talkhealth Blog

“Christmas my child is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give it’s Christmas”- Dale Evans Rogers.

Morning everyone and a very merry Christmas to you all.

By now Christmas will have come and gone with Boxing day beckoning it’s head all the while we sit here waving goodbye to the day that is without doubt my most favourite time of the year.

Christmas to me is something that makes me feel like a rather large child. Never have I ever been disheartened with the fact that Christmas was arriving and to be fair as far as I was concerned Christmas couldn’t come quick enough. Fortunately I have a remarkable family who although separated unite together at such a festive time and who throughout my lifetime has made my day extremely special.

When we think of the word Christmas what do you associate that word with? To me the first word that comes into my mind is family. Watching children open their presents, eating chocolate at WHATEVER time in the day (mind you I do that now not just at Christmas) and the anticipation of knowing Santa is coming whatever your age.

To me I’ll never forget the day my mam said “The day you stop believing in Santa is the day you stop believing in Christmas” and you know what never a truer word said by the person who made my Christmases ever so special.

The quote I’ve chosen today is one that makes me feel that whoever we are, whatever the circumstance and whether you appreciate Christmas or not Christmas should be a time where we come together and release that inner child in us.

In today’s society we usually associate Christmas with family, friends and the ones we love however on the flip side there’s that stress and strain of bracing the high street dodging the crowds, ensuring the presents are purchased and wrapped on time, the debt we can get ourselves in to put a smile on someone’s face and making sure the Christmas lunch goes down swimmingly. All the while it wouldn’t be Christmas if we weren’t doing that would it?

Each Christmas since I was born I have been lucky to spend the day with all my family on both sides however I can appreciate that everyone’s different and that there are people who under no fault of their own have to either spend Christmas alone or without the ones they hold dear. My love goes out to each and every one of you and I do hope that your day was as merry as it could have been.

At times like these I feel like when you mention Epilepsy and Christmas in the same sentence that to me personally it has to take a back seat to accommodate this day as however I’m feeling I won’t allow anything to get in the way. People may question my judgement on this issue as an episode could strike at any time however this day to me was a one of great importance, love and family time.

When I was originally diagnosed my worry was that should a seizure arrive that I would be the one to dampen Christmas. Instead of making a fool of myself over the festive period I would be making a fool of myself by convulsing and worrying everyone senseless when they should have been merry and bright.

The ensuring that my medication was taken at regular intervals and the knowing that a seizure wasn’t far away was something that put me on edge and wished that Christmas wouldn’t have any interference.

Fortunately that in 20 years I have only ever had one episode at this time of the year however was comforted and made aware that my situation didn’t alter the festivities around me and under no circumstance should I concern myself with negativity because Santa still came regardless!

On a personal level Epilepsy is a condition that we address daily and for once we are hopefully allowed to take a day off and spend that day the best we can with the ones we love. To me that’s what Christmas is all about and I truly hope you’ve all had a lovely time.

As for the remainder of my week…

On the topic of Christmas my Christmas eve was spent jumping into my Christmas pyjamas, burning my Yankee Candle (The candle was called Christmas eve coincidentally) Benny eating from his new bowls Santa had brought and my husband sitting scoffing his face with whatever treats given.

As for yesterday well I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Doing my usual and waking up at 5.15am I ran downstairs to the presents Santa had brought and my husband and I joked amongst one another reminiscing about last Christmas in which I received a Cliff Richard calendar (trust me I’m not a massive fan of Cliff much to the contrary of my friends who think I have a massive crush on the fella) and receiving a chocolate in the shape of a Penguin who shall be formally known as Paulo Penguini! He was ate immediately with a cup of coffee in my new Starbucks mug!!

After receiving DVD’s, a new dress, a new mug and some gorgeous makeup we got dressed and made our way to my mam’s house who like every year goes to town with the present buying. Irrespective of my parents separation my mam and dad have always allowed me to have the Christmas every child should deserve and have never spilled any differences they once shared in front of me.

After opening my presents one of which was the ultimate surprise a Tiffany’s necklace from her recent visit to New York. Extremely giddy and overwhelmed my husband and I wrapped our arms around my mam and thanked her not only for her hospitality but most importantly her consideration towards us and the love she has always brought to the table.

Afterwards off we toddled to the in laws in which they too provided us with that sense of family atmosphere not to mention the English breakfast (complete with Christmas crackers and Bucks fizz) and more chocolate! I was starting to become sozzled by 10am!

Before long we were at my Uncles talking whilst watching my cousins building train sets and watching the younger generation bask in the glory Christmas brings. Watching their faces made me smile with delight because their love of Christmas was so apparent and made me see that irrespective of my battle with my condition that life is for living and shouldn’t just be postponed for Christmas.

Living our lives should be something we do every day and something to be thankful for as there are millions of people outside of our circle who unfortunately don’t get that opportunity.

Let’s just say yesterday was a success and a one that I am extremely proud to be a part of and hopefully tradition permitting that this will continue for a long time yet.

I’m not even going to write a caption about food and exercise as it’s safe to say apart from the exercise I completed on Christmas Eve I wasn’t thinking about either yesterday and the same rules apply today! Roll on tomorrow.. not.

To conclude today’s post. And another Christmas is over. Love one another the way you want to be loved. Eliminate the worry not just for one day. Be proud of who you are and let’s enter 2014 with a bang as you too are allowed the opportunity to shine. Let’s keep spreading awareness and showing ourselves that we too can be proud of who we are.

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Saz

Overcoming worry, anxiety and learning to cope with epilepsy. I dedicate this blog to my family and to all those people out there who thought the possible was impossible. Life isn’t about doing everything yesterday it’s about finding acceptance and taking your time. This blog has been created to document my findings and to allow others to understand that they are not alone. I have tried my best to collate these concerns for others to read should they wish. The intention is to not only address my concerns of my condition however I also intend to address my daily struggles whilst giving an insight as to what my days entail.