Shefali Jariwala Had A History Of Epilepsy: Know The Condition And How It Causes Depression

The veteran actress had once opened up about her truth of dealing with a condition called epilepsy, which can escalate the chances of depression, and here’s how.

Shefali Jariwala, the well-known actress who got into the limelight after her “Kaanta Laga” album, tragically passed away from a cardiac arrest on the midnight of June 27, 2025, in Mumbai at the age of 42. After experiencing a tragic heart attack, she was rushed to Bellevue Multispeciality Hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival, post which her body was taken to Cooper Hospital for a post-mortem.

The news of her sudden demise has left the entire Bollywood industry and her fans in shock. Many are lamenting her sudden demise and remembering her remarkable contribution to the pop music industry.

In one of the interviews in the year 2021, Shefali had opened up about one of the health conditions that she used to suffer from. In the interview, she revealed that she had her first epileptic seizure at the very vulnerable age of 15, which made her life go topsy-turvy. The seizures struck her body one day in a classroom, and then later it their reflections continued to exist at several events and at several times.

While telling about the condition that she had been through, she said that she used to be constantly under extreme pressure to do well and excel in her studies. She told Stress and anxiety can lead to seizures. She talked about the connectivity between the two conditions and said that you could get a seizure due to depression and vice versa.

What Is Epilepsy: How does it cause depression

Epilepsy is one of the mental conditions that is known to occur when there’s a tendency for recurrent seizures due to not so abnormal electrical activity in a person’s brain. These abnormal electrical activities that take place are known to disrupt normal functioning of the brain, and they end up leading to a variety of symptoms that depend on the affected brain area. It must be noted that epilepsy is not a single condition but rather a group of different epilepsies, which are all characterised by the tendency and propensity for seizures

Brain Region Involvement

This is one of the conditions that is linked to the brain, and the same areas of the brain that control mood can also be affected by seizures, leading to both epilepsy and depression.

Neuroinflammation

According to many of the studies, there has been an indication that neuroinflammation, which is associated with epilepsy, have the chances to possibly reduce serotonin levels and may further contribute to several depressive symptoms.

Chronic Stress

Stress is something that you cannot miss associating with depression, which is linked to epilepsy and seizures. The unpredictability of seizures, the constant fear of having another seizure that looms over and the limitations that it causes on a person’s daily activities can end up leading to chronic stress, which is a known risk factor for depression.

Social Isolation and Stigma

What escalates the chances of depression in people who suffer from epilepsy is the possibility of shame and fear that it causes in the mind of an individual. It has been noted that epilepsy can lead to social isolation, stigma, and feelings of low self-esteem, further contributing to depression.

Psychological Impact

It has been seen and reported that the Individual who go through this condition called epilepsy are more prone to experience other parallel mental conditions like anxiety, fear, and a that can be accompanied by sense of loss of control, which can further increase the risk and the possibility of depression.

It is certainly not easy to live with epilepsy as it can mess up your feelings and emotions, too, which can exacerbate the scope of depression. It can be extremely exhausting to deal with this mental condition that can disrupt you mentally, physically and emotionally. The forever possibility of a seizure striking you at any point in time in the day can put you in a constant fear and uncertainty, which can be harder to deal with than the condition itself.