Posted by grapebubblegum on June 28, 2001, at 8:48:03
And I say that in a lighthearted tone, trying to have a sense of humor.
I was in a public health clinic the other day briefly and while sitting in the plastic-chairs-bolted-to-the-floor waiting room watching a Disney movie put on to pacify all the young'uns (and that it did!) chanced to see a poster educating the public about epilepsy. Now, I'm 35 and I remember from early childhood seeing these posters and asking my mother, "Why would people discriminate against people with epilepsy anyway?" Her answer was that the traditional (read: unenlightened and uneducated) incorrect view was that epilepsy indicated comorbid psychiatric illness. Well, she didn't put it in exactly those terms, but you get the idea.
Back to the present: the poster listed "What epilepsy is NOT," with the valiant intent of attempting to persuade the casual reader to adopt a non-discriminatory stance toward epileptics as far as employment opportunities go, I suppose. Included on the list was:
"Epilepsy is NOT a mental disease."
Of course I bristled a bit at that. But I can't blame the neurology camp for trying to distance themselves from "our" camp. As fraught with stigma as the psychiatric camp has been and always will be to one extent of another, I definitely could not blame them.
But the irony is: with scientific breakthoughs cropping up so fast we can hardly keep up with them, are we not discovering that neurology and psychiatry and their respective "diseases" are far closer in etiology than we recently believed, after we stopped believing that they were co-morbid, through the use of public education campaigns like the posters which I have viewed my entire life? Again, I'm just a lil' ole layperson so pardon my massive ignorance. But I am getting the impression that neurology and psychiatry are kissing cousins.
I spoke briefly with a psychiatric nurse, as a friend, not as a professional consultation or anything, and I listed for her the meds my recently deceased father was on, at the end of his life, to the best of my knowledge. Tegretol, klonopin, to name a few.. and she said, "What's up with all the neuroleptics for a psychiatric disorder?"
Indeed, what is up with that? Anyone care to comment on the similiarity or polarity of disorders such as the bipolar disorder with which he suffered his entire adult life and the neurological conditions treated with the same meds?
As a side note, I also take klonopin and my five year old son takes topiramate and geodon. Lots of neuroleptics in the family with not a lick of epilepsy ever seen in the bloodline. Just opening up the stigma and the neurology-psychiatry subjects up for a double-whammy of a discussion starter.
poster:grapebubblegum
thread:68223
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010625/msgs/68223.html