Epilepsy can be very debilitating and disruptive but it can also spur creativity according to Dan Mitchell; a writer and a comedian; who was an epileptic himself. He wrote about epilepsy, emphasizing the fact that this is not how he defines himself but rather wanted to share his experience to educate people about epilepsy.
Dan was diagnosed with tonic- clonic epilepsy at the age of 17. He described having a seizure as a weird feeling in the sense that while he would know when he is going to have a seizure however , he has no control over it. After a seizure, he would not remember anything but feel exhausted due to his muscles being worked hard for a few minutes during the seizure.
But while Epilepsy can be very disturbing, Dan has found that there were unforeseen bonuses associated with it as well. The seizures have helped him become more creative as a writer and a comedian. Once the seizures were controlled, he started feeling that his creativity has disappeared. The weird and wonderful connections that made his work different have seemed to dry up. It could be a writer's block or a coincidence, but he seems to relate them to the meds.
Nadeen, your post makes me really wonder if there is a true correlation between epilepsy and creativity. And if this is true what is the scientific concept behind it . Does these sparks (extra activity) that happens in the brain that cause seizures, in someway increases the ability of the brain to think better or have extraordinary activity due to this stimulation? Sherry Sobhy
Hi Nadeen,
This is a very interesting article and as Sherry mentioned I believe that there is a link between creativity and these neurological problems. When one door closes, another one opens.
Hey Nadeen,
We seem to be on the same pathway here! Epilepsy connection with genius. It was an area of interest to me as I located individuals with epilepsy, who were outstanding in various life endeavors including painting, philosphy, sciences, arts, politics and so on. In fact, according one source, Aristotle, was the first to identify that correlation exists between individuals with epilepsy and genius and despite living with epilepsy, they still lived full productive lives...even outstanding for that matter!
http://www.edmontonepilepsy.org/epilepsy/living/famous.html
Tosh BOLANLE
Hey Tosh, I read that article in your post and honestly its very fascinating. I had no idea Aristotle, one of the great thinkers was an epileptic. The list goes on as shown in the article! It’s a great point to highlight to pediatric populations with epilepsy who may be struggling to cope and thinking alone the lines that something’s wrong with them. I’m sure they will be surprised to see the greatness in that list! (SUBIR MANN)
Tosh that is so interesting! I had no idea Aristotle was epileptic himself! Maybe there is actually a link between epilepsy and creativity and/ or intelligence afterall. - Nadeen Ayad
Hi Nadeen, this is a great post! It really shines light on how a diagnosis does not define a person, and how they can use their experiences to educate others and raise awareness. - Samantha Varghese