Living with an unpredictable, serious condition such as epilepsy can take an emotional toll on a young person. Young people with epilepsy are more likely to have an emotional disorder (e.g. depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder) than their peers or youn people with other long term medical conditions
Risk factors that increase the chances of a young person with epilepsy developing an emotional disorder include:
- Adolescence
- Taking more than one anti-seizure medication (and their subsequent side effects)
- Poor seizure control
- Temporal and frontal lobe epilepsy
- Family history of emotional disorders
- Younger age of seizure onset
- Social problems
- Additional medical conditions
- Female gender
Young people living with epilepsy may experience a range of emotional issues, including:
- Low self-esteem
- Lack of confidence
- Fear of failure
- Lack of independence
- Denial of the condition and the lifestyle that is needed to manage it safely
- Non-compliance with medication regimes
- Behavioural difficulties
- Psychiatric disorders
- Self-harm
- Fear of injury or death
Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) is a rare occurrence, but schools should be aware that young people with epilepsy, and their families, may be living with this fear. SUDEP is said to have occurred when someone with epilepsy dies suddenly and unexpectedly for no known reason with, or without, evidence of having had a seizure. It usually occurs at night when there are no witnesses.
Schools should ensure that young people with epilepsy can access support for them to discuss any concerns or anxieties.
