Page 91 - JCBP-3-3

Journal of Clinical and
Basic Psychosomatics Impact of seizures on life

Table 7. Impact on daily life in DRE patients
Theme Subtheme Sub‑subtheme Quote
Impact on daily Loss of activities Working (2) P: Before the status epilepticus, I worked and had a normal life, coming and
life in DRE going everywhere... and after the status epilepticus, no longer.
Sleeping (1) I: And what makes you most uneasy about having a seizure?
P: That I can’t sleep at night.
Study (4) I: What things do you think were disrupted or... or cut short by epilepsy?
P: The study. The study. I was also studying nursing. Which I liked a lot. And I
also had to drop it. I had to drop it.
Driving (1) P: Not going out on a motorcycle, which I used to do. Not riding a motorcycle.
Recreational activities (3) P: I like riding a bike, I can’t do that either.
Autonomy (4) P: I can’t go out with friends... (my mum) She doesn’t like to go out at night, she
doesn’t like me to go out alone, I’m go shopping, “(I want) someone to go with
her.” I go for bread to the corner, (she wants) someone to go with me. And I do
not feel well.
Continuity of activities Working (2) P: As I told you, I work as a computer teacher.
Study (1) I: And what things, on the contrary, do you feel that helped you in this period of
your life? (...)
P: My friends or taking different courses to distract myself.
I: What courses did you take?
P: I did cooking, makeup, fashion design, now I’m with drama classes, guitar
classes, I’ve done a lot of things.
Recreational activities (2) P: What I am sure is that the problem is not drinking alcohol. Because in the
first place I’m not a drinker, and secondly that... if I know that on a Saturday
night, I’m going to go out to my friends’ house… the medication I take it as
early as possible at night, then I drink plenty of water and have the stomach
(full), that way...
I: So that it doesn’t...
P: ... mix a lot and have no problem.
Note: I: interviewer. P: Patient. The numbers in brackets indicate the frequency with which each subtheme appears.
Abbreviation: DRE: Drug-resistant epilepsy.

perception correlated negatively with quality of life in DS intentions to others. Schönenberg et al. studied theory
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patients, as shown in other studies. In our sample, the of mind abilities in patients with DS and found that DS
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differences in some emotional experiences, such as shame patients had impaired mentalizing skills compared to
and overprotection, between DS and DRE patients may healthy controls. Gürsoy et al. reported similar results that
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be partly explained by the higher stigma associated with people with DS exhibited worse results in tests of theory
DS. The stigma surrounding DS, being associated with of mind compared to the control group and people with
mental health conditions, likely contributes to the greater epilepsy. This difficulty in understanding the emotions
experience of shame among DS patients. On the other of others could contribute to higher level of conflict with
hand, DRE patients, whose condition is perceived as a others.
neurological disorder, are generally subject to less stigma Interpersonal conflicts in DS patients may also stem
and report more experiences of overprotection, as they from psychiatric comorbidities. Diagnostic criteria for
may be viewed more sympathetically by others. In turn, all mental disorders often reference interpersonal difficulties,
patients with DRE perceived overprotection from others, such as unstable relationships in borderline personality
which also aligns with the previous studies. 19,46 Future disorder or social avoidance in anxiety disorders. A
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studies could address the consequences of overprotection systematic review of 32 studies concluded that samples
in these patients, as it appears to impact all patients. of people with DS show greater comorbidity than those

In our sample, interpersonal conflict was more frequent with ES, with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression,
in patients with DS, a finding previously noted by Gupta and personality disorders being more notable. Thus, the
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et al. One possible way to explain our findings may lie higher psychopathology in DS patients may contribute to
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in the ability of people with DS to attribute emotions and increased interpersonal conflicts.

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 85 doi: 10.36922/jcbp.8112