Health It

Children with epilepsy are more prone to be affected by mental health problems. Studies suggest that boys with epilepsy suffer from problem in handling relationships, anxiety and hypertension while girls start facing emotional problems. Boys with epilepsy have greater tendency of developing mental health problems as compared to girls. It is therefore necessary that these issues are looked after at an early stage so that disastrous consequences can be avoided and the quality of life of an individual is maintained.

Causes of Mental health problems:

The causes may be broadly classified into two categories, i.e., internal and external factors.

Internal or intrinsic factors that cause mental health problems may be the disruption in the normal functioning of brain. Since, the normal functioning of brain affects behavior as well as motor control in an individual, such disruption of normal brain function might also affect behavior. The type of seizure also decides the extent and kind of behavioral change. For instance, children who suffer from generalized seizures are more prone to suffering from hyperactivity and inattention than those with partial seizures.

Mental health and behavioral issues can crop up from external factors like environmental conditions such as reactions of other people to an individual’s seizures and epilepsy. Adverse reactions based on misconception can create problems for the one who is actually experiencing it.

Types of Mental health issues:

Depression, inattention, anxiety disorders, autism and aggression are common mental health issues attached with epilepsy.

Treatment:

There are no such published data regarding treatment of psychiatric disorder in children with epilepsy, but if clinical experience is to be believed the best treatment comes out to be routine check up regarding psychological adjustment of the patient by mental health professionals.

Any disease becomes a lot more bearable if the patient gets proper support from the family members and can help in building up his self esteem and self confidence, which furthermore helps in improving his quality of life.