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Impact of Epilepsy on Quality of Life
Epilepsy is about more than having seizures. Living with epilepsy can affect your quality of life.
Quality of life =
Your sense of well-being that comes from how satisfied you are with your roles, activities, goals, and opportunities in life.
The main things that may impact your quality of life with epilepsy are:
How often seizures happen and how strong they are
Depression
Epilepsy medication side effects
Worrying about seizures
Judgment by others
Other conditions
Here are some ways your quality of life can be affected if your seizures are not controlled:
- Your ability to work
- Your ability to drive
- Your productivity at work, home, or school
- Your ability to live independently
- Your ability to function in family, social, and romantic relationships
- Feeling embarrassed about having a seizure in public
- Feeling depressed or anxious
People with epilepsy who are seizure-free have about the same quality of life as people without epilepsy.
Who to Contact for Help With Quality-of-Life Issues
Part of epilepsy self-management is learning how to improve your quality of life. There are people and services in your community who can help you navigate this journey.
From community services and housing, to transportation, education, employment, and social support, finding help could be just a step away.
Here are some ways of finding help. Select an item below to find out more.
The Quality of Life Community Guide shows all the ways of finding help around you.
Help With Getting a Job
People with epilepsy often have a hard time finding and keeping a job. They also have higher rates of unemployment than the general population. What’s good to know is that state and federal rehabilitation programs are available for those with epilepsy. These programs help people living with epilepsy get jobs and include:
- Counseling
- Education and job skills training
- Assistance with job search activities
- Job readiness training and placement
To find a program in your area, you can visit the links below:
