Marlene Wells

A Comparative Study of Organic Epilepsy and Psychogenic Seizures: the Search for Diagnostic Differences Marlene Wells

Seizures, organic or psychogenic, have a significant negative impact on the quality of life of those who experience them. Distinguishing between these two seizure groups is difficult to achieve as both disorders present in a similar manner, but critically important as their treatment and management are very different. Uncontrolled epileptic activity in the brain can be as harmful as medicating non-organic seizures. Psychogenic seizures are accepted in the literature to be of psychological origin and to represent a somatic outlet for unmanageable psychic conflict. Epilepsy is sometimes still misunderstood and persons presenting with seizures may be stigmatized and experience social isolation. The patients in both groups deserve to be understood as individuals, not as interesting neurological phenomena. This book may benefit those who are doing research into seizures, or health care professionals who deal with these patients. It may also benefit patients and their families to see the scope and complexity of the situation and to realize they are not alone. Although this study was conducted in South Africa, the findings correlate with international research in this field.