She's Lost Control

I have epilepsy- I still get emotional when I hear this song. It's amazing how accurately he describes a seizure. I know he suffered from it too, but I could never even begin putting how it feels into words.

slaps forehead To everyone who thinks this song isn't about epilepsy. It is. It is about a girl Ian Curtis knew while working for the Department of Disabled Services in Manchester. She had a seizure and died from it. (Source: Deborah Curtis - Joy Division Documentary) Ian had not yet been diagnosed with epilepsy himself at this point. Also: the film "Control" based on Deborah Curtis book "Touching from a Distance" also mentions these facts.

And it is not about: Crashing Trains or Cars. Ian Curtis didn't die in a crash. He commited suicide by hanging himself after listening to "the Idiot" - by Iggy Pop. (Source: Wikipedia and Joy Division Documentary)

i understand that its about epilepsy, but i think for those of us who cant personaly relatre to epilepsy can interpret it as severe anxiety attacks or any emotional breakdown of some kind

I could live a little better with the myths and the lies, When the darkness broke in, I just broke down and cried. I could live a little in a wider line, When the change is gone, when the urge is gone, To lose control. When here we come.

Don't forget that part :P (best part imo) Never knew it was about epilepsy, though i see now that it must be. To me personally though it's different. Very deep and not explainable. JOY DIVISION!!!!!

In "Control" the new Ian Curtis/Joy Division movie, they made it appear that he wrote this about the girl with epilepsy AFTER (not before) he found out that he was epileptic. He was working in the employment office, and helped the girl find a job before he knew he had it. He then learned that he had epilepsy, and called to see how whe was doing at her new job and learned of her death from a seizure. He was in shock to hear that someone could die from one. The next scene shows him writing the song. I don't know if this is historically accurate, but I thought I'd contribute the info.

It is about epilepsy and this song is just like having a seizure with the music in the background. It's so good to hear someone describes exactly how it is, to know that you aren't alone in being changed by this disorder. I think it could apply to anyone who feels like their control over their mind or their life is slipping. Amazing sonh.

I always thought it was about having sudden severe anxiety attacks, but apparently it's about epilepsy. Ian Curtis had extremely bad epilepsy, and this fuelled the misery which led to his suicide in May 1980.

I heard it was about a girl that either Curtis knew personally or had been told of who had really bad epilepsy, and one day she had a serious grand mal attack and died.

Might be about epilepsy. When I hear this song, with its peculiar "pang" sound of the drums, I visualize an old Lithuanian acquaintance jogging clumsily in a short circle. There seems to be something ineluctable in the rythm. These are my fantasies they won´t help you to understand what the song is about (It was said "epilepsy") http://whatsthis.antville.org/

i adore this song, it makes me tingle. To me, this is about losing control (duuude) and although it evidently relates to epilepsy and the effects of an attacks (i assume, never having had an attack myself) i agree with gwynblaidd when s/he says that it's not just about epilepsy, a few lines seem to me to be hard to attribute to epilepsy only, like 'she gave away secrets of her past and said I've lost control again' to me that's as applicable to life running away from you as to epilepsy.