Stress and epilepsy

Stress can be a feeling of excitement, tension, sadness or fear. Or, it can be another emotion that’s caused by a situation in your life. Stress can be related to family or work, health or money problems, and lots more. Some people with epilepsy find that, when they are stressed, they have more seizures than usual.

Stress and epilepsy

Stress doesn’t cause epilepsy, but it can cause changes to the way the nerve cells in the brain work. This can make seizures more likely.

Stress and seizures

• It can quicken your breathing rate and make you hyperventilate.
• It can cause memory problems, so you might forget to take your anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs).
• It can interfere with your sleep patterns, making you very tired.

All these factors can trigger seizures. So, although stress doesn’t cause epilepsy, it can make you more likely to have seizures.

What’s more, worrying about having seizures can add to your stress. This can become a vicious circle, with stress causing seizures and seizures causing stress.

Dealing with stress

If you think stress triggers your seizures, you may be able to help yourself by:

• avoiding situations that you know will be stressful
• learning relaxation techniques, such as exercise, yoga, tai chi or listening to music
• having a massage (find out more about aromatherapy oils and epilepsy)doing something else you enjoy
• sharing your concerns with a trusted person.

If there are times when you can’t avoid stress, try to make an extra effort to get enough sleep, and to take your anti-epileptic drugs on time.

Further information

You can get information about stress from NHS Choices

Our thanks

Epilepsy Action would like to thank Alison Carr, epilepsy specialist nurse, Bradford Epilepsy Services, Eccleshill Community Hospital for helping to write this information.