Of course during those seizures I do bizarre things, so it's common for people to think i'm on drugs, even though i'm not on anything (other than medications, of course). Now, this doesn't happen when I have Absence seizures, but it does during Partial/Complex ones. In cases where panic attacks happen because of the sz, then it is definitely the SNS that is the culprit, because a panic attack is basically a heightened fight-or-flight response, in absence of a ''''''real danger'''''' (not the ''''''_''''''' I put around it because the person feeling it would definitely feel like there's real danger) and the SNS goes into overdrive then.įor me, my pupils become massive during, and sometimes a little before/after a seizure. It's like a storm in a teacup.Įxtrapolating from this, I would guess that activates the SNS in some way. My BEST educated guess is during a sz, the brain goes into overdrive, and the neurons are firing randomly and also over-firing uncontrollably, at a very fast pace. Pupillary dilation is another sign of SNS activation. During the activation of the SNS (for people with no sz), physiological responses such as heart rate increases, there is increase in sweating, trembling, dry mouth etc-think how you would feel if you suddenly had to give a speech in front of 1000 people, or were suddenly told you won the lottery. The SNS is the body's fight-or-flight system and prepares you if you need to flee, fight, run, etc. My best guess would be that during a seizure, and subsequent panic attack that follows, the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) is activated.

One pupil larger than the other