Table of Contents
What are stress seizures?
Stress seizures are the most common neurological symptoms generated by various physical and emotional problems, including Generalized Anxiety Disorders, Panic Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Phobias.
The symptoms of anxiety and stress are the body’s coping mechanisms with threats that often include stressful life events. The brain produces various chemicals which are used to deal with the threat or danger. If the threat cannot be entirely removed, then the brain uses these chemicals to calm the system down and minimize the seizure activity. Anxiety and stress are just a normal part of life, but you may be prone to seizure activity when it becomes excessive and overwhelming.
There are many causes of stress seizures, and all of them have something to do with abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Most of these seizures are of the behavioural type. In the case of anxiety-related attacks, the most common cause is a change in the brain activity. When this happens, the individual concerned or patient experiences an overwhelming sense of fear and anxiety accompanied by physiological changes like increased heart rate, increased blood pressure and sweating, followed by neurological disturbance.
A few other symptoms that may occur along with the stress response include palpitations, nausea, dizziness, light-headedness, shaking and muscle twitching. These are the component of a stress seizure.
The seizure duration depends on the cause of the anxiety or stress and the intensity of the attack.
Can stress cause seizures?
Can stress cause seizures? Many people are not even aware that stress can be a trigger for an epileptic seizure. Seizures can come on suddenly, or you can have them over a while, sometimes over months or years. It is essential to know if stress is contributing to your symptoms.
You can have a seizure from the stress that affects how your brain communicates with other parts of your body or stress that causes changes in how your brain processes information. Stress can affect almost every system in your body, and it can even cause your nervous system to change how it responds to different types of stimuli.
Some different types of stress can trigger a seizure. For example, you can have a stress seizure triggered by a particular life event or a traumatic incident in your life that may have resulted in post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In other cases, your stress can cause chemical changes in your body, e.g., low blood sugar, that serves as a seizure trigger. You can also experience an episode due to prolonged sleep deprivation secondary to chronic stress. Knowing the different stress types can help you understand what is triggering your symptom and help you prevent it.
Stress-induced seizures
Stress seizures are often referred to as stress induced seizures. When a person has excessive amounts of stress, they could find that their body starts to react in different ways, and the stress-induced attacks could be one of those stress responses.
Stress can cause other medical issues if it is not appropriately treated, leading to complications like depression or high blood pressure. You may want to ask yourself if the stress affecting your body is making you physically sick and mentally and emotionally.
In such extreme cases, severe stress can make you more susceptible to seizure disorders and other medical problems that include irritability, anxiety, depression, memory problems, blurry vision, lack of concentration, muscle tension, migraines or back pain
Types of stress seizures
When someone has a seizure, it can often be challenging to determine whether an underlying medical condition or stress is the seizure precipitant. Stress can be one of many triggers for seizures in epilepsy patients. The different types of stress seizures are classified into two categories: psychogenic and physical.
The most common stress seizure is a psychogenic seizure. It is also called a “non-epileptic attack.” During a psychogenic seizure, the person will display seizure symptoms, but there is no identifiable brain abnormality or no known cause for the episode. The seizure is a result of a psychological problem, not a brain abnormality. Psychogenic seizures may be caused by depression, anxiety, withdrawal, or obsessive-compulsive behaviour.
In general, when people think of seizures, they automatically think of someone having a seizure on the floor. However, not all attacks are so obvious. Stress triggers seizures because stress is a form of excitement or overexcitement. Such excitement triggers the nervous system and can cause a seizure.
Epileptic seizures
There are other types of seizures that are biological and may or may not be related to stress. Epileptic seizures fall into this category.
Epileptic seizures can be generalized or focal. In a generalized seizure (GS), a person has a seizure all over the brain at any time. In a focal seizure (FS), the episode begins in one part of the brain. Focal seizures can be simple or complex. A simple focal seizure can only cause your mouth to move or your hand to move. A complex focal seizure can cause your entire body to move, may make you say things you don’t mean to say, or make you have inappropriate sexual behavior. Non-epileptic seizures are often referred to as psychogenic seizures.
