Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Mad of It


Lisbeth's Antler Men Mandala, framed and for sale on her Etsy shop.

Lisbeth often feels frightened that she will die from her seizures. This is a reasonable fear because it is a distinct possiblity. If Lisbeth does not take her medications, which include PRN lorazepam every time she has a seizure, she will go into status epilepticus - a non-stop grand mal seizure that is potentially fatal. So it is understandable that Lis has great anxiety.

One of her therapists described living with uncontrolled seizures this way: Imagine. It would be like getting in your car every day and driving onto the highway knowing that your tires are going to blow. The question then would be, not if, but when.

There is so much about Lisbeth's condition that is out of her control, and she often directs her anger and fear about her situation towards those around her. For instance, she sometimes feels that her helpers favor her housemate and that she is being treated unfairly. Actually, they don't do this, but this is Lisbeth's reality. Lisbeth's housemate lives upstairs in the split level that they share. He has autism, and they each have round the clock one-on-one staffing. When Lis is triggered, she perseverates on her housemate in a negative way. This is how her brain works - it grabs onto something and obsesses over and over and over....

It is very important to validate her feelings...

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