Are Seizures Spiritual

During seizures, a portion of the brain can have powerful, mystical experiences.” However, no mystical experiences were recorded in a survey of patients in an epileptic clinic (Sensky, 1983), and only 2.3 percent of patients with complex partial seizures reported ictal mystical experiences (Devinsky,…

Are seizures caused by evil spirits?

Epilepsy was thought to be caused by bad spirits, goblins, and demons («morbus daemonicus») for millennia. Epilepsy has also been related to the practice of witchcraft. Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches), a 1494 guidebook, argues that witches have specific features, such as epileptic seizures (9).

What do seizures signify?

A seizure is an uncontrollable electrical disruption in the brain that occurs suddenly. It can alter your behavior, motions, or sensations, as well as your level of consciousness. Epilepsy is defined as having two or more seizures that occur at least 24 hours apart and are not caused by a known cause.

Is epilepsy a spiritual sickness?

Epilepsy is a common brain illness characterized by seizures or convulsions that occur suddenly and repeatedly. A seizure is a brief period of aberrant electrical activity in the brain that is accompanied by obvious motor or sensory symptoms and indicators. To be diagnosed with epilepsy, a person must have experienced at least two occurrences of these seizure attacks with no other reversible medical reasons of seizures found, such as extremely low blood sugar, a brain tumor, excessive alcohol use, or strong drug usage.

Seizures, and hence epilepsy, can affect anyone at any age, but it is more common in young children and the elderly.

Before a seizure attack, there is frequently a pre-warning indication known as an aura in the pre-ictal phase. This does not happen to everyone who suffers from epilepsy. Auras can appear in a variety of ways, including persistent headaches, stomach symptoms, or a strong sense of fear in people who encounter them.

There may be visible or invisible indications during the ictal phase of a seizure. Convulsions, or jerking of some or all portions of the body, are the most prevalent visual indication. Foaming in the mouth, loss of consciousness, passage of urine and/or feces, and tongue biting are all possible symptoms.

As soon as the seizure is over, the Post-Ictal phase begins. This is essentially the period of recovery. After a seizure, some people recover entirely right away, while others may take up to 24 hours.

Seizures can have a variety of causes, and in many cases, the actual cause is unknown. In the few cases where an underlying reason can be identified, the causes are mainly age-related.

Brain infections, brain abnormalities, prolonged lack of oxygen delivery to the brain before birth, low blood sugar, blood chemical derangements, maternal drug usage, and in-born metabolic mistakes are some of the reasons of recurrent seizures in children.

Genetic factors, head trauma, down syndrome, neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis, and degenerative brain illnesses are all possible causes in elderly people.

In a person with epilepsy, certain events might trigger or precipitate a seizure attack. It's critical to understand these elements so that you can avoid or eliminate them as much as possible. Some of these elements are:

• Dehydration is caused by a lack of water intake or excessive water loss as a result of diarrhoea or vomiting.

There are a variety of drugs that can help control epilepsy. These drugs are typically administered by neurologists, who specialize in the treatment of seizure disorders. When a person is diagnosed with this ailment, it's critical to take their meds exactly as they're given. It is usually easy to keep seizure attacks under control with excellent compliance.

This is untrue because epilepsy is caused by aberrant electrical activity in the brain, which has been confirmed. Seizures can be controlled with the help of suitable medical treatment. As a result, attributing epilepsy to spiritual reasons is unfounded.

People frequently avoid people who are experiencing a seizure because they believe that coming into contact with any of their bodily fluids, such as saliva, urine, or feces, may cause them to contract the illness. This isn't correct. In no way is epilepsy contagious.

• Epilepsy cannot be healed with conventional medicine, however it can be cured with herbal therapy.

Regrettably, this is also untrue. Herbal drugs, on the other hand, tend to aggravate the situation by causing a chemical imbalance in the blood, which we previously identified as a cause of seizures.

People will hurry to put hard things into a person's mouth who is having a fit, such as spoons. This is a bad and destructive practice. The tongue is physically impossible to swallow. Instead, the patient can bite the tongue with his or her teeth, which will heal over time.

• Refrain from restraining someone who is suffering a seizure. Instead, to avoid physical injury during fitting, try to clean the local surroundings. Most seizures will pass in a matter of seconds to minutes on their own. Call an ambulance if the seizure does not stop after a few minutes.
• Never shove an object, including medications, into the mouth of someone who is suffering a seizure. Rather, gently shift the individual to the side, support the head, and ensure that they are breathing normally. Also, keep the patient safe from harm.

