The AYUSH Ministry led International Epilepsy Day efforts in New Delhi, stressing awareness and inclusion to combat epilepsy’s social burdens. Society is called to foster understanding and shun discriminatory labels.
Epilepsy involves recurrent seizures marked by limb thrashing, saliva foaming, and eye rolling upward. While drugs control it effectively in most patients, cultural narratives in India frame it as supernatural affliction or ancestral curse, inviting dangerous rituals over science-based therapy.
Consequences are devastating: hampered academics, wedding denials, social withdrawal, and employment woes. Kerala’s findings are alarming—58% of patients jobless against 19% norm—citing on-job fits, medication lethargy, absenteeism, and employer bias toward low-pay or rejection.
Progress in literacy hasn’t dented prejudices, fueling further health declines. The Indian Epilepsy Association’s influence has judicially established epilepsy’s non-mental status, curbing divorce misuse. Mitigation requires multifaceted strategies: public sensitization, superior management protocols, preventive measures, and patient-centric initiatives.
Epilepsy Day reminds us: knowledge dissolves stigma. By embracing facts, India can unlock opportunities for epilepsy warriors, integrating them fully into society.