Nearly three million U.S. adults live with epilepsy, a chronic brain disorder that causes recurring, unprovoked seizures, according to the CDC. I am one of them.

I was in the seventh grade when I had my first seizure.

My family and I were traveling to the beach when we pulled over at Abbott’s to get some gas. I was sitting in the front seat with my dad, listening to my Ipod.

We had not been gone long, when my dad supposedly told me to “stop making that funny face.”

It turned out I wasn’t making a funny face, I was about to have my first grand mal seizure. My eyes rolled in the back of my head, and I began foaming at the mouth.

I can’t recall any of this. I simply remember trying to tell my parents something was wrong, but nothing would come out. Then, everything went blank.

I woke up in the hospital hours later.

According to my parents, we were in a dead zone and they couldn’t get help and didn’t know what was happening to me. They recalled seeing a football game down the road, and drove back to the game, meeting the ambulance at the gate, who then drove me into the town’s nearest hospital.

After that initial seizure, I was diagnose with Photosensitive Epilepsy.

Despite its prevalence, many people remain uninformed about the condition and its effects.

Dr. Dileep Nair, a clinical neurophysiologist at Cleveland Clinic, emphasized the mystery surrounding epilepsy. “It still carries quite a lot of mystery amongst the general public,” he said.

Epilepsy can affect anyone at any stage of life, and the severity varies from person to person. “People who aren’t really aware of the disease. It can look scary,” Nair added.

In honor of Epilepsy Awareness Month, Nair shared crucial steps to take when someone is experiencing a seizure. First, ensure the person’s safety by making sure they are not bumping into anything. Do not restrain them or put any objects in their mouth.

Next, turn the person onto their side. “So that if there is vomit or saliva that’s coming out, it comes out of the body rather than back into the lungs,” Nair explained.

It is also important to stay with the person and time the seizure. If it lasts more than five minutes, if the person is injured, has difficulty breathing, or experiences repeated seizures, call 911 immediately.

“Many people who have epilepsy have rescue medications that are prescribed. And um if you’re a caregiver or, or a family member and uh you have those medicines, you can, you can use them as prescribed by your doctor,” Nair stated.