A patient with epilepsy may be given lifestyle modification recommendations by his or her doctor in order to improve quality of life. The following are some instances of lifestyle changes:

• A person with epilepsy is not permitted to drive a vehicle until his or her doctor certifies that he or she has acquired acceptable seizure control and the vehicle licensing authority certifies that the individual is fit to drive.
• A person with epilepsy who does not alert lifeguards of his or her illness is not permitted to swim alone.
• It is not recommended for someone with epilepsy to ride bicycles, motorcycles, or participate in severe physical activities such as mountain climbing, skiing, or horse racing.
• Avoid places with bright lights, such as discos and theatres, as well as working long hours on computers, playing video games, or watching television for lengthy periods of time, as these can cause an epileptic seizure.
• These individuals can travel as passengers on planes or other boats, but it is better if they do so once seizure control has been established. It is recommended that such travels be undertaken with sufficient medication to span the duration of the trip.

Finally, epilepsy is a common physical ailment that is not induced in any way by spiritual attacks. Under the right medical care, people with this illness can live a normal and productive life. The most important thing for any patient with a chronic medical disease like epilepsy is to obtain as much correct medical information as possible so that you may appropriately care for yourself and participate in your own medical management.

Mayo Clinic, Wikipedia, The Epilepsy Foundation, National Library of Medicine, and The Epilepsy Foundation

What is spiritual cause of epilepsy?

The importance of traditional healers in the treatment of epilepsy was one of the key subjects of the 2014 African Epilepsy Congress. Although no one knows for sure, it's likely that the majority of persons with epilepsy seek out these established and respected members of their communities as caretakers. Traditional healers are consulted first by people who have suffered seizures for a variety of reasons. The African Epilepsy Congress brought together practitioners of traditional and contemporary medicine in one place to examine their various perspectives on the disease's causes and treatment options. The discussions revealed a wealth of information regarding the patients' perceptions of their sickness, its impact on the community, and their ideas of how the disease should be handled.

I spoke with two traditional healers, Gugu Ngubane and Gugu Madlakes, who work in the countryside around Cape Town, South Africa; Ms Johannan Keikelame, a social worker who has done a number of studies on the role of traditional healers in treating epilepsy in rural South Africa; and Professor Daliwonga Magazi, a pediatric neurologist from the University of Limpopo, South Africa, in the preparation of this article.

The importance of traditional healers, they concluded, stems from the complicated beliefs about the etiology of epilepsy, which impact how the disease is interpreted and treated. Epilepsy is defined by traditional healers as a condition produced by nerve confusion in the brain, and a seizure is the action taken by a person who is sick with epilepsy, a sickness that is always present and active. Many people believe that someone who has epilepsy is possessed, and that the affliction is a retribution for the family's wrongdoings. In other situations, though, a person's convulsions may be for a larger benefit. In certain circumstances, the convulsions could be an attempt to exorcise harmful spirits from the family, and the bad spirits are exorcised by convulsing. In other circumstances, the convulsions could be a sign from the ancestors that the person should pursue a career as a traditional healer. The convulsions will continue until that person accepts the calling. For a youngster and an adult, the definition and belief about the various causes are the same, although the causes are more typically spiritual in nature.

Although spiritual causes play a significant role in traditional beliefs about the causes of epilepsy, there are other, more evil forces that may be at work. Epilepsy can be caused by witchcraft, bewitchment, poisoning, the presence of an evil spirit, or the casting of a spell on a family by someone who is jealous. According to this idea, disease is caused by forces within the affected individual fighting with the blood and causing the ailment.

People's treatment decisions are heavily influenced by their beliefs. They pick traditional treatment options in part because they feel traditional medicines work well in persons with epilepsy, and the natural history of seizures and epilepsy may bolster their opinions. There may be only one seizure with febrile seizures, thus treatment looks to be beneficial. Because some types of epilepsy have only a few seizures, medication may appear to be beneficial. If the seizures are thought to be caused by witchcraft or possession by bad spirits, the treatment must be more spiritual, and it cannot be given in a hospital. Many people eventually turn to traditional healers for help because they believe epilepsy must be treated with traditional medicine.

Although a lack of access to modern medicines is a major factor in individuals seeking aid from traditional healers, people also avoid going to the hospital since it appears that modern medicine is ineffective, and doctors repeatedly give the same prescription yet seizures remain. Modern drugs are frequently expected to treat the disease, so when the medication runs out or individuals stop taking the drug, the seizures return, and they see no benefit from the pharmaceutical or the effort to obtain it. Even so, some people believe that contemporary drugs can sometimes help with seizures. If demonic spirits are found to be the source of the problem, a traditional healer must first expel the spirit before drugs can be used. Traditional treatments may be significantly more effective than modern treatments for some people who suffer psychogenic seizures, as modern practitioners would diagnose them. There are no statistics on this possible area of traditional practice's improved efficacy.

When combined with modern treatments, traditional medicine can play a significant role in the treatment of epilepsy. Local healers can assist in identifying and referring patients in the community to a hospital. Some practitioners believe that some traditional remedies are true anticonvulsants, while others believe that a combination of western anticonvulsants and traditional medicines is more helpful. It's crucial to remember that traditional healers have a lot of power in their communities, and they could be able to help reduce the stigma associated with epilepsy. Patients are occasionally referred to hospitals and clinics. The sufferer can be referred to a hospital once the evil spirit has been exorcised. Some healers believe that after a patient suffers a seizure-related burn, traditional medicine is no longer effective and that the patient must be transferred to a hospital.

