of déjà vu called auras.

However, the story of Carolyn Haviland, a sophomore physics major, is very different. She was diagnosed with a rare type of epilepsy in seventh grade and had one to two seizures a day for several years.

She was then able to consult doctors and attend appointments in order to find a medication that would help with her seizures while not interfering with other health concerns.

“I used to only tell my teachers about my seizures in case I had another grand mal, but eventually, it became something I mentioned casually,” Haviland said.

This shows that anyone dealing with any health issues, specifically seizures, are more than their diagnosis. They will be able to be open and bring awareness to subjects like the disorders they might be dealing with. This will make them able to represent a whole community of people in a positive light.

Noelle Mitchell, a freshman biology major, was much older when her seizures began. She was 16 years old and was having grand mal seizures. Although she was put on medication after her first seizure, silent seizures continued to occur, which led to more tests and chaos.

“I went in for an overnight EEG at a new hospital,” Mitchell said, “where the results came back normal, and I was undiagnosed with epilepsy, but rather a functional neurological disorder.”

However, a year after having no seizures, this March, she had a breakthrough grand mal seizure. She was immediately diagnosed with epilepsy and has been trying to find a medication to ultimately stop her seizures, as they are still occurring to this day.

In Mitchell’s case, her seizures tend to stem from overstimulation, which requires her to be very aware of her stress levels, surroundings and self-care.

“I feel like the awareness around epilepsy is terrible,” Mitchell said. “Most people I have talked to just know the word from flashing light warning and create a small box for it to be in.”

She continued by saying how epilepsy is such a broad issue, and there should be more awareness surrounding it to limit the stereotypes surrounding it.

Grubb said that he feels awareness surrounding epilepsy is very surface level and that there are many stereotypes surrounding the disorder. This includes people assuming that everyone who suffers from epilepsy is photosensitive to lights or strobes, which is not the case for Grubb.

Haviland said that people are aware of the general idea of epilepsy but not how to handle it or how it affects people’s everyday lives.

“I think it’s just good to at least be aware there’s a lot of different types that affect people differently,” Haviland said.

Education surrounding epilepsy is important to ensure that someone’s boss or peers know how to respond when they are having a seizure and can help more effectively since they are such a big health scare that could ultimately lead to death.

“It is a disability that you can’t always see in people, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there,” Mitchell said.