Is epilepsy a mental illness?

Mental illnesses (or mental disorders) are problems that have an impact on your thinking, feelings, mood, and behavior. They may be occasional or long-lasting (chronic). It is not always possible to pinpoint the exact source of mental diseases. It could be caused due to physical injuries, such as damage to the head or brain, and the environment in which we live, including exposure to pollution, unhealthy food, lead-based paint, traumatic events and altered chemistry in the brain.
Epileptic seizures are caused by unusual brain activity, which is accurate. However, thinking about epilepsy as a mental condition is incorrect. It would be unfair to consider spotting probable symptoms of mental disorder in a person with epilepsy simply because he or she is occasionally emotionally disturbed. During a seizure attack, a person will lose contact with the outside world for a few minutes, make unusual movements with their hands, collapse involuntarily on the ground, or, in the worst-case scenario, have a large attack in front of the general public.
Seizures are different for each person, and it can be disturbing for onlookers who don’t know what’s happening. The confusion between epilepsy and mental illness may be due to two reasons:
1. side effects of antiepileptics -Most people with epilepsy have their disorder under
control with medication. Unfortunately, most of the medicines available to treat
epilepsy have negative effects. Slow thinking, mood swings, anger, sadness, and
weight gain are all possible side effects. These adverse effects may be mistaken as
mental disease by the untrained eye.
2. seizures - When you have a seizure, it may appear to others that you are intellectually
challenged. That's because seizures, which only last a short time (mental illness lasts a lifetime),
are sometimes followed by disorientation, staring, acting aggressively, or slurring your words.

Epilepsy is not a mental illness, but it can place people living with epilepsy at a greater risk of developing one.

The severity of cognitive or intellectual impairments is connected to:
• epilepsy beginning at a young age
• having frequent seizures
• having an underlying brain damage
• poor seizure control
• the length of time it takes to have seizures managed.
Among the recent hospital-based studies, children with longer duration of seizures, increased frequency of seizures, poor compliance with drugs, and specifically anticonvulsant polytherapy, had a higher frequency of psychiatric comorbidity.

Some identical signs and symptoms that are seen in mental disorders and also in epileptic patients include:

• Feeling sad and unhappy: once a person has epilepsy, he has to give up a lot of things, start a new life, and that comes with a lot of frustration and uncertainty.
• Easy irritability: Some typical behavior noticed in people with epilepsy has led people to assume that it is the result of bad spirits possessing them or sins committed in a previous life. If there is too much negative misinformation, epileptic patient will be more cautious and look out for bad intentions from a good-hearted person.
• Withdrawal from friends and activities: Millions of people believe that epilepsy has been invaded by a demon and is prohibited from touching the patient because their disease is contagious. With that in mind, there’s nothing to be surprised about if an epileptic patient is reluctant to go into the community.
• Lack of motivation or interest in the outside world: unfortunately, people with epilepsy are stigmatized, they feel that society has turned their backs on them.
• Inability to maintain relationships: the epileptic does not dare to share his illness with others because he is afraid that his partner will leave him, even before she has really known him.
• Disorganized speech (talking meaningless sentences that don’t make sense): only if the seizure affects areas of the brain responsible for speech and only for a short time while the seizure lasts.
• Hallucinations (experiences of unreal sensations such as hearing voices, seeing things, feeling sensations on the skin, smelling weird aromas that aren't real, and so on): this may occur in people with temporal lobe epilepsy, but only for a short time during their seizure.
• Stress of living with a chronic health condition
• Suicidal thinking (requires immediate medical attention): may occur as a side effect of anti epileptic drugs (in that case you should discuss alternative medication options)
It is important to remember that mental illnes symptoms are treatable, and can be managed through a range of effective treatments with health professionals. Neeraj Epilepsy Clinic in Rishikesh has the best ayurvedic doctors specialised to treat epilepsy. We provide unique, well planed, safe, individualized Ayurvedic treatment.
Ayurvedic medicines are based on holistic healing science. This shows that the person's problems are progressively resolved over time, rather than demonstrating quick gains that are just temporary in the long run. Ayurveda assists in the cleaning of a person's chakras. The renewing activities, purifying behavior, and development of the satvik mind nourish both the body and the mind.
Mental health concerns are difficult to deal with, and it is made even more difficult when society refuses to validate them. Also getting care for mental health disorders continues to be widely stigmatized in our environment. In Neeraj Epilepsy Clinic our ayurvedic doctors can help patients to achieve a better quality of life. Ask for an appointment for a free consultation so you can get to know the best ayurvedic doctors and we can start a treatment for you.