For everyone, and especially those dealing with a chronic illness such as epilepsy, maintaining a balance between mental and physical health is important for your overall well-being. At the Epilepsy Foundation Central & South Texas, we provide FREE mental health counseling for qualified patients. Here are 5 ways that our mental health counseling is improving the lives of our patients.

Communication Skills

For any patient, it’s important that they feel comfortable enough to openly discuss with their provider their concerns or problems. This is especially true for people with epilepsy. If a medication or treatment plan isn’t working, our patients need to be able to speak up. Mental health counseling can help improve a person’s communication and interpersonal skills.

Plus, those who are dealing with a chronic illness are more likely to experience feelings of anxiety, irritability, or depression. With improved communication, a person experiencing these feelings are more likely to speak about it with their provider or with loved ones.

Self-Esteem

Chronic illness can take a toll on a person’s self-esteem. A person can feel as if they aren’t in control of their own body or even betrayed by their body. Mental health counseling can help improve self-esteem, confidence, and self-image.

Self-esteem and confidence are essential for the health and happiness of our patients! We’re dedicated to improving the quality of life for our patients, and an improved self-image is important to that mission.

Stress Management

For some, stress or stressful situations can trigger a seizure. Our patients can alleviate stress when they have someone to discuss this with! Also, mental health counseling gives patients tools for them to self-manage their stress and defuse stressful situations. Being able to manage stress effectively ensures that our patients can focus their energy elsewhere.

Stress management can also help regulate sleep patterns. Sleep deprivation is another common seizure trigger and it’s important that our patients sleep regularly and have restful sleep.

Improved Relationships

A strong support system is important for our patients. They are relying on their providers, friends, and family throughout their epilepsy journey. Mental health counseling helps our patients build relationship skills to build stronger, trusting relationships with those they rely on the most.

Improved relationships can also help decrease stress in patients and help build confidence. Improved relationships and a strong support system give epilepsy patients much-needed stability.

Quality of Life

Due to the stigma surrounding mental health counseling, most people focus more on their physical health, while neglecting their mental health. The reality is that seeking help to improve your mental health can be incredibly beneficial.

Better mental health leads to improvement in physical health, as well as other aspects of a person’s life. Mental health counseling instills a sense of hope in the patient, improving their outlook on their own life.

This year for The Big Give, give the gift of mental health counseling by donating to the Epilepsy Foundation Central & South Texas. Help us continue to improve the quality of life for countless individuals in our community

Tags:
,,,,,,