Stressors, coping mechanisms, and perceived health in persons with epilepsy.

Knowledge is lacking about the nature of stressors experienced by persons with epilepsy and the strategies used to cope with these stressors. This study explored epilepsy-specific stressors, coping strategies used, level of trait anxiety, and perception of health in 107 adults who had had epilepsy for 1 year or longer. 'Need to take medications regularly' and 'Uncertainty about when a seizure will occur' were the stressors subjects ranked highest. 'Try to maintain some control over the situation', 'Hope things will get better', and 'Think through different ways to solve the problem' were the top coping strategies used. Persons who perceived their health as better used more problem-oriented strategies than did those who rated their health as poor. The mean level of trait anxiety was 42.1, which is higher than that for a normal population. Continued studies are needed to more clearly identify stressors experienced at various times in the trajectory of epilepsy and the precise coping strategies used for specific stressors.