A Chat with Joe Stevenson: Hiking, Medication and Mindfulness when Living with Epilepsy

It is important to acknowledge when we do impressive things. Not just because a sense of pride won’t do us any harm. But because it makes our stories more realistic to that person who is scared that it’s too hard for them. In a strange way, if we acknowledge that something is hard for us, it makes it more attainable to everyone else.

Joe Stevenson reached a personal peak when he reached the top of Ben Nevis. In episode 3, he told us how this adventure came about. The conversation in this episode lets you hear a little bit more about:

• Joe’s everyday life as a hiker with epilepsy
• How Joe was diagnosed with epilepsy
• His 7 year period of depression and how he overcame it
• The side effects of the medication
• His difficulty finding work due to epilepsy
• And we find out where he’s aiming his sights next, now he knows what he is capable of...

I’d like to thank Joe for speaking to me so honestly. Some of the subjects he mentioned aren’t easy, but my hope it that us talking about it makes it better. If you’ve been affected by anything discussed, Epilepsy Action is a charity that provides support and expert advice for people with epilepsy. You can speak to them about all elements of living with epilepsy or if you are interested in taking on your own challenge for Epilepsy Action.

If you have depression, or would like to talk to someone about your mental health and how you feel, you can contact Mind for information and support.

Find out more about Joe:

https://epilepticman.com/

Related articles:

https://seizeyouradventure.com/2018/06/03/charity-hiking-101-raising-money/

https://seizeyouradventure.com/2018/07/08/hiking-snowdon-now-and-then/

Music:

From Folk Guitar Music Track by Dvideoguy under the Creative Commons License.

This podcast is an independent production - costs of the show are covered by me (Fran) with the support of patrons. If you want to help support the show financially, head to patreon.com/seizeyouradventure. This will help me to continue telling stories of epilepsy in adventure.
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Seize Your Adventure is part of the Tremula Network - adventure and outdoor podcasts off the beaten track. To find out more, head to tremula.network

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