Functional Neurological Disorder/Conversion Disorder

Living with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) is difficult enough for adults to understand & live with, I can’t imagine how much more difficult it must be for children who live with this debilitating condition. Sadly, recent research into children with FND shows that their is an “annual occurrence of 18.3 per 100,000 children”.

[Reference: Yong, Kenneith et al. “Functional neurological disorder in children and young people: Incidence, clinical features, and prognosis.” Developmental medicine and child neurology vol. 65,9 (2023): 1238-1246. doi:10.1111/dmcn.15538]

@fndhope @sassyfndlife #FunctionalNeurologicalDisorder #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain

Many people living with FND are likely to have been subjected to such comments as “It’s all in your head” and been treated as if they are exaggerating their symptoms, or sometimes even as if they are pretending or ‘making up’ their symptoms. These misconceptions can be very damaging for people who live with this debilitating condition.

In a 2021 research paper titled ‘A Practical Review of Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) for the General Physician’ written by Neurologists, Neuroscientists and Researchers from Edinburgh, Scotland, and published by the Royal College of Physicians, states that “Functional neuroimaging and neurophysiology have helped to show that people with these [functional] disorders do have something wrong with the functioning of their brain which looks different to feigning.” Simply put, this study shows that FND IS REAL and that there is evidence to support this.

[Reference: Bennett, K. et al. (2021) ‘A practical review of functional neurological disorder (FND) for the general physician’, Clinical Medicine, 21(1), pp. 28–36. doi:10.7861/clinmed.2020-0987.]

Link: www.rcpjournals.org/content/clinmedicine/21/1/28.full.pdf

@fndhope @sassyfndlife #FunctionalNeurologicalDisorder

Stigma can have a devastating impact on a person’s life, especially when that stigma is related to health conditions & disabilities that a person is living with.
Can you imagine needing medical attention but being too apprehensive to seek it? This is the sad reality for many people who face health based stigma on a regular basis. In 2020 FND Hope & affiliates conducted a survey which looked into the impact the stigma associated with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) can have on people living with this debilitating condition. The survey revealed that, because of the stigma towards FND, only 13% of people living with this condition felt comfortable seeking medical care if needed in the future. The remaining 87% were either reluctant to seek medical care, or were unsure how they felt about seeking medical care, in the future because of the stigma attached to FND. Nobody should have to face the impact of stigma or be made to feel uncomfortable in any way about any aspect of themselves. And everybody should feel uncomfortable about seeking medical care if they need it.
@fndhope @sassyfndlife #FunctionalNeurologicalDisorder #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain #MentalHealth #MightyTogether