What Are the Causes of Psychogenic Seizures?

People with psychogenic seizures don't have epilepsy. Their seizure activity, which is highly disabling, can be extremely difficult to treat. The patient will not have only one seizure. He will have seizures that are triggered by psychological or traumatic events.

Stress

• When a person is under high stress, he can experience a psychogenic seizure. Psychogenic seizures are not epileptic in nature. Rather, they arise from factors outside the brain.

Trauma

• When someone experiences a highly traumatic event, she can develop a psychogenic seizure. She will not "force" the seizure. She won't exhibit any unusual emotions or signs of hysteria.

Past Psychological Experiences

• Past psychological experiences---especially those that were traumatic---can cause someone to develop psychogenic seizures.

Emotions

• A person experiencing very strong emotion can have a psychogenic seizure.

Subconscious Mental Activity

• Those who develop psychogenic seizures have them as a result of subconscious mental activity---they do not know their emotions are creating their seizures.