Mental health articles

What are seizures?
There are many different types of epilepsy and about 40 different types of
seizures. Seizures affect people in different ways. The symptoms of a
seizure (what people experience) depend on where the change in brain
activity takes place, and how widely and quickly it spreads.
The medical names given to different types of seizures have changed
over recent years so you might hear different names. There are two main
types of seizures: generalized seizures and partial seizures.
Generalized seizures involve thewhole brain and affect both sides of
the body at the same time. Consciousness is impaired so the person will
have no memory of the seizure. They often occur with no warning. There
are several types of generalized seizures such as tonic-clonic (old term:
grand mal), myoclonic, atonic, and absence (old term: petit mal).
There are many possible causes or triggers of a seizure, and they vary
from person to person. Seizures can often come without warning but some
general factors that can make them more likely include:

Drinking too much alcohol

Stressful events

Flickering lights

Not having enough sleep

Skipping meals and eating an unbalanced diet

Illness
Identifying any factors that trigger a seizure can be very useful, as then situations
where seizures might occur can be avoided.
In a partial seizure the change in brain activity starts in just one part
of the brain. It can stay in the same place or spread to the rest of the brain.
Partial brain seizures can be simple or complex.

When someone has a simple partial seizure they may complain of
butterflies in their stomach, tingling or other feelings and emotions. These
are called auras. There is no loss of consciousness and the person is able to
answer questions.
In complex partial seizures, there is some impairment of consciousness.
There may be strange behaviours, such as lip smacking, chewing,
fiddling with clothes and the person may seem to be in a trance. This
abnormal brain activity may spread to other areas of the brain, resulting in
a secondary generalized seizure.

Tags: seizures