Mental Health Awareness Month 2023

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, an opportunity for the epilepsy community to raise awareness and challenge stigma about mental health concerns specific to people with epilepsy.

One-third of people with epilepsy suffer from some form of psychiatric disorder. While some may experience few mental health issues, others may suffer debilitating problems of anxiety, depression, or mood disorders.

Be sure to check back for more information about our upcoming webinar scheduled for Thursday, May 18 which will be on mental health and childhood epilepsy.

A Seizing Life® episode, pediatric neuropsychologist Dr. Madison Berl speaks about some of the mental health challenges facing people with epilepsy, what to look out for, and available treatment and therapeutic approaches.

This webinar discusses how anxiety and depression in people with epilepsy negatively impact their quality of life, reduce tolerance of antiepileptic medications, and increase the risk of suicidal ideation and behavior. The presentation also reviews how stress impacts epileptic seizures and offers strategies patients can use to better cope with stress.

This webinar discusses the prevalence of anxiety and depression among people with epilepsy. Viewers will learn how anxiety and depression impact people with epilepsy in different ways, and that neurologists often have multiple tools at their disposal to help alleviate these psychiatric symptoms. In some cases, the treatment of these symptoms may influence the treatment of the seizures themselves. 

In this episode of Seizing Life, explore the psychological impacts of epilepsy that can result in mood disorders, like depression and anxiety with Dr. Kanner, Director of the International Comprehensive Epilepsy Center and Chief of Epilepsy Division at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. He discusses the importance of considering the psychological impacts of an epilepsy diagnosis on both patients and families. Dr. Kanner recommends that physicians take a patient’s full personal and family psychiatric history during the initial diagnosis and outlines how that information should be utilized in treating the patient.