Is there such a thing as an "epileptic personality" and if so just what is it? If you read the police journals of the last century you'd probably be convinced there was. They are full of accounts of criminals who are "obviously epileptic". The assumption was that if you broke society's laws then there was obviously something wrong with you, and probably physical as well!
There are a number of other assumptions behind that idea. But a belief that persons with epilepsy had a distinct personality carried over well into the 20th century. When I was in my teens (and a member of the W.A. Epilepsy Assn), my mother gave me a book on psychology (bought at a jumble sale) that supported the idea. That book was dated in the early fifties.
So just what is an "epileptic" or "temporal lobe" personality supposed to be? How about pedantic, egocentric, religiose, suspicious, adhesive, quarrelsome, aggressive, et cetera. These are mentioned by Mary and John Laidlaw in People with Epilepsy. They also point out how these products of social biases, based on ideas that seizures were caused by the Devil (which in itself comes from earlier ideas that epileptics were touched by the Gods).
Now I was rather upset when I first read a list of traits like that above (and this was only in 1998), because a number of them did seem to describe me! I am pedantic (though perhaps I prefer the term tenacious), a bit egocentric, religous (as a neo-pagan how can I not be?) and occassionally suspicious.
But if you examine the list above, you will find that most of these attributes are ones likely to occur in someone who's insecure. I freely admit to being that in the past.
Some people do have brain damage as well as epilepsy (and in that case, epilepsy may be a symptom of this). Brain damage can bring about intellectual impairment and learning might become more difficult. If seizures aren't controlled, then further learning can also be impaired. Excessive or inappropriate treatment though can be just as bad, and seriously affect a person's ability to cope with their environment.
As Laidlaw also points out, environment can also affect how a person with epilepsy develops. They can be affected by poor social, economic of family background; family attitudes (such as rejection or over-protection); teasing, bullying and social rejection at school; lack of maturity in adolescence and further social dysfunction.
Actually the last hit home particularly for me. To quote Laidlaw:
"The adolescent, quite possibly rather backward and immature, faces much greater difficulties when he leaves school. He is unlikely to be able to find security and companionship in a job. At home and unemployed he will be stressed even more by faulty parental attitudes. At an early age when his sexual awareness is aroused, increasingly he will be frustrated by his failures in the mating game." (pp92-93) My emphasis.Is it any wonder I was upset when reading something like this. The last sentence describes me well. I didn't lose my virginity until I was 26. I was afraid (for other reasons) of getting close to other people. Epilepsy made it harder.