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Life with Epilepsy:
Between Biology and Society's Gaze

The neurologist was only in my life, "trained in the understanding of the brain" (the technical hardware) as the neurologist usually has greater authority to learn from, with his neurological patients.

A systemic error in the Danish healthcare system. 

I've been looking at EEG measurements and electrolyte balance, and have forgotten to look at how the electrical chaos in the brain affects identity, language, and space for society.

​Here are the three biggest flaws in separating things as they were (and still are):

​1. The lack of the "Neuro-Psychiatric" link

The neurologist looks at the signals , but the psychiatrist should be trained to understand how those signals create reality .

• The problem : If a psychiatrist does not understand the biochemical details surrounding GABA and Glutamate, they may misinterpret side effects from epilepsy medication as a personality disorder or a psychiatric diagnosis.
• The consequence : You treat the symptom (e.g. sadness or confusion) without understanding that the cause lies in the "Frontal lobe"!

​2. The cognitive "blind spot"

​When you are only trained in the technical understanding of the brain, you forget what you call "Personality Disorders": "Confusion" - "Disorientation" - "Short-term memory" - "Long-term memory" = "Complication" - Combination - abilities" 

It takes "Time"!!

• The training gap : Healthcare professionals should learn how epilepsy affects the four learning styles.
• Example : If your brain is using all its resources to maintain the balance between NMDA and AMPA receptors, there are fewer resources for rapid language production. A trained psychiatrist would know that you are not "slow", but that your brain is running a heavier process.

​3. Systemic Narrow-mindedness (Social Exclusion)

Because neither the neurologist nor the psychiatrist were trained to see the whole person , you were left to a society (like Herning in the 70s) that only understood "military training for "Motor License fitness"!

• The educational requirement :
  A modern specialist should not only know how to stop a seizure, but how to equip a person to navigate, "A narrow-minded country".

​How we will solve it in the future:

To prevent others from ending up in the same void as you in neurology, it is required:

1. Interdisciplinary education: Psychiatrists must have mandatory courses in clinical neurology, and vice versa.
2. The patient as an expert: The system must see itself as a "School Teacher" as doctors' "digital diary" and reflections since 2019 were just as important as the "Doctor's study". 
   They are "Student" to the "patient".
3. Cognitive support from day one:
   Don't wait for the bullying to start. Support for the four learning styles should be a regular part of the treatment. It doesn't help to understand the brain if you don't understand the person who lives with it.

Best regards

Kenneth Enevold Nielsen-Shin.dk