I was diagnosed with Epilepsy at the age of 10. I apparently did showcase the symptoms before being diagnosed but the research and medical know-how regarding Epilepsy in India was not as developed in the early 90’s, thus the late diagnosis.

Epilepsy doesn’t discriminate people, but people do. As a child, I was told that I have a disease which will go away after a medical course of 3yrs. And since that never happened, I was told at the age of 13, that I have an incurable disease.

The medication had side-effects that the doctors never told me or my parents about. In short, along with the taboo regarding epilepsy, there was negligence as well.

I became a slow learner, not that I wasn’t intelligent, but developed ADHD among many other things like anxiety and depression. I was told that I have something negative in me and thus, had a childhood with a lot of self-doubt, which led to zero self-esteem and no self-worth.