title: Epilepsy is Dancing.
abstract: In "Epilepsy is Dancing", in Antony and the Johnsons' album "The Crying Light"(2009), the lyrics and accompanying music video depicts an epileptic seizure in which the person is transferred to another beautiful and magical world. This may be called "enchanted epilepsy"; i.e., the experience of epilepsy as deeply nourishing and (positively) transforming, is conveyed not only in the lyrics but also the visual and auditory qualities of the video. The seizure in the video gives associations to Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's dream". If epilepsy appears in music lyrics, the focus is mostly on negative aspects of the illness, such as horror, fear and repulsive sexuality associated with the fits [1,2]. Contradictory to these lyrics, Anthony and the Johnsons' song is an example of a positive portrayal of epilepsy. It is open to a multitude of meanings, emotional valence and appraisal of epilepsy. By widening the experiential range associated with epileptic seizures, these lyrics highlight the inherently construed nature of epileptic experience. The song stands out in several ways. First, it describes epilepsy in positive terms, prioritising the euphoric, ecstatic, potentially empowering and enhancing aspects of epileptic seizures. Second, the lyrics and accompanying video point to divine experiences associated with epileptic seizures. Through the lyrics and the music video we are, as an audience, able to sense a snicket of an epileptic seizure, but also the universal experience of loosing control.
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology Centre, Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: miatuft@neuropsychology.no.
authors.forename: Mia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tuft
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Oxford Mindfulness Centre, Warneford Hospital, University of Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Bergljot
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gjelsvik
authors.affiliation: National Center for Epilepsy, Oslo University Hospital, Norway.
authors.forename: Karl O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Nakken
mesh_terms: D003615:Dancing / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000523:psychology*; D005059:Euphoria; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D009146:Music; D012640:Seizures / Q000523:psychology; D012725:Sexual Behavior
keywords: Ecstatic seizures; Epilepsy; Lyrics; Modern music