Grand mal seizures
Grand mal seizures are the most severe of all the epileptic seizures. It is characterized by loss of consciousness, violent muscle contractions and uncontrolled body movements, including stiffening limbs. Consequently, a grand mal seizure is frightening for the person suffering from it and those who witness it. However, it is possible to overcome grand mal seizures with proper treatment.
In epilepsy patients, they can be triggered by severe stress and happen when there is a sudden abnormal electrical discharge in the brain.
Tonic clonic seizures
Tonic clonic seizures are what most people know as the “grand mal” seizure. During a grand mal seizure, someone is generally convulsing on the ground, and they may have tonic and clonic phases. Tonic clonic episodes are a focal seizure, but they will often cause a tonic phase where someone will become stiff or rigid, and then a clonic phase where the person will shake uncontrollably.
Tonic clonic seizures are usually more likely to happen when the individual has been exposed to high emotional stress levels for an extended period. Stress can also cause anxiety and depression and therefore, will further increase the chances for a generalized tonic clonic seizure to occur in patients with epilepsy.
Focal Aware Seizures
Focal aware seizures (FAS: previously referred to as simple partial seizure), also known as temporal lobe epilepsy, are the second most frequent type of epilepsy, which accounts for the vast majority of the total reported seizures in adults, and the most prevalent forms of epilepsy in children worldwide. FAS often results in severe emotional, social, and developmental problems in affected individuals.
A person who has had a history of having had either one or two focal attacks should immediately contact their physician and seek a referral to an epilepsy specialist who can assist them both with managing the symptoms and the underlying causes.
Myoclonic seizures
A myoclonic seizure is the type of seizure that involves a sudden contraction of the muscle, followed by a sudden relaxation of the muscle. The episode may include a group of muscles on one side of the body or be isolated to a single muscle or a group of muscles on one side of the body. Several conditions may cause these seizures.
One of the most common types of seizures people have. Also known as “shock seizures”, they are usually due to a neurological disorder. Myoclonic seizure symptoms are most times mild and can range from a few seconds to a few minutes.
It can affect both adults and children. The condition is commonly associated with epilepsy and has been diagnosed in patients with other brain disorders.
Atonic seizures
An atonic seizure is a type of epileptic seizure, a partial seizure, that does not cause a person to lose consciousness. Instead, it causes the muscles in the person’s body muscles to move in an uncontrolled way. An abnormality causes it in the motor cortex, a part of the brain that controls muscle movement. Although this stimulation can be painful for some people, atonic seizures do not cause any long-term or short-term damage to the body or brain.
Absence seizures
Absence seizures are a type of seizure characterized by a sudden loss of muscle tone leading to momentary loss of consciousness. However, this condition is often misdiagnosed as epilepsy because it resembles an epileptic seizure in that it involves a brief loss of consciousness.
An absence seizure can last for about 3-20 seconds and can occur with the eyes’ rapid, repetitive movements. Absence seizures may be subtle or obvious. The individual concerned may be staring into space, daydreaming. Absence seizures are infrequent.
Psychogenic seizures
As we grow up, we are exposed to dozens of different stressors in our environment daily. Whether it be school, work, financial problems, or family issues, our stress levels can quickly get out of hand. Psychogenic seizures, or “pseudo-seizures”, are seizures that are believed to be brought on by extreme emotional distress. Physical problems don’t cause them in the brain, but psychological factors. You can argue most stress seizures are of the psychogenic type.
A psychogenic seizure is a seizure for which a physical examination can find no cause, brain scan, or blood tests. Although many people with psychogenic seizures have a psychiatric disorder, or a mental health problem, most do not.
To be diagnosed with a psychogenic seizure, you must have had more than one episode that cannot be explained by any known physical problem, and that occurs without warning. You also should not have another type of seizure or a history of seizures. Comparatively to epileptic seizures, psychogenic seizures are characterized by side-to-side movements of the head and thrusting of the pelvis. However, the features of psychogenic seizures are idiosyncratic.
