ORIGINAL PAPER Alexithymia and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Following Epileptic Seizure Man Cheung Chung • Rachel D. Allen Published online: 17 October 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2012 Abstract This study investigated (1) the incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder fol- lowing epileptic seizure (post-epileptic seizure PTSD) and psychiatric co-morbidity and (2) the extent to which alexithymia traits related to the severity of the preceding outcomes. Seventy-one people with epilepsy participated in the study and completed the Posttrau- matic Stress Diagnostic Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Toronto Alexithymia Scale. The control group comprised 71 people without epilepsy who completed the HADS. Fifty-one percent met the diagnostic criteria for full-PTSD; 30 % for partial-PTSD and 19 % for no-PTSD. The epilepsy group reported significantly more anxiety and depression than the control with demographic variables controlled for. Diffi- culty identifying feelings predicted post-epileptic seizure PTSD, anxiety and depression. It was positively correlated with post-epileptic seizure PTSD and depression, while it was negatively correlated with anxiety. People can develop PTSD and psychiatric co-morbid symptoms following epileptic seizures. The severity of these symptoms was related to difficulty in identifying internal feelings and emotions. Keywords Alexithymia Á Posttraumatic stress Á Seizure Introduction Epileptic seizure is a psychologically distressing experience [1] accompanied by depres- sion and anxiety [2–21]. The rates of depression and anxiety among people with epilepsy tend to be higher than those without epilepsy or those who are seizure-free [22–29]. Understanding the psychiatric co-morbidity of epilepsy [30] and managing it alongside the assessment and treatment of epilepsy is therefore imperative [21, 25]. M. C. Chung (&) Natural Science and Public Health, Zayed University, P.O.Box 144534, Abu Dhabi, UAE e-mail: man.chung@zu.ac.ae R. D. Allen University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK 123 Psychiatr Q (2013) 84:271–285 DOI 10.1007/s11126-012-9243-1