TY - JOUR T1 - Stress and epilepsy: fact or fiction, and what can we do about it? JF - Practical Neurology JO - Pract Neurol SP - 270 LP - 278 DO - 10.1136/practneurol-2015-001337 VL - 16 IS - 4 AU - Clare M Galtrey AU - Marco Mula AU - Hannah R Cock Y1 - 2016/08/01 UR - http://pn.bmj.com/content/16/4/270.abstract N2 - People with epilepsy report that stress is their most common trigger for seizures and some believe it caused their epilepsy in the first place. The extensive preclinical, epidemiological and clinical studies examining the link between stress and epilepsy have given confusing results; the clinical studies in particular are fraught with confounders. However stress is clearly bad for health, and we now have substantial preclinical evidence suggesting that chronic stress worsens epilepsy; in selected cases it may even be a causal factor for epilepsy. Healthcare professionals working with people with epilepsy should pay more attention to stress in clinical practice. This review includes some practical advice and guidance for stress screening and management. ER -