Living Well with Epilepsy: Report of the 1997 National Conference on Public Health and Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a central nervous system disorder that is characterized by unprovoked, recurrent seizures that disrupt communication among brain cells. Although epilepsy is often amenable to clinical treatment through medications, surgery, and diet, it can be a life-altering condition for persons affected by it. These life-altering effects result in part from the unpredictability of the seizures, which can curtail, to some degree, daily activities such as driving, school attendance, and employment. Persons with epilepsy and seizures also contend with the discrimination and misunderstanding of those around them—the results of decades of stigma and misunderstanding about the disorder and its consequences.

Even with its unique manifestations, epilepsy shares characteristics with a variety of chronic conditions. It affects many aspects of a person’s life, it is relatively difficult to detect, and it tends to contribute to morbidity rather than mortality.