l'histoire d'une de mes folies: a sort of diary thing

•

I sound like a massive hypocrite saying this, but you need to start sleeping properly. i'm talking in and out of bed same time every day. Lie ins no longer than an hour. People talk about food and exercise but i feel like this is the most important (also, don’t drink or do drugs besides your meds. That’s really just plain stupid). Honestly, this point goes out to everyone, not just people with epilepsy

•

You want to take a look at your epilepsy too. What are your triggers, and how are you going to deal with them? If you’re like me and it’s stress, what is it stress about? How do you work on that stress? Do you need to do something, or stop doing something? For example, when i'm stressed about exams, sometimes i do a little bit of work to reassure myself that it’s going to be fine, or i’ll take a break and step away from it to get exams out of my head.

•

^sort of related to that, it might be a good time to think about your grades. I don’t know how recent recent is, but you need to be aware that you know what, your grades might not be perfect, and that’s okay. You’re doing the exact same exams as everyone else with a really difficult neurological condition and on medication, so you need to be prepared that things might not go how you planned. that might also be worth talking to your parents about (that being said, don’t put yourself down. you can still do amazingly with epilepsy. What i am saying is don’t beat yourself up)

•

get! your! meds! sorted! You either have a weekish or a month and a bit until your exams start, so this is your last chance to tweak whatever needs it. If you’re not yet seizure free this should be your priority. Your grades don’t mean jack if you’re still having seizures. Talk to your parents, your doctors, hopefully the nhs has given you an epilepsy nurse but it’s quite difficult so maybe not, but seriously. Fix it. Also, work on your side effects. What are they, and what are you doing for them? For me, i find that my meds make me super tired and feel like percy jackson in the son of neptune (like, i went to breaktime the other day when it was lessons. I forgot the birlings’ surname...lol not good). I’m taking these vitamins and working with my doctor to do this other stuff with my meds, and adapting myself to account for these little lapses (thank god we get the physics formula sheet)

•

If you haven’t already, TALK TO YOUR SCHOOL! I mean it, once you finish reading this, go get your parents to contact the school who will contact the exam people to get you access arrangements, and start working on a care plan. Because you have epilepsy, you are entitled to extra time and rest breaks. Trust me, you will thank me. (if anyone asks you why you have extra time, you don’t have to tell them. You don’t owe them anything. If they say they're jealous and wish they had extra time, say something mean back lol)

•

Hopefully you have your study methods worked out by this point. It would be pretty worrying if you didn’t at this stage.

•

When you say you’re having difficulty concentrating, is it that your methods are fine but not for as long time periods as they used to, or that your methods were really reliant on you being able to concentrate?

•

I’ve been having trouble with the former, so here’s what i do:

•

If i can, change where im studying. If im at home doing revision but not under exam conditions, i move from my desk to the floor

•

Switch up topics. Don’t randomly bounce from subject to subject, but if you’re doing a question, either move on to a different question and come back later, or change what you’re doing within that question (e.g. pause your essay writing and look at the extract. Bullet point plan your essay if you haven’t. Have another look at what’s coming next. But for essays you shouldn’t leave early)

•

Take breakssssss. I mean it. Using the app flora is great for me because one) keeps me off my phone two) easy scheduling, and three) i love plants. In these breaks get away from your study stuff. Preferably out of the room. I recommend 40-45 minute slots because your brain gets saturated or whatever. You can take rest breaks in exams, too, just make sure to tell your school!!!!

•

On days where i really really can’t concentrate i like to make my revision silly. Nothing is as fun as organic chemistry as vines or making a playlist called macbeth (taylor’s version). Once you’ve done this it’ll be easier to focus, i promise.

•

When all else fails i’ve found that mentally yelling focus focus focus focus focus focus focus focus OK SHUT UP IM TRYING TO FOCUS and imagining the voices in my head with different voices weirdly effective. (also super helpful during exams when im panicking. We have obnoxious southern man, kindly scottish old lady, regular me, pessimist me, grown up me telling pessimist me what to do…)

•

If you’re having trouble with the later, here are some ideas:

•

If you dont want to change the method, just start introducing breaks or doing things in smaller chunks

•

Is there any way you can adapt the method to work better? For example, i know past papers take a lot of concentration, and they’re vital right now, the best thing i can think of is to take breaks

•

Honestly, with concentration the best thing i can think of is to take breaks. At my school im allowed to do this in class too, so that might be worth looking in to.

•

Last but not least, late night studying/late night cram sessions are not your friend. This goes for everyone, but particularly if you have epilepsy, staying up late increases your chances of having a seizure, and with meds n stuff you’re better off studying over a long time because chances are you will (or at least i will) forget stuff. It’s not effective or healthy

•

If you’re thinking ‘no im different’, maybe you are, but you don’t know that. Let me present a scenario to you. You walk into your final exam, bleary eyed and groggy having stayed up till 3am studying, and then you have a seizure in front of everyone. Having a seizure at school is seriously embarrassing. At school, in an exam? Man, I don’t even want to think about that.