LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS

Roses are red, violets are blue, and we all know how that one ends. Yes it’s that time of year again, when women start leaving early hints that they want a grand gesture from their other half, that declaration of love. It’s all about recreating the New York love affair Mr Big and Carrie had in Sex and The City, or is it?

For men Valentine’s Day brings about the shame and embarrassment at having to buy the perfect card that says ‘I love you’. Luckily now the internet solves this mild embarrassment with online sites dedicated to creating the perfect card, and in some cases the entire romantic night. Pass the bucket, I feel ill already.

Eason’s becomes a sea of pink and red, shelves stacked with clichéd romantic cards that make many singletons want to sit in the dark and eat spaghetti hoops while their housemate is being wined and dined by the ‘love of their love’ even though he has given you the eye on occasion.

“Till death do us part” Yeah Right! More like until the next piece of ‘meat’ catches our eye or we go through a midlife crisis and have an affair, but its okay all can be forgiven on Valentine’s Day, with a bunch of roses and a Teddy bear that says “I love you”. Well that’s what happens in the movies so it must be right? WRONG

Whether or not we buy into the most pointless day of the year or not, (Yes I maybe as cynical as a single Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and The City) but this is allowed on occasion.

Stop! Behind that second layer of chocolates you are about to cry into because you’re single there is light at the end of the caramel tunnel.

It turns out St Valentine was in fact a real person, one that didn’t wear a nappy and have a cross and arrow that struck people with the infamous ‘Love Bug’

Did you know that St Valentine was the patron saint of epilepsy? It was news to me too, and no epilepsy is not connected to the devil? This yet again is another myth dispelled by the Catholic Church.

While you are gearing up for the most romantic let down of the year, spare a thought for those affected by an illness which St Valentine himself is said to have been effected by.

To have epilepsy is to have a tendency to have recurring seizures. A seizure is a brief and temporary malfunction of normal brain activity and is often compared to a computer crashing.

Research carried out by Epilepsy Ireland in 2009 found that there are 37,000 (1 in every 115) people with epilepsy in this country and that this number may be increasing.

The exact reason for St Valentine's link to epilepsy is not known for certain; we do know that the link has been reinforced by Christians throughout the ages ever since February 14th was declared to be the Feast Day of Saint Valentine as far back as 496AD.

In parts of Europe, common names for epilepsy have included "Saint Valentine's illness" and "St. Valentine's affliction". There are also hundreds of iconic representations existing today from the 15t century onwards of St. Valentine healing people with epilepsy, particularly in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. They often show the Saint with an adult or a child having a seizure or recovering from a seizure.

St Valentine is also often represented by the symbol of the Rose. Every year, Epilepsy Ireland marks St Valentine's connection to epilepsy through our Valentine's Roses fundraising appeal.

Speaking to a young woman who suffers from the disorder, she spoke of how she went from partying like any other first year to suddenly having no control over her world. It puts the whole notion of love into perspe

ctive.

“It’s hard to deal with sometimes, I only got my first seizure four years ago at a time I was in my prime and starting college. I went from a care free existence to suddenly being very health conscious and I feel this is a condition that young people are not fully aware of,”.

Adding to this she” I now have  to take two tablets twice a day and take much better care of myself than I would have been 4 years ago when my seizures first began,”

It has taken this young woman four years for her seizures to be completely under control but for others this can take longer.

So for all you love sick puppies out there this Thursday put the chocolates and spaghetti hoops away. Being single is probably a blessing at least you don’t have to be that consumer of an all singing and dancing ‘I Love you card’.

The 3rd annual European Epilepsy Day takes place on Monday, February 11th 2013, three days before the feast day of St Valentine, the Patron Saint of Epilepsy.