Is epilepsy a mental illness? No, it’s not. But it can place people at a greater risk of having a mood disorder like bipolar disorder. We’re finding more and more that mood disorders and epilepsy co-occur. But there’s still a lot that we don’t understand about the connection between the two.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 30 percent of those with epilepsy also suffer from serious mental health illnesses, including bipolar disorder, major depression and schizophrenia. The prevalence of depression has been shown to be much higher than bipolar disorder.
Raphael Wald, a neuropsychologist at Marcus Neuroscience Institute, says there is likely a correlation between bipolar disorder and epilepsy. Bipolar disorder is characterized by the lows of depression but also mania “highs,” where a person may become removed from reality. They may have a decreased need for rest or sleep as well as a lack ...
