800 million people have experienced a seizure in their lifetime. It’s time you learned how to help.

Have you ever seen a person seize? If you haven’t, it can be a scary experience. There are numerous different types of seizures, but I would argue that some of the scariest ones are tonic-clonic seizures where someone’s entire body starts convulsing and shaking uncontrollably or atonic seizures where someone’s entire body goes limp and collapses to the floor. Most people freeze up when they see someone seizing. Or worse, they look away.

I like to think of seizures as neurons being overwhelmed and having too much to do, causing them to misfire and go out of control. This can be triggered by many different factors such as water intake, stress, sleep deprivation, heat and more. When a person experiences their first seizure, they are more likely to experience another one again. I understand that seizures are seen as dangerous. But I want to reiterate that they are not dangerous for anyone other than the person experiencing them. Seizures can lead to permanent brain damage, broken bones, and seriously affect someone’s quality of life.

When you see a person seizing, you may think to hold the person down or put their hand in the person’s mouth. DO NOT do any of this. These misconceptions put you at a risk of injury. As someone who has witnessed many seizures and who has helped people through it, I believe that the Epilepsy Foundation says it very nicely and simply:

• Stay: do not leave the person that is seizing. Stay with them until they regain consciousness.
• Safe: remove any objects around them so that the person does not get more injured.
• Side: place the person that is seizing on their side so that they do not choke on their saliva or tongue. If possible, support their head with something comfortable (pillows, a jacket…).

For many years, seizures have been stigmatized. In fact, the word seizure comes from being seized by the devil. In ancient Christianity, it was believed that “the punishment of the devil was apparent in the torment of the human body.” A symptom of certain seizures consists of eyes rolling into the air which was interpreted as a sign of being possessed by the devil. This idea was strongly believed for many years, delaying the development of seizure care.

Still today, despite being the largest neurological condition in the United States, people do not know how to react when someone experiences a seizure. I hope that this article will help you realize the importance of stepping in. One small action can save a life. Don’t be a part of the bystander effect.

Epilepsy foundation #1 trusted site for epilepsy and seizure news. Epilepsy Foundation. (n.d.). https://www.epilepsy.com/.

Kelley, N. (1970, January 1). ‘The punishment of the Devil was apparent in the torment of the human body”: Epilepsy in ancient Christianity. SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137001207_13

What are seizure symptoms?. Cleveland Clinic. (2025b, June 11). https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22789-seizure.