Psychosocial Aspects and Stigma

Abstract

There is often significant stigma associated with people affected by seizures and diagnosed with epilepsy. The effects of stigmatization in people with epilepsy can often be significant resulting in impaired psychosocial function, isolation, and agoraphobia due to the fear of experiencing seizures, worsening anxiety and depression, and compromised overall quality of life. Patients with drug-resistant epilepsy may be confused with a psychiatric disorder further stigmatizing them. The sophistication of medical and surgical understanding in managing people with epilepsy varies widely in developing countries with limited resources. While history and physical examination is usually helpful to differentiate patients with seizures from other causes such as sleep disorders in people with nocturnal seizures, video-EEG or video-polysomnography with an expanded EEG montage may be necessary to arrive at a definitive diagnosis.