When I Felt Ashamed About Taking Epilepsy Medication

Finding out I have epilepsy and anxiety when I was only 16 years old was terrifying enough. Finding out I had to take medication every day for the rest of my life was worse… or so I thought.

I didn’t want epilepsy or anxiety, but taking pills every day definitely made my condition real. In the beginning I felt like everyone was secretly talking about me, wondering what kind of weird person I had become. I didn’t want my friends or anyone who may come into my life to think I was any different. I wasn’t!

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One day I decided I didn’t need my medicine. I hadn’t needed it for years, so what could it hurt now?

After about a week of being medication-free, I started to feel worse, not like myself. Then one morning, I had a panic attack and a seizure! That gave me the wake-up call I needed. If I didn’t take my medicine, I would end up having a seizure every day. That to me was worse than what people thought about me taking medication.

After about a month, I finally realized it didn’t matter what other people thought. As long as I did whatever I needed to be safe, that’s all that mattered. Don’t worry about what other people think or say. Do what you have to do be and stay safe.