Optimism Can Improve Epilepsy

© Zubarciuc Dumitru | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Chronic diseases can take the expression in many different ways with many different people. A part where it turns visible and others where it is not visible at all. Epilepsy is a chronic disease  where every case is unique and it can bring in terms of an infinite number of ways.

For 25 years I have lived with epilepsy. Since I was diagnosed at age six, it has been a journey that moved both up and down through the years. Now I have passed 30 and the journey is not over yet.

But it is not my medical history is the focus here. I want instead to send a message from me that for many years has lived with the disease, to all of you that are foreign to it or do not know how to handle it.

My first tip is to be optimistic. It is something that worked for me. It is the years of life that I have had the most confidence, seen all the opportunities in life, that my epilepsy was kept under control. There is also research that demonstrates this.

Optimism not only gets us through life with a better outlook, but it has also been proven to affect the chances of us dying of a chronic disease. Researchers at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed data from more than 70,000 women. They found that optimism seemed to overrule all the usual factors associated with good health, such as marriage and socio-economic background. It even lessened the harmful effects of conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and depression. (Times of Malta)

I think in itself that the happiness of living together with someone else, whether this involves marriage or otherwise, is important to strengthen the self-esteem that I need in everyday life to maintain the strength and optimism that I live on.