Purpose in Pain – How my epilepsy changed my life…for the better
By Sophia Seeger
“Is it really better to feel pain than nothing at all?” The line above is one of my favorite song lyrics, written by The Lumineers in their song “Stubborn Love.” In other words, would you rather go through pain and trauma for it to make you a better person with a purpose? OR feel nothing at all? Your life is great, but you live with no gratitude or empathy.
My name is Sophia Seeger. I’m 21 years old, blogger behind @xofromsophia, president and founder of Milo&Me, and I have lived with hourly uncontrolled seizures for 18 years. When I was three and a half, I was diagnosed with absence seizures.
By the time I was fourteen years old, I had tried and failed more than five forms of treatment.
My freshman year of high school, I opened an Instagram account called Milo&Me, named after my therapy dog, Milo, to spread epilepsy awareness and education. The most shocking part? People cared about what I had to say.
Because of this small action, I was booked and busy from the time I was sixteen until nineteen years old with advocacy work: public speaking, lobbying at Capitol Hill, publishing my first book, and turning Milo&Me into a nonprofit.
The entire time I was making progress in the epilepsy world, I was still struggling with my epilepsy mentally, physically, and seizure-wise. During this entire whirlwind of accomplishments, there were a lot of things that went unseen.
I still never got the one thing I wanted: seizure freedom. At the end of January 2026, I had my most recent EEG, and for the first time in my life, it came back… SEIZURE FREE! It felt like everything was worth it again. I never understood what I was missing out on until I got to where I wanted to be. It was such a major win, but I felt disconnected.
Epilepsy is humbling, and rock bottom does have a basement. My story includes a lot of push and pull. Two months later, I lost seizure freedom. My depressive episodes came back worse. My anxiety? HIGH. The isolation I felt? Back and better than ever.
While still finding seizure freedom, I ask myself, “Is it really better to feel pain than nothing at all?”
My answer? Yes. It really is.
I’m 21, and I have grown a lot as a person. If the last 18 years have taught me anything, it’s that you’re never done growing or understanding the human experience. I’ve felt pain, I’ve felt happiness, I’ve felt unworthy, I’ve felt loved, and I’ve felt frustrated. If being in “pain” means I get to experience all the positives associated with it, I’ll be okay.
The truth is, I’m so much more than epilepsy, but I wouldn’t be who I am today without epilepsy. In all honesty, I’m grateful for that.
There is purpose in the pain. even if you don’t believe it.
Sophia has presented to the JoshProvides Epilepsy Support Group about her experiences as a Purple Warrior.
