I hope this is the right area for this...

First, I do not mind if any of this ends up in an article or anything - as a matter of fact, I think this should be explored further in order to enrich understanding in the mental health community (it's not addressed at all, that I can see, on the main site here) and in society as a whole.

My purpose for posting this here is twofold - to increase general awareness of this and to see what, if anything, any professionals or others who are 'in the same boat' might have to say.

Since I've been studying all things related to the brain and psychology, I discovered that individuals with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) can sometimes have comorbid issues such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and/or psychosis.

According to the Wikipedia article (I know that's not entirely reliable, but I've found a few other - perhaps more reputable - sources which discuss behavioral/personality changes in those with TLE) there have been some patients who were misdiagnosed as having one of those three disorders when the real problem is TLE, or rather, the accumulative effects of having seizures can cause disruptions in the brain which can mimic these other mental issues.

This is a concern for me because I have TLE and it seems that I have exhibited some symptoms of schizophrenia or psychosis (if I'm to judge by some reactions from people that I interact with) - though I do not show said symptoms on a regular basis and of those that I do, I feel they are actually a result of other health problems (which cause mood swings, irritability, etc.) and I'm also a survivor of abuse - but that's another topic. In any case, I have never been diagnosed with these mental health disorders.

I should add that TLE and bipolar disorder/schizophrenia/psychosis CAN co-exist and not be related (in other words, one is not necessarily the cause of the other) - and of course, the mental disorders can certainly be present without a seizure disorder. Seizures can go undetected though, depending on the type (like Petit Mals can look like the person is just daydreaming).

That said, I feel that this is very important in terms of treatment plans and medications.