Ever Think About Joining a Support Group? Do It!
When I went to my first support group many years ago, I had all these expectations about what it would be like. I imagined a very stuffy group of people who only wanted to complain about their lives. Oh boy was I wrong!
Living with epilepsy provides so many challenges we deal with on a daily basis – not to mention the wear and tear that living with epilepsy has on your mental health. When I first went to a support group it was just after I was diagnosed, and I was feeling confused and mentally exhausted of consistently fighting my body.
Joining a support group let me start learning that the emotions that I was going through were normal. Very quickly, I learned that the group would not only let me share my story and my journey, but also help to learn ways to cope from people who were going through the same thing I was going through.
None of my doctors, including my neurologist, have ever had epilepsy themselves, so I never fully felt like they understood how I felt and how the challenges I was facing in my life seemed like mountains. While most of them were great at helping me medically, they were unable to help me in coping. This is where the support group came in.
I learned many tips as well as many things to be aware of that doctors never made me even think about. This included things such as tips to deal with anxiety and information about considerations specific to women living with epilepsy.
After reading this, are you now thinking of joining a support group? Well, did you know that at the BC Epilepsy Society, we offer a variety of support groups for people living with and affected by epilepsy? You can find information on them here.
Currently with COVID-19, all of our support groups are run online, which means that you can join from the comfort of your own home. I also facilitate the Epilepsy Friends Forever groups which are for children and youth living with epilepsy aged 6-17.
I hope this article has been helpful for you and that you consider joining one of our support groups!