2: Epilepsy

The beginning of a new romantic relationship is a time full of excitement and discovery. People share things about themselves, eventually revealing more and more as they feel trust with their new boyfriend or girlfriend. However, there are a few things that people can sometimes be hesitant to reveal, such as the existence of nude photographs on the Internet. That may not compare to the fear, however, of telling someone you're falling in love with that he or she might eventually see you convulsing on the floor, twitching and jerking unconsciously for several seconds or several minutes.

This is but one of the social factors that a person with epilepsy must consider. Epilepsy is a disorder that occurs when seizures are unprov­oked; for no reason, the neurons in the brain start firing all at once, overwhelming the brain. Seizures take many forms, from a brief loss of consciousness to jerking and flailing to an inability to move.

This is a condition that doctors simply don't understand yet. While some cases of epilepsy are caused by a brain injury and some cases are genetic, many times doctors just don't know why a person starts seizing. Since it often lacks a clear cause, epilepsy has sometimes borne the stigma of mental illness, as opposed to a neurological condition [source: Wilner]. For this reason, doctors sometimes refer to the condition as a seizure disorder, instead of as epilepsy.

And while doctors can provide treatments that will help control the seizures, there exists a sense of unpredictability, as a seizure could still occur at any moment. This can affect the quality of life for epileptic people, as well as cause misunderstandings with those around them. Some jobs may not be feasible for people with epilepsy, either because of the distance (people who experience seizures aren't allowed to drive in some states), the hours (one common seizure trigger is sleep deprivation, making the graveyard shift a less than desirable option), or the cognitive skills involved (antiseizure medications often have disabling cognitive side effects). These considerations may affect every decision, from whether a person can take a bath without losing consciousness or whether a person can take care of a baby without going into convulsions.

There's one more misunderstood neurological condition on this list, and it's a hotly debated topic. Go to the next page to learn more.