Att leva med epilepsi

Sammanfattning: Summary Living with epilepsy – A literature review Background: An epileptic seizure is a short episode of overactivity in the brain caused by an electric uncontrolled discharge in the brain neurons. With the diagnosis follows an increased tendency for seizures to return. The worry of having seizures and the risks connected to the diagnosis entails to affect everyday life. The lack of knowledge in society can lead to increased stigmatization, which can affect the experience of living with epilepsy.  Person-centered care can be performed to ensure that persons with epilepsy are being seen, based on their needs and experiences.   Purpose: The purpose was to describe persons experience of living with epilepsy.   Method: A qualitative literature review was chosen in this study, based on 10 scientific articles. Databases that were used to find articles was Cinahl, Medline and PsycINFO. The articles were analyzed by Fribergs model in five steps.   Result: Two themes represents the result of this study. The first theme describes how it is To live with fear. The experience of losing control, stigma, and fear around epilepsy is described. The second theme is about Accepting the situation. It describes persons experiences in how to reach control over epilepsy and also how support affects the disease.   Conclusion:  Different experiences of living with epilepsy emerged from the overview. People were concerned over the fact that the disease involves risks and leads to a changed everyday life. Experiencing stigma was a common occurrence and puts people with epilepsy in a position where they become particularly vulnerable in society and social contexts. There is a lack of knowledge in the community about epilepsy that causes stigma to increase. A person-centered care can lead to better support and an increased awareness for people with epilepsy, which in turn affects the experience of health.  Keywords: epilepsy, experience, nursing, person-centered care