Who is Electro Girl?

My name is Lainie Chait, I am an author, performer and stand up comedian as well as a teacher in Animal Studies at TAFE. I had been in the throes of writing an autobiography about my journey living a symbiotic existence with Epilepsy for 16 years and I finally self published it in 2017. There were many reasons I wrote ‘Electro Girl’ but the main ones are that:

1. I was looking to promote awareness about our brains and how we need to look after them as they are integral to our survival.
2. I wanted to debunk stigmas around Epilepsy and attempt to release some of the fear that many have about witnessing people who have seizures
3. I wanted to inspire people to not take a backseat after they walk out of a doctor’s office with a diagnosis of any kind.

I am very much an advocate for people treating themselves holistically for any condition that they have been diagnosed with. After diagnosis, you have a duty of care to yourself that you need to take seriously in order to manage your condition. The duty of care isn’t just about walking out of a doctor’s office with a prescription and management plan to take pills for the rest of your life or to restrict your behavior and wave a white flag in the air of surrender. You are in the driver’s seat!!! Listening to your doctor is just one step in your journey back to health, as health is a holistic game.

By holistic I mean, exploring outside the confines of a doctor’s diagnosis and treatment and using that as a springboard to embark upon other healing modalities to keep the seizures or other symptoms at bay. I am in no way saying don’t listen to the doctor, what I am advocating is to not be afraid to trial other things on top of the treatment recommended by your medical professional. Pharmaceuticals are over used in this day and age and need not be the only method of treating and managing our brains, immune system and health in general. I know this as I have lived it myself and only found this out when I had the courage to explore for myself other options.

I called the book and stage show ‘Electro Girl’ as she was a superhero persona that I invented when I was 19 to help me cope with the concept of having to live with Epilepsy “forever” which was the forecast of the diagnosis at that time. I have had nearly 300 tonic clonic aka grand mal seizures in 26 years. Each one brought me a step closer to understanding why I have them, when they might happen and what are the triggers to look out for in order to avoid having them altogether. I am now on a mixture of a small amount of pharmaceutical medication and a process of practicing mindfulness and neuroplasticity techniques to rewire my brain away from the negative thoughts that trigger my brain to misfire. I also have a healthy diet that I use as medicine to feed my body, mind and soul as well as an exercise regime that keeps me strong and fit.

Come share the journey and the knowledge with me and empower yourselves to get better from the inside out.

In love, light and electricity

Lainie