What is an aura?
Many seizures start with a warning symptom known as an epileptic aura. The medical term “aura†should not be confused with the mystical aura that supposedly surrounds a living body, although both descriptions come from the Greek for “breeze†or “breathâ€.
In some circumstances the aura itself may be the entire extent of the epileptic episode, in others there is progression to a full-blown seizure, according to neurologist Dr Andrew Rose-Innes.
People experience widely varied auras. For some, the aura is emotional: a sudden feeling of anxiety, tension or fear. For others, it takes the form of a specific sensation that only they can feel, such as cooling or warming, a particular taste, or a sound (sometimes musical). In some cases the aura appears as a particular odour, often unpleasant, such as burning rubber.
The aura can also manifest in certain people as a feeling of déjà vu – where people or places appear strangely familiar; or its opposite, jamais vu – where people or situations that should be familiar, appear strange. Frequently, the aura is something that the person finds impossible to describe – simply a “funny feelingâ€.
The above excerpt is taken from Health24.com. Please read more here.
Well now I’m going to attempt to describe my aura but its not easy. I can only describe it as “that funny feeling”. That funny feeling to me is a feeling of primitive fear. I feel afraid (of what I don’t know. I just feel afraid) plus all the accompanying feeling that someone feels when they feel afraid. I feel cold. I feel fear deep inside of me. I feel my stomach feel funny and I feel that something is wrong with me. That is what I feel.
I remember my very first aura. It happened when I was in my late 20s or early 30s. I had been head hunted for an interview. The interview was supposed to be over drinks in the evening at a hotel. I was in the hotel toilet when I felt this strange feeling of fear. Perhaps its the stress which brought it on but I remember the feeling clearly. That was the first time.
Subsequently over the years, sometimes it goes away for several months and sometimes it returns with what seems to me like a vengeance. It’ll come every other day several times a day and when it does. I feel breathless like I’m out of breath and cannot breathe very well throughout the day. I feel all wound up like a wound up clock.
So far this feeling of fear has preceded my seizures. Many articles I read say that if one has this aura then the seizure may come over the next few minutes or hours. Thats tough! If I have this several times a day what am I supposed to do then. Lie down all day????!!!!
No Comments Yet