Important Facts About Psychogenic Seizures
Psychogenic seizures occur about 5% to 10% more often than epileptic seizures, tend to develop in patients with a family history of psychogenic seizures, and those reporting a history of childhood abuse.
Most seizures occur in areas of the brain stem controlling brain function. Psychogenic seizures often resemble symptoms of other medical conditions including meningitis, encephalitis, brain cancer, traumatic brain injury (TBI) or other neurological disorders. The episode can last for several seconds or several minutes and does not cause injury or permanent damage, but can be frightening for the patient. Psychogenic seizures are not life-threatening.
Researchers have not isolated epilepsy as a cause of psychogenic seizures. Seizures classified as psychogenic have no known mechanism of action.
In psychogenic seizures, the doctor, usually a neurology specialist (neurologist or neuropsychiatrist) may perform a neurological exam along with a battery of tests to rule out other neurological disorders like stroke or Parkinson’s disease. During a neurological examination, the physician will ask questions about the patient’s mental status, including details of any recent exposure to medications or substances that might be responsible for the seizure, as well as details of family history.
A thorough neurological examination is the first step in diagnosing this disorder and initiating the appropriate treatment. These tests can significantly assist in making an accurate diagnosis. Once the cause has been determined, the proper treatment can then be implemented.
If you have had one or more episodes of psychogenic seizures, be sure to contact your doctor. Many things can trigger attacks, including food, exercise, or loud noises. The seizure is unpredictable. It’s vital that if you believe the attack is coming, you should try to relax, breathe deeply, focus on something else, or take some other form of calming medication including over the counter or prescription. Some patients have noted psychogenic seizures are linked to ingesting certain items like caffeine or white sugar.
Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures
Another often mentioned seizure type is psychogenic non epileptic seizures (PNES). The classification of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures can be complicated to deal with. There are many types of seizure disorders that include many subtypes, so much so that when a person is diagnosed with one particular type of seizure disorder, it may be a troublesome time for that person to determine the proper course of treatment.
In medically reviewed literature, researchers have determined that about half of all people who have experienced a sudden seizure episode that they attribute to epilepsy have been diagnosed with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. In PNES patients,these seizures are characterized by symptoms like excessive muscle tension, increased heart rate, and sweating. It is believed that some of these symptoms may be related to abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Although the symptoms experienced vary from person to person and from event to event, the underlying causes of a non epileptic seizure remain the same.
Seizures caused by stress in children
In children, seizures are medically termed as convulsions and are often caused by various reasons. Seizures may occur in children when they face some sort of problem or difficulty in their growth or brain functioning. It is common to find that children who have epilepsy have a problem with stress, which may lead to an increase in seizure frequency.
The child with epilepsy is usually oversensitive to stress and reacts to it in the worst possible way. Seizures happen when there is an imbalance between the excitability of a child and their environment.
The primary source of stress in a child is difficult communication between the parents and the child. There are many other stressors, like a family death, changing environments, home accidents, peer bullying, etc.
The children affected by epilepsy are usually scared of having a seizure, and they try all their best to avoid these stressors. It is recognized that stress is more common in the cases of children who have epilepsy than in others. Stress seizures in children can be prevented by supporting them to get ample sleep and making them feel loved and cherished.
Stress-related seizures in children with no history of epilepsy
Stress-related seizures in children can be troubling for the children affected and their parents, creating more stress in the family. Some children may have a genetic predisposition, while others may experience a life event that makes the seizures more likely. Whatever the cause is, as a parent, you want to be sure that you are treating the problem in the right way so that your child doesn’t continue to have them. Here are some of the most common signs and what you can do to help your child with this condition.
The first sign to watch out for is irritability. Children under high stress may exhibit symptoms like being easily irritated or having a sleep disorder like trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. They may also tend to cry or whine a lot and become talkative. They may also tend to lose weight rapidly if they are always worried about their next meal. It is vital to get them under control quickly, so if you notice any of these symptoms, you should immediately contact your child to a doctor so that they can be tested for other health problems.
