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Anxiety and Epilepsy
Thu, 06/27/2013 - 15:22Comments
Re: Anxiety and Epilepsy
Submitted by lee_paws on Mon, 2013-07-15 - 17:58
I have had epilepsy since I was 5 and have always had what could be called "panic attacks" as auras (which are Simple Partial seizures) before my Complex Partial seizures. As a child I would say that I fell like I'm falling when what I was really trying to describe is that feeling you get when someone walks up behind you and startles you. When the feeling would get to a certain intensity I would go into a Complex Partial seizure. I even had an automatism where I would say "Help me! Help me! I'm Scared help me!" during the complex partial seizure. We have been told by some of the leading epileptologist in the U.S. (to include Dr. J. Kiffin Penry) that the fear I feel comes from the same area of the brain where the seizure is taking place, therefore, the anxiety (feeling of fear) is just part of the seizure. (FYI. seizures can be startled induced) Support from family and friends, a careful balance of medications, relaxation, VNS, and educating myself exactly what epilepsy is has helped me deal with these feelings/seizures for over 40 years.
Find that thing that helps your child to relax can be a difficult task. I found watching tv helped me to relax. As a child I would always go and watch TV during the post ictal state and try to settle down. It was very difficult to go back to sleep because the fear would cause a release of adrenaline and I couldn't go back to sleep. It took my mom a long time to find what helped me to relax but she did after trying many therapies. May it be watching a relaxing TV program, listening to relaxing music, or hearing a parents calming voice, the right therapy is out there for your child to relax. The trick to finding the perfect therapy is trial and error. Good Luck to all in finding the therapy that is right for you or your loved one.
I have had epilepsy since I was 5 and have always had what could be called "panic attacks" as auras (which are Simple Partial seizures) before my Complex Partial seizures. As a child I would say that I fell like I'm falling when what I was really trying to describe is that feeling you get when someone walks up behind you and startles you. When the feeling would get to a certain intensity I would go into a Complex Partial seizure. I even had an automatism where I would say "Help me! Help me! I'm Scared help me!" during the complex partial seizure. We have been told by some of the leading epileptologist in the U.S. (to include Dr. J. Kiffin Penry) that the fear I feel comes from the same area of the brain where the seizure is taking place, therefore, the anxiety (feeling of fear) is just part of the seizure. (FYI. seizures can be startled induced) Support from family and friends, a careful balance of medications, relaxation, VNS, and educating myself exactly what epilepsy is has helped me deal with these feelings/seizures for over 40 years.
Find that thing that helps your child to relax can be a difficult task. I found watching tv helped me to relax. As a child I would always go and watch TV during the post ictal state and try to settle down. It was very difficult to go back to sleep because the fear would cause a release of adrenaline and I couldn't go back to sleep. It took my mom a long time to find what helped me to relax but she did after trying many therapies. May it be watching a relaxing TV program, listening to relaxing music, or hearing a parents calming voice, the right therapy is out there for your child to relax. The trick to finding the perfect therapy is trial and error. Good Luck to all in finding the therapy that is right for you or your loved one.
Re: Anxiety and Epilepsy
Submitted by heidimama on Mon, 2013-07-15 - 14:54
My son has had epilepsy for 3 years. He is 9. This past year he developed severe anxiety. Initially, while we waited for an appointment for an extended video eeg, we had him see a psychiatrist to work it out...she felt as we did(that it was seizure related). After his eeg, this has been confirmed. He will have anxiety directly prior to a seizure. A separate type of event is confusion, irritability, and anxiety during/directly following a seizure. He has simple and complex partial seizures. I would try to trigger this anxity during the eeg and see how it records? Good luck! I am sorry! I know how hard it is to help your child manage this type of anxiety. :(