Another reason to visit a traditional healer is that modern medication is difficult to come by in a hamlet. There are no enough local support services, and traveling to a health center might be quite costly. Furthermore, the family may be obliged to acquire costly drugs and pay for costly testing, despite the fact that no cost comparison has been performed between traditional and contemporary medicine. Traditional healers may also be selected since they take a more holistic approach and visit the family on occasion to gather information. The patient will be treated even if the family does not have money, and the family will afterwards appreciate the traditional healer. Patients will come based on referrals from others who have been treated by these local practitioners, thus they will not advertise.

Traditional healers are expected to play a part in creating the much-needed infrastructure for epilepsy care. They are well-liked in the community, and they work within the community's understanding of epilepsy's causes and treatments. Traditional healers should be taught in the essentials of epilepsy care, and the medical community should collaborate with them until conditions in the communities change considerably.

In Senegal, neurologists conducted day-long sessions with traditional healers as part of a larger outreach effort to increase disease awareness and care. These sessions were constructed on a foundation of respect for the position and function that these community leaders play in their communities, as well as an understanding that healers may be valuable collaborators. The healers were receptive to epileptic theories from the west. Although it is uncertain how these new traditional-modern ties will develop, these workshops come at a time when epilepsy and seizures have grown from seventh to second place on the list of causes for hospital referrals.

This collaboration with recognized community medical practitioners may create new pathways for providing much-needed access to care for people with epilepsy in a region of the world with low medical resources. The formation of a respectful cooperation with traditional healers may be the key to this effective collaboration. They frequently play a key role in helping persons with epilepsy transition from an older, more spiritual understanding of the disease to current neurological concepts.

About the Author

Dr. Edward Kija is a Tanzanian consulting pediatrician and lecturer who is now pursuing a Fellowship in Pediatric Neurology at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in Capetown, South Africa, funded by the African Pediatric Fellowship Program. He studied at the University of Dar es Salaam and Muhimbili University in Tanzania for his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, respectively. Since 2011, he has worked as a consultant pediatrician at Tanzania's Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam.

Is epilepsy in the Bible?

The Bible mentions epilepsy. Mark 9:17-27, Matthew 17:14-18, and Luke 9:37-43, all of which describe Jesus healing a boy with epilepsy by driving out an evil spirit, are arguably the most prominent epilepsy healing references in the Bible.

What are warning signs of a seizure?

The severity of your symptoms is determined on the type of seizure. The following are some of the general symptoms or warning signs of a seizure:

Falling unexpectedly and without warning, especially when accompanied by loss of awareness

When loss of awareness or consciousness is associated with nodding your head rhythmically,

Your lips may become blue and your breathing may become irregular during the seizure. You may feel tired or bewildered after the seizure.

Seizures might have symptoms that are similar to those of other illnesses. Make an appointment with your doctor to get a diagnosis.

Can you be aware during a seizure?

Some folks have a warning “aura.” This is the very first sign of a seizure. Because bursts of electrical activity are already occurring in the brain when this happens, it's considered part of the seizure. You are still cognizant and aware of what is going on during this portion of the seizure.

Some folks don't have an aura or any kind of warning. They lose consciousness or awareness as soon as they suffer a seizure.

The aura might be a difficult to describe emotion, or it can be easily recognized. A shift in feeling, sensation, cognition, or conduct is frequently associated with an aura. If you have more than one seizure, the aura may be the same each time.

Auras usually occur before the main section of a seizure. Auras can also occur without any additional signs or symptoms. A “simple partial seizure,” also known as a “partial seizure without change in awareness,” occurs when this happens.

Can you feel a seizure coming on?

Some people are aware of the start of a seizure hours or days before it occurs. Some people, on the other hand, may not be aware of the beginning and thus have no warning.

Prodrome:

Some people may have feelings, sensations, or behavioral changes hours or days before they have a seizure. These feelings are usually not part of the seizure, but they can alert a person to the possibility of a seizure. These indicators aren't present in everyone, but if they are, they can assist a person modify their activities, remember to take their prescription, utilize a rescue treatment, and take precautions to avoid damage.

Aura:

The first sign of a seizure, known as an aura or warning, is considered a part of the seizure. The aura is frequently an indescribable sensation. Other times, it's obvious, and there's a consistent change in feeling, sensation, cognition, or conduct each time a seizure happens.

• A focal onset conscious seizure, simple partial seizure, or partial seizure without change in awareness can also occur without the aura.
• Many people, however, have no aura or warning before a seizure; the seizure begins with a loss of consciousness or awareness.

Common symptoms before a seizure:

• Déjà vu (the sensation of being reminded of someone, somewhere, or something you've never encountered before)
• Jamais vu (the sensation that someone, somewhere, or something is new or unfamiliar, but it isn't)
• Nausea or other stomach-related symptoms (often a rising feeling from the stomach to the throat)