Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsStress and SeizuresComplicationsDiagnosisTreatmentCoping

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Stress and Seizures

Complications

Diagnosis

Treatment

Coping

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You are probably familiar with stress. You encounter it in your day-to-day life. Whether dealing with a challenging course at school or handling a difficult family situation, stress’s effects on your body can be physical and mental.

When stressed, you experience physiological symptoms like your heart rate quickening and your blood pressure rising. This is a normal response to stress, and your body returns to normal when the stressful event passes. However, when your body is exposed to prolonged periods of stress, you could develop certain medical conditions and worsen symptoms of some others.

It’s not always clear what brings on seizures. While people with epilepsy, a neurological condition that causes recurrent and unprovoked seizures, are known to have seizures, some people have seizures that can’t be linked to any medical conditions. There is ongoing research into how stress is linked with seizures. This article looks at what that link is and what that means for you if you are prone to seizures or are a caregiver to someone who is.

The Connection Between Stress and Seizures

Stress has been thought to play a role in triggering seizures, particularly in people with epilepsy.To better understand the connection between stress and seizures, you need to understand the different types of seizures and what triggers them.

Neurological Seizures

It’s not clear how stress and seizures are connected. One theory is that it causes certain hormones to be released into the brain, which could trigger seizures.In a 2013 survey on trigger factors of seizures in people with epilepsy, researchers found that 31.3% of the participants reported that emotional stress triggered their seizures.

Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures (PNES)

It’s not entirely understood how stress causes seizures to occur. It’s also challenging to measure how much an increase in seizure stress can cause. This is partly because stress is highly individual, and everyone has varying thresholds for withstanding stressful events.

One theory is that stress can release certain hormones that can trigger seizures. When stressed, you are also more likely to have difficulty sleeping. Research shows that sleep deprivation can cause a seizure to happen.

What Are Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures (PNES)?

Complications of Stress and Seizures

Stress can make living with conditions that trigger seizures, such as epilepsy, more challenging. Research shows that emotional stress can increase the frequency of seizures in people with epilepsy.

Diagnosis of Stress and Seizures

When trying to diagnose the root cause of your seizures, your healthcare provider will thoroughly examine your medical and family history. They may also order brain imaging tests such as CT scans and MRIs. It’s essential for any medication you are on to be disclosed to your doctor as a seizure could result from a severe side effect of certain medications.

Treatment of Stress and Seizures

Both PNES and epilepsy can be treated with medication and psychotherapy. A psychological condition brings on most cases of PNES. Identifying the psychological cause of the condition is the first step in helping to treat it.

Coping With Stress and Seizures

While managing stress isn’t guaranteed to stop seizures completely, it does follow that if stress can increase the frequency of seizures, eliminating stress and stress triggers can also decrease the frequency of seizures. Different people follow varying methods to cope with stress. What works great for you might not necessarily result in effective results for the next person. However, some universal techniques fordealing with stressinclude:

Summary

Stress isn’t a causative factor for seizures and medical conditions which cause seizures. However, there is an established connection between being stressed and experiencing an increased frequency of your seizures. While eliminating stress may not cure a seizure-related condition, it does help improve the daily functioning of a person living with it.

A Word From Verywell

Stress is an often overlooked trigger for complications in many conditions, including epilepsy and other conditions which cause seizures. Seizures can significantly disrupt your daily functioning, but the good news is that they can be effectively managed with the proper diagnosis, medication, and healthy lifestyle changes.

It’s essential to remember that stress isn’t all bad. It’s your body’s natural response to external pressures and, in some instances, can be helpful, for example, in moments of emergency or danger. What’s important is ensuring that you don’t feel stressed for extended periods, as this can adversely affect your health.

6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Reddy DS, Thompson W, Calderara G.Does stress trigger seizures? Evidence from experimental models.Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2022;55:41-64. doi:10.1007/7854_2020_191Epilepsy Foundation.Stress and epilepsy.Balamurugan E, Aggarwal M, Lamba A, Dang N, Tripathi M.Perceived trigger factors of seizures in persons with epilepsy.Seizure. 2013;22(9):743-747. doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2013.05.018Malow BA.Sleep deprivation and epilepsy.Epilepsy Curr. 2004;4(5):193-195. doi:10.1111%2Fj.1535-7597.2004.04509.xEspinosa-Garcia C, Zeleke H, Rojas A.Impact of stress on epilepsy: focus on neuroinflammation—a mini review.IJMS. 2021;22(8):4061. doi:10.3390%2Fijms22084061Goldenberg MM.Overview of drugs used for epilepsy and seizures.P T. 2010;35(7):392-415.

6 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Reddy DS, Thompson W, Calderara G.Does stress trigger seizures? Evidence from experimental models.Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2022;55:41-64. doi:10.1007/7854_2020_191Epilepsy Foundation.Stress and epilepsy.Balamurugan E, Aggarwal M, Lamba A, Dang N, Tripathi M.Perceived trigger factors of seizures in persons with epilepsy.Seizure. 2013;22(9):743-747. doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2013.05.018Malow BA.Sleep deprivation and epilepsy.Epilepsy Curr. 2004;4(5):193-195. doi:10.1111%2Fj.1535-7597.2004.04509.xEspinosa-Garcia C, Zeleke H, Rojas A.Impact of stress on epilepsy: focus on neuroinflammation—a mini review.IJMS. 2021;22(8):4061. doi:10.3390%2Fijms22084061Goldenberg MM.Overview of drugs used for epilepsy and seizures.P T. 2010;35(7):392-415.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Reddy DS, Thompson W, Calderara G.Does stress trigger seizures? Evidence from experimental models.Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2022;55:41-64. doi:10.1007/7854_2020_191Epilepsy Foundation.Stress and epilepsy.Balamurugan E, Aggarwal M, Lamba A, Dang N, Tripathi M.Perceived trigger factors of seizures in persons with epilepsy.Seizure. 2013;22(9):743-747. doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2013.05.018Malow BA.Sleep deprivation and epilepsy.Epilepsy Curr. 2004;4(5):193-195. doi:10.1111%2Fj.1535-7597.2004.04509.xEspinosa-Garcia C, Zeleke H, Rojas A.Impact of stress on epilepsy: focus on neuroinflammation—a mini review.IJMS. 2021;22(8):4061. doi:10.3390%2Fijms22084061Goldenberg MM.Overview of drugs used for epilepsy and seizures.P T. 2010;35(7):392-415.

Reddy DS, Thompson W, Calderara G.Does stress trigger seizures? Evidence from experimental models.Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2022;55:41-64. doi:10.1007/7854_2020_191

Epilepsy Foundation.Stress and epilepsy.

Balamurugan E, Aggarwal M, Lamba A, Dang N, Tripathi M.Perceived trigger factors of seizures in persons with epilepsy.Seizure. 2013;22(9):743-747. doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2013.05.018

Malow BA.Sleep deprivation and epilepsy.Epilepsy Curr. 2004;4(5):193-195. doi:10.1111%2Fj.1535-7597.2004.04509.x

Espinosa-Garcia C, Zeleke H, Rojas A.Impact of stress on epilepsy: focus on neuroinflammation—a mini review.IJMS. 2021;22(8):4061. doi:10.3390%2Fijms22084061

Goldenberg MM.Overview of drugs used for epilepsy and seizures.P T. 2010;35(7):392-415.

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