The nerve cells are firing away at random and thus, the patient loses control over muscles. In worst cases, there can be a generalized seizure known as an atonic seizure which makes the patient collapse into the ground in a heap. There can also be clonic seizures where there is a rhythmic muscle contractions that leads to jerks, or myoclonic seizures that occur as very brief twitches in the legs and arms. Almost everyone would have experienced a myoclonic jerk, but this is nothing to worry about if other symptoms do not manifest.

These are seizures that only the patient will be able to identify. For an observer, everything seems normal and no difference is seen other than slight twitches and involuntary muscle movements. But the patient’s perception of the world changes. The way things look, smell, taste and feel completely changes. Such focal seizures will often alter emotions too. They could lead to spontaneous sensory symptoms like flashing lights, vertigo and tingling sensations.

A person about to have an epileptic attack may give you an impression of someone who has lost his/her mind. There will be repetitive shifting, picking lint off the shirt, repetitive chewing, using the same words and sentences over and over again, and continuous tapping of fingers. These are all indications of an attack about to happen. They add to the display of anxiety. Keep a look out for abnormal actions that will become monotonously repetitive. Do not mistake this as a joke or a lowering in IQ. Some of these movements will continue through the seizure too.

This is a common symptom that occurs with every type of seizure. The patient seems to get a foreboding of what is about to happen and thus a seizure attack is often preceded by a panic attack or an anxiety attack. This is a persistent and consistent symptom and could be used to recognize the onset of an attack. Such anxiety may also result in hyper sensitivity and irritability in the patient.

Staring is a result of a complex focal seizure or a generalized seizure which is known medically as an absence seizure (petit mal). The face is usually the only affected portion of the body. The patient just stares blankly into empty space and appears to be daydreaming. In case of a complex focal seizure resulting in staring, it will also be accompanied by non-purposeful actions like chewing, walking in circles, swallowing and hand-rubbing. It may also cause the loss of awareness. If staring is due to a generalized seizure, then it will be accompanied not only by subtle body movements but may also cause a loss in awareness.

Consider the epileptic attack as a software malfunction. Irrespective of how good the hardware is, it is bound to slow down and suffer. Thus, legs and arms begin to feel limp and weak. In case of generalized seizures, one may experience tonic seizures wherein the muscles suddenly stiffen. The muscles in the back, arms and legs are the most prone to this kind of stiffening. This weakness may often be accompanied by a fever too.This leads to a severe weakness and may even make the patient fall to the ground involuntarily.

This will be the easiest to identify. It is also the most visible and most intense of all types of seizures. This is a generalized seizure known as the tonic-clonic seizure. A lot of things happen very quickly. Muscle stiffening in the legs, hands and back leads to loss of control over them. The entire body, in general, becomes stiff and begins to shake involuntarily. A person often loses bladder control and starts biting their tongue. In severe cases, the tongue may even get partially severed. Many times, the person having a grand mal also loses consciousness for brief spells. These could last from a few seconds to even hours!