Depression can occur as part of a person’s epilepsy. Some people may feel a sense of hopelessness hours, or even days, before a seizure (pre-ictal). This feeling usually resolves after the seizure.
Others may experience sadness, fear, anxiety, and a sense of hopelessness or suicidal thoughts, during a simple partial seizure. This is called ictal depression.
Low mood/depressive symptoms following an epileptic seizure are described as post-ictal depression. People can become tearful, experience a sense of hopelessness, become irritable and have sleep problems or even suicidal thoughts. These feelings commonly last 12 to 24 hours after a seizure.
People with epilepsy can also feel depressed because of stress factors affecting the quality of their life.
If a symptom of low mood or sadness persists for several weeks, then a visit to a qualified health professional (such as a GP or neurologist) is important. It may be that the depressive mood is the result of an anti-epileptic medication that a person is taking, or it may be the result of one or more of the factors listed above. Self-diagnosis is never recommended. For more information on depression, it is important for a person with epilepsy to seek medical advice for effective treatment for both the depression and epilepsy, because untreated depression can potentially worsen epileptic seizures.
