Iris Vasconcelos

As someone living with narcolepsy, I have often wondered if my condition makes me an unreliable person. Narcolepsy is an incredibly unpredictable condition, so it seems only logical to me...

Living with narcolepsy type 1 (with cataplexy) has given me a unique relationship with sleep. I’ve become quite adept at handling the complexities of daytime sleepiness and cataplexy, but my...

The journey to receiving a narcolepsy diagnosis often resembles a rollercoaster, fraught with misdiagnoses. It can take a long time to get diagnosed correctly. Since initiating my advocacy journey in...

Cataplexy is a sudden, brief loss of muscle tone often triggered by strong emotions. If you have never witnessed a cataplexy attack, it can be difficult to describe. Despite suffering...

Living with narcolepsy is like living with an extra, constant shadow by your feet, not just as a medical condition, but as a relentless companion in my life. It's more...

In my journey with narcolepsy, TED Talks have been a beacon of inspiration, not just as a source of information but as a vital tool in managing my mental health...

Living with narcolepsy is a rollercoaster of realities that often collide, leaving me caught between wakefulness and dreams in a way that's far from whimsical. Let's walk through the raw...

The first stimulant I was introduced to was Modafinil, and as much as I used to view it as one of the best and most memorable moments, I now realize...

Living with narcolepsy is a unique and often misunderstood journey, marked by the ever-present stigma that infiltrates various aspects of our lives. Unlike many other chronic conditions, narcolepsy doesn't come...

When I express how much I want to live on my own again, people always ask me, “Is it a good idea to live alone with narcolepsy?” It’s a question...

Aside from the condition itself, there's an added burden tied to narcolepsy that hardly receives recognition — the struggle to be financially independent. In an ideal world, money would be...

As the years go by, there's a subtle weight that descends, a deepening sensation of isolation that accompanies the unrelenting hold of narcolepsy. It is more than the neverending struggle...

I’ve realised that since I was diagnosed with narcolepsy, I’ve learned so much about myself, and I continue to do so the more time goes by. For a while, I...

When I was diagnosed with narcolepsy at 28 years old, there were many things I worried about... but my weight was certainly not one of them. Like most recently diagnosed...

Narcolepsy is no laughing matter. As a matter of fact, no chronic illness is something to laugh about. Having said this, I do believe that humour and chronic illness aren’t...

Living with narcolepsy isn't just an individual journey; it's a shared experience within the intricate web of family dynamics. While we hope for understanding and support from our loved ones...

I’ve been diagnosed for almost 6 years now, and as much as it feels like it was only yesterday... it also feels like an entire lifetime has gone by. Throughout...

As someone who regularly experiences hallucinations, it’s a topic that I find especially interesting. There is so much that we don’t understand, and even that the scientific community still doesn’t...