WTD: Seizures
It was one of those afternoons - cold, damp, and brushed by a faint wind chill that barely kissed the skin. The speed limit was 70 miles per hour, but as I flew down the empty, classic highway with my right hand parked at 11 o’clock on the wheel, driving straight felt way too tame to register as cool. I had a destination in mind, but my commitment to it wavered. The familiar, unchanging highway scenery only heightened my anticipation for whatever feeling might finally hit when I got there. It struck me like a flash of lightning - a typical brown wooden house with a front deck and a pair of worn lawn chairs, like something out of an old Southern film. Perhaps it was its isolation, sitting in the middle of nowhere along the highway, but the house gives off an eerie vibe that evokes the fear of a haunting and abandonment. A fleeting glimpse can linger longer than a full view - etched into memory by the jolt of fear it sparks. Even if the moment passes, the feeling sticks, curling into the corners of your mind. It’s not always what you see, but what your mind makes of it after that haunts you.
Have you ever heard the phrase “choking under pressure”? I’ve heard it countless times, usually when someone critiques a player’s performance during a crucial moment in a sports game. There are generally two types of people: those who think before they act, and those who act before they think. But there’s also a rare third type—the person who moves instinctively, driven by muscle memory. As an overthinker, you can probably guess which category I fall into. Over the years, I’ve witnessed more make-or-break moments in sports than I’ve seen red cars pulled over by cops.
So this week, as I sat down to brainstorm a blog topic, my thoughts turned to the times I’ve choked under real pressure—specifically, during life-or-death situations like witnessing a seizure. In those moments, I didn’t jump in to help right away—not because I didn’t care, but because I simply didn’t know what to do. My brain froze, unable to send the right instructions to my body. Now, working as a caregiver, I’ve realized how critical training and preparation are—especially when it comes to emergencies like seizures or heart attacks.
Bazinga! This week’s blog post is all about what to do if you ever find yourself in a situation where someone is having a seizure—and how to be ready when it matters most.
A seizure is a sudden burst of electrical activity in the brain. There are two main types of seizures: focal and generalized. Focal seizures cause changes in awareness, behavior, sensation, or abnormal movements usually on just one side of the body. Generalized seizures begin on both sides of the brain at the same time, affecting both sides of the body. Each type of seizures are further distinguished by whether they cause a loss of awareness.
Most seizures last between 30 seconds and 2 minutes, but if a seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes, it’s considered a medical emergency called status epilepticus.
How to keep a person safe during a seizure
Keep calm
Stay with the person and ease them to the ground if they appear to be falling
Remove anything near them that can cause an injury
Check for a medical bracelet
Take off their eyeglasses
Loosen anything around the neck that could block breathing
Cushion the head if they are on the ground
Keep the airway clear by turn them gently on their side, with their mouth pointing to the ground
Time the seizure to track if it lasts more than 5 minutes
When the seizure is over, help them sit in a safe place to recover
Once they are alert, comfort them and explain what happened
Offer to call a friend or loved one to help them get home safely
Give care for shock if necessary
Seizures don’t usually require emergency medical attention, but you should call 911 or medical help if one or more of these things happen:
The seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes
They have another seizure soon after the first one
They have trouble breathing or waking up after the seizure
They are injured during the seizure
The seizure happens in water
The person never had a seizure before
The person has diabetes and loses consciousness
The person is pregnant
What not to do:
Don’t hold the person down or stop their movements. Let the seizure run its course.
Don’t put anything in their mouth
Don’t give mouth-to-mouth breaths during the seizure
Don’t offer water or food until they are fully alert
Don’t perform chest compressions during a seizure
Moments like these - on the road, lost in thoughts, or frozen in fear - have a strange way of showing us who we really are. That fleeting glimpse of an eerie house stirred something primal in me, just as witnessing a seizure once left me paralyzed with uncertainty. The mind can play tricks, wrapping a single image or moment in layers of meaning, fear, and memory. But what separates fear from failure is what we choose to do next. I’ve learned that choking under pressure doesn’t define us - what defines us is how we prepare for the next time. Knowledge, training, and awareness can turn panic into action and hesitation into help. Being ready means more than just wanting to help - it means knowing how. Because sometimes the most haunting thing isn’t what we saw or failed to do, but the feeling that we weren’t ready when someone needed us most. Let’s change that. And we'll be ready to move when the next moment strikes like lightning. Instinctively. Confidently. Prepared.
Resources:
Seizures - Seizure Types | Generalized vs Focal Seizures | Causes of Seizures (Mnemonic)
First Aid for Seizures | Epilepsy | CDC
