This past month we celebrated Saint Valentine’s Day. A little known fact about Saint Valentine is that he is not only the patron saint of love, he is also the patron saint of epilepsy. Legend has it that St Valentine miraculously cured a young woman afflicted with what is now thought of as epilepsy. Another interesting correlation of religion and epilepsy is a seizure disorder originating in the temporal lobe that causes hyper-religiosity.
I learned about this disorder from a book I have mentioned many times – Incognito. In it the author describes epilepsy as such: “…the long list of influences on your mental life stretches far beyond chemicals – it includes the details of circuitry, as well…. If an epileptic seizure is focused in a particular sweet spot in the temporal lobe, a person won’t have motor seizures, but instead something more subtle. The effect is something like a cognitive seizure, marked by changes of personality…”
Any provider knows to use caution with patients in the postictal state. I cannot recount the number of violent outburst I have personally had to deal with from combative postictal patients. In conclusion: I rather have someone preach heaven to me, instead of beat hell out of me.
How about that!
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