Seizures and Stress: What it Means, How to Block the Connection

Seizures and Stress: What it Means, How to Block the Connection

Michael Privitera, MD
Professor of Neurology
Medical Director, UC Epilepsy Center

[katherinewilson]

Yes, stress is a huge trigger for me. Stress reduction does help.

[markus.rethink]

I just met a girl and she told me she maybe has seizures at night. I am really convinced that stress is also causing her seizures. She is very impulsive and a perfectionist. Continue doing this nice work.

[davoudderogar]

Please notice the meaning of stress.   stress (n.)c. 1300, "hardship, adversity, force Old French  "narrowness, oppression, "tight, compressed, drawn together, (see  (v.)). Meaning "physical strain on a material object" is from mid-15c. As an abstract force in mechanics from 1855. The purely psychological sense is attested from 1955.
Stress can be psychological or physiological. If you have not eaten for a while, you get hungry, your body becomes stressed. If you eat too much that you have a hard time moving, you have stressed your body. so drinking alcohol is also stressing you body and could cause a seizure. We could say the main trigger is stress either physical or psychological. Coach Davoud Derogar

[Tomxypdq]

Yep, focused muscle relaxation and deep breathing kept my seizures manageable for the two weeks I was waiting for a neurologist to prescribe an anti seizure med. It totally sucked and I could not do anything all day besides focus on relaxation and fighting the next seizure. Great to hear this. My first neurologist found no cause for my seizure and when i suggested current life stressors, he said "I don't do moods." So, I fired that labcoat as he had no hint of a cause for my seizures after an eeg, ekg, blood, urine and other data. Sure, anti seizure meds helped the most, but god, the meditation type practices were essential for my avoiding the drama a trauma of additional ER visits. Thanks Dr. ! Yes, i'd go to SF to participate in a study. Gladly.

[cassieagger]

my boyfriend has them due to dehydration and when he gets nervous . they become grand malls and he doesn't remember anything after them . He bas been tested for fac which is fetal achol sydrome and he dosnt hace that they foynd that if he doesn't drink water he gets dehydrated and his heart raises and his head hurts when its starts . He is a tough champ when it happens . i pray for him all the time . thank you

[RealexcelEpilepsyPortal]

Thank you. It was very informative. Are the studies still in place at the locations you have provided at the end of the video? This video came out in 2014...and I would like to include a link to your video at the end of mine, to help direct some people in the regions you have mentioned to do the studies there, if they wish to go. Please let me know if that's OK and if the studies are still active. Thank you

[alhoward]

Okay, may I ask if this pertains to non-epileptic seizures as well?

[sassysapphire]

I am epileptic and I feel like heartache that only song about I can't eat, I can sleep I loosing my mind is the kind of heartache that causes seizures. Also worry. Even if I take my meds and take natural anti-convulsant a too. I will have a seizure if I am worried. For example if you family Member is on heavy drugs off the wagon and you worry I feel like sometimes I think I am ok and choose not to further calm my body with meditation. My subconscience seems to be the culprit as I wake up having a grand mall seizure. I have been off Carbamazapine for about a month or 2 and taking epilepsy grade CBD as well as meditating.

[mnieto]

my chihuahua at two years old starting getting seizures after his vaccinations. the neurology veterinarian pinpointed it was the distemper part of the multi-part vacs. he had a spinal tap, MRI, and who knows what else while they had him as we waited. he had to take meds (potassium bromide and phenobarbital) twice a day until he passed away 8 yrs later.. I will miss him for the rest of my life. I feel now maybe we shouldn’t have given him the drugs, just let him have the seizure and go on. I think the drugs hurt him more than the seizures.

[sophiepalmer-doran]

please read entire story before replying:
I have Epilepsy absence seizure with that comes with a lot of stereotyping; the first thing that comes to mind is a person who is fitting on the ground. i have absence seizures. I was diagnosed at the age of five but have been seizure free since the age of fourteen and so was taken of meds which caused massive weight gain a hand tremor and memory loss the point is meds are good up untill a point an then it becomes a pill no pun intended. after my father died and the start of collage it seems I have had a relapse if that is possible.
my parents were told to treat me as a normal child and to see how fare I would develop and look at me now I have graduated high school with honors though I did hope for a regents diploma but after taking the algebra common core regent seven times starting out with a 40 and ending up with a 57 . I started collage on August 29th as you can infer I was not expected to do much of what I just mentioned

[HairGlitter]

Mine happens around the same part of my female cycle. The dr has not classified it. I have done my own research. Its categorized as a catamenial seizure. The started as focal or partial. I think I just need some valium.

[emilymatias]

I have pnes, and I will "not"! Doubt my neurologist diagnosis, oh so it's not pnes?! Now?

[WanonaS]

I dont have epilepsy but I have had 4 or 5 seizures since September of 2017 when I had sepsis and pnumonia and had to had a heart valve replaced and one bypass is the seizure caused from the sepsus and heart operation or is it from stress which I suffer from also?

[MyeR]

I’ve noticed when watching violent bloody movies, seems to trigger my seizures.. but, I’ve also noticed that it happens once or twice every 3-4 years.. and it’s literally been that way since I got my first seizure at age 8… I’m now 38 years of age.. I don’t get it… 😏

[wiseup]

well then why did my dog get seizures after poor thing got vaccinations? Destroyed her health.