The second sign to look for is mood swings. A child who is always stressed out may have mood swing issues, but they may also exhibit erratic behaviour and not respond to their names or others. If your child is continuously cranky and doesn’t sit still, they may have a seizure with no tangible cause.
While it is essential to work with your child to figure out the source of the stress, it is also important to address it because this may affect them in the long-term. By treating anxiety-related seizures in children, you will give them the tools they need to learn how to relax and live their lives without the fear of one of these episodes taking over.
Reducing seizures caused by stress
Now you know that many factors can cause non-epileptic seizures. They can be generated from an infection, a malfunction of the nervous system, or chemical imbalances in the body. It’s often hard to determine what is causing your seizure symptoms. Still, once you have ruled out other causes, it’s usually relatively easy to decide that what you’re experiencing is stress-related seizures. Stress is known to harm the body and can cause many types of health-related problems. There are a few ways that you can try to alleviate the symptoms you’re experiencing to help you manage the stress that’s causing them.
First off, you should try to get as much rest as possible. Rest helps the body recover from the various stresses that we experience in our day-to-day lives and can make a huge difference in recovering from the multiple symptoms that stress can cause.
Try to make sure that you are getting plenty of sleep, eating correctly and drinking plenty of water each day. This approach will help the body recover from the stress that you are dealing with and will allow it to heal itself. Taking care of yourself will help you regain control over your body and therefore your mind.
Once you have recovered from your seizures, it’s important to remember that stress is just as harmful as the physical conditions causing the seizure symptoms. By reducing the amount of stress in your life, you will significantly reduce the likelihood of having future seizures.
Another way to help manage the anxiety you’re experiencing is to make sure that you are taking proper care of yourself. Get plenty of exercises and eat a healthy diet. This approach will help your physical health and mental health and be an important key in avoiding stress and preventing a future seizure. If you are experiencing any sort of stress-related symptoms, you should contact your doctor immediately for a detailed assessment test to find the source of your stress and take steps to relieve it.
Traditional medications like anticonvulsants and an antiepileptic drug can be prescribed for stress-induced seizures. This type of treatment has been beneficial for some people. The downside is that some of these medications, especially the benzodiazepines, can cause addiction which will hinder their ability to control stress.
Medication for stress-induced seizures can also result in rebound headaches and memory loss; some medication side effects.
Some alternative treatments include acupuncture, relaxation therapy, biofeedback, and meditation. Biofeedback is a form of therapy used to teach your brain how to control your stress levels. By doing this, you can learn to better deal with stress and hopefully find relief from your stress-induced seizures. Biofeedback is an excellent stress reduction method.
Neuro-biofeedback helps you and your doctor to monitor the activity of your brain during a stress seizure. They will teach your brain how to better respond to stressful situations. By engaging in this therapy, you will be taking a significant step towards curing your stress attacks. Many people swear by this method and say it helps them.
You can also try relaxation therapy. This is an excellent choice for stress-induced seizure sufferers. Many people are stressed out when they attend a momentous event where they need to be meticulous. Relaxation techniques can teach your body how to better deal with stressful situations and reduce your stress attacks.
If you notice you are suffering from a stress-induced seizure due to your work or other stressful activities, then there are treatments available. However, the best way to deal with this problem is to get to the root cause of stress. It could be something as simple as a significant life change: losing a job, having a divorce, or just plain old stress. No matter the cause of your anxiety, it is always important to try to relax as much as possible. Doing so is the first step to coping with a stress-induced seizure.
Another popular form of treatment for stress-induced seizures is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This approach consists of treating the symptoms of the stress to help you control them. This therapy will also help you learn to deal with stressful situations that you may encounter in your life. This is a highly effective method of treating stress-induced seizures and can be used alongside your medication.
Many people do not want to take medication when they feel there is no need for it. For this reason, many people choose natural remedies or alternative forms of medicine. One of the most popular alternative methods of treating stress-induced seizures is meditation and yoga. Because stress is a form of depression, learning to relax will significantly reduce your symptoms. There are hundreds of different forms of meditation and yoga available today. Most of them involve deep breathing exercises and simple relaxation techniques.
