National Epilepsy Day: Fatima Sana Shaikh opens up about her struggle with epilepsy, says she has learnt to “live around it”

Being in the limelight comes with its own set of challenges, one of them being stigmatization. However, many celebrities have come forward with their struggles in life, whether it’s mental health or a disease like epilepsy. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), out of the 50 million people living with epilepsy, 10 million people are from India. Bollywood isn’t exempt from this statistic, as Fatima Sana Shaikh has come forward with her story about living with epilepsy.

For the unversed, epilepsy is a neurological condition that affects the brain activity. It causes period of unsual behaviour or seizure, sensations, and occasionally loss of consciousness. Scroll down to know Fatima’s struggle with epilepsy and what she did to overcome it.

Fatima Sana Shaikh talks about her struggle with epilepsy

The “Dangal” actor communicated with her fans during a “ask me anything” session on social media. When asked how she is dealing with it, the actor responded, “I have a good support system. Family, Friends and Bijlee. Some days are good, some not so great.”

Answering another question, she shared that she was diagnosed with epilepsy during the training of Dangal. “I got an episode and woke up straight at the hospital. Was in denial first (5 years) and now I have learnt to embrace it and work and live around it.” Explaining how serious and disabling the condition is, the 30-year-old shared that epilepsy can be “fatal and leave you with major disabilities.”

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Further elaborating on how one should deal with the condition, she says that one should try to be positive and find peace in life. It will make the journey much easier. She also revealed that epilepsy prevents her from doing certain activities such as driving, swimming and being alone.

How does she handles epilepsy? Fatima clears myths

When someone asked her to explain what sort of seizures she experiences, she wrote that she suffers from tonic-clonic seizure, absence seizure, clonic seizure, and focal seizure. She further explained that her recovery time depends on the kind of seizure she is experiencing. “If it’s a full blown (seizure), then could take the whole day. Because then I get migraines, body pain, I am zoned out, can’t understand anything, confused. If it’s a absence, I could recover from it in 20 minutes or even less.”

She says stress, lethargy, flashlights, dehydration and lack of sleep are some of the common factors that trigger seizures. While these episodes of seizures can take a toll on someone’s health and disrupt the normal functioning, here are some ways she suggests to manage anyone who may be suffering from it:

• Don’t restrain the person
• Don’t put anything in the mouth
• Turn them to one side, so that if they throw-up, they do not choke on it
• Time the seizures
• Move sharp objects away
• Take the person to the hospital if it goes on for more than 5-10 minutes
• Stay calm and do not panic