Having had epilepsy for 14 years, reporter Anna Dowdeswell, decided to help Nicola Hanlon raise its profile by entering the National Society for Epilepsy Journalist of the Year Award competition - an annual event designed to promote responsible reporting about epilepsy in the national and local media.

Epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder in the UK, but 37 years after she was diagnosed with it, an Oxford woman says the public's stereotype image of it has not changed.

Having had the condition for 14 years, I have found that's true, and together we want to raise the profile of the condition.

Nicola Hanlon, 38, of Cramner Road, Cowley, said: "I don't think people understand and it's not shown enough on television. People say to me 'You don't look like someone with epilepsy', but what does that look like? You still lead a normal life."

We are both proof of that. I have completed education up to university level, coping with up to 35 seizures a month, and Mrs Hanlon is happily married with two healthy children.

Epilepsy patients and charities want to dispel myths that we "suffer" from a "disease" - it is a controllable condition you learn to live with.

Mrs Hanlon is now seizure-free after brain surgery nine years ago, but that doesn't mean the condition has gone. She said: "It's on my mind constantly. The doctors want me to come off my medication, but I don't want to, because I would be more worried about having one."

Public opinion often affects how patients deal with their circumstances - some never tell others they have it - but our advice is to be open about it.

Mrs Hanlon said: "Speak about it. When you bring it up, people say they know people who have it."

I found when I went to university, there was a lot of financial support available to epilepsy patients. But if I hadn't declared the condition, it wouldn't have been offered to me.

Brain surgery is an option open to me. This is the advice Mrs Hanlon gave: "If you have the option to have it - do it. It was a frightening experience, but when you consider what I had to gain it was well worth it."

We believe how epilepsy is portrayed in the media is key to people understanding it. A study three years ago by the National Society for Epilepsy (NSE) found two per cent of Britons still believed epilepsy was caused by being possessed by evil spirits.

It was revealed earlier this month that David Beckham's four-year-old son Romeo has the condition, but reports have contained comments which reinforce stigma. Victoria Beckham described people with epilepsy as "different", but the NSE wants this perception changed as soon as possible.

Senior press officer Amanda Cleaver said: "We would urge the Beckhams to look upon their son's epilepsy more positively, as an opportunity to raise awareness of the condition and stamp out stigma.

"As celebrity role models, they could do for epilepsy what Kylie Minogue has done for breast cancer."

It's true that living with this unpredictable condition can get on top of you, but as Mrs Hanlon and I have shown, with medication we can have a normal life. Mrs Hanlon said: "I wouldn't wish it on anyone - but don't be ashamed."

Call the UK Epilepsy Helpline on 01494 601400 (10am-4pm, Monday to Friday) for information, or visit www.epilepsynse.org.uk