The Christmas holidays are a great time to relax, reconnect, and celebrate with your family and friends, but for many young people with epilepsy, the party pressure can lead to seizure triggers.
You’re shared your experiences with party pressure over the festive season and provided some amazing tips on how to handle it!
The party pressure over the Christmas period
For many people, Christmas time is a great excuse for escaping the normal routine, which often means having a few drinks, partying the night away, and encouraging their friends and family to join their fun.
For lots of young people with epilepsy, however, these changes from routine are often associated with seizure triggers. As Jess explains:
Sometimes, I don’t think people understand how overwhelming the festive season is. And it’s not just Christmas, but Halloween, bonfire night, whatever occasion.
If there’s parties, there’s sometimes loud noises and big crowds that can just overwhelm some people and make them very anxious.
Enjoying the festive period with your loved ones and taking care of yourself can become more of a balancing act over Christmas. Even when you try to make compromises, particularly when alcohol is involved, you can still often feel left out.
As Miles puts it:
If you don’t drink, you’re seen as quite odd
This can especially be the case if you are younger. Regarding his time at university, Miles recalls:
The culture around drinking is pretty intense.
Miles’s experiences at university are an example of the risks that come when the party pressure overwhelms your self-care.
Partying and epilepsy
At university, Miles was eager to explore party experiences despite the seizure triggers. Drinking and recreational drug use both led to his condition rapidly worsening.
Seizures started to happen every time I got drunk. Never on the night – always the morning after. And stimulant drugs like cocaine and MD always caused seizures the next day.
Unfortunately, the party pressure can often overcome your sense of reason, leading you to make decisions you know are affecting your health.
Drinking and my epilepsy felt like gambling. The worse my self-doubt got, the more shame I felt. And to escape that, I’d want to keep drinking. It was a harsh cycle. I had all these toxic ideas that I needed it.
It was a different festive period, a graduation, that turned his attitude – and the attitude of his friends – around.
I only had three pints. The next day, I had a full tonic-clonic seizure in front of all my mates. My best friend, Dom, cried his eyes out. He said, ‘Have you really thought about quitting drinking?’
After overcoming party pressure and his own challenges, Miles is seizure-free, sober, and living an incredible life.
The party pressure that Miles faced at university, however, is very similar to what young people with epilepsy of all backgrounds face in the festive season. Jess continues to experience it:
I wish people knew about epilepsy during the festive season. Most people ask me if I drink so I kind of wish that people would know that not all people with epilepsy are allowed to drink alcohol, so don’t try and peer pressure us.
Your tips for dealing with the party pressure
Through their experiences, Jess, Miles, and other young people in our network have some great tips for handling the party pressure.
Jess encourages other young people to recognise that this time will come with challenges and to take care of yourself when out:
During the festive seasons, we’ve got to be more aware, more cautious if we’re going to parties. We need to remember medications and be more aware of our surroundings than other people do.
Jess’s point about medication is a great one. Staying out late – and getting up late – can risk you missing meds. Keep your medications with you if you are scheduled to take them when you are out and set alarms so you don’t lose track of time.
Jess also has a tip about drinking:
I would rather consult with my doctor first and ask if I am allowed before trying alcohol without a professional.
Simply put, if you are over-18, you can drink if you want to. However, you should always make responsible choices to look after your health. Ask your doctor about alcohol’s risks with your seizures and medication so you can make any decisions as informed as possible.
If you chose to have a few drinks, Sally has some tips:
Drink lots of water, get plenty of sleep, and don’t forget your meds!
Another user has a pointer for staying social without drinking:
There's plenty of alcohol-free drinks at bars now, don't take risks just to impress your friends
Miles’s experience overcoming the party pressure was helped by his supportive network, but reminds you that there are always people to reach out to:
You can have great support from family and friends, but I’d definitely recommend speaking to others with epilepsy. It shows you’re not alone.
Find out about Epilepsy & Me youth groups
One of our social media followers had a great message to summarise:
Be your own person. Making your OWN decisions will always be better for you!
Christmas time should be a magical time for everyone, but that doesn’t mean you have to party until your health is at risk. There are plenty of ways you and your loved ones can feel the festive spirit while managing your seizures.
Take care of yourself, let your social circle know your limits, and make decisions that are right for you this Christmas holiday!
