Although not a mental health problem, epilepsy often has the associated stigma attached to it that we might expect from other mental health issues. While in many first world countries the disorder is recognized and treatable, many countries around the world have problems diagnosing and treating sufferers, whether as a result of lack of education about the issue (as is the case with mental health in some developing world countries and cultures), or simply not being equipped to do so. This is a problem that tends not to receive as much attention from the media as AIDS and cancer, both of course severe and important health issues themselves, and as a result the continuing global battle against epilepsy remains in the shadows for much of the time.
I was referred to the ER for pressure in chest to verify not a heart issue related to an anti-seizure drug being tried. The ER doc (head ER doc at a research hospital), on glancing at my seizure journal, asked me if I’d “talked with anyone about this” and stated he’d like to have a psych consult called to see me – which he did – I’m so used to my epilepsy (complex partial temporal lobe epilepsy) being immediately related by GPs, even general neuros/non-epileptologists, to some psych diagnosis whether schizophrenia or hypochondria etc I let them waste their time – although I’ve told my neuro I’ll never set foot in an ER again and carry a DNR/refusal of medical attention in my purse re seizures and epilepsy for past experiences.