Alison(white woman with medium-length brown hair with white highlights) looks directly into the camera with a slightly sad and frustrated look on her face. She has a pillow behind her head and an offwhite wall behind her. She is wearing a white shirt with a peasant top, with blue stitching visible on it.
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So I got Covid-19 – Experiencing the aftereffects

This post is a response to Sheryl Chan of A Chronic Voice’s October writing prompts. This month’s terms are: disabling, enabling, committing, communicating, and reinventing. The first time I heard of Covid-19, my niece brought it to my attention. It was late December 2019, and she showed me a news article discussing this new virus…

A white woman with short gray hair and wearing dark-rimmed glasses tilts her head to the right, leaning it against her right hand and smiles into the camera. She's in a close-cropped photo that shows her to chest height and she's wearing a grey-blue collared shirt with paisley-shaped collections of turqoise blue tiny flowers dotting it. The photo feels friendly and inviting, like she's just asked you a question and is attentively awaiting your answer.
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Using hypnotherapy to treat FND: transforming your mind

Introduction by Alison As I have shared in previous posts, I have been living with Functional Neurological Disorder since 2000, and was diagnosed in July 2003.  At that time, the condition was poorly understood, and my neurologist had few recommendations for me.  Over the years, I found and explored many treatment options, many of which helped…

a woman in turquoise scrubs holds a stethescope bent to form the shape of a heart in front of her.
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Finding the right doctors after being diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder

Functional Neurological Disorder is a common but poorly understood condition. Being diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder isn’t just overwhelming for you as the patient, but it also can be a challenge for your doctor as well. The symptoms look like neurological symptoms(each FNDer may have a different symptom set), but don’t have the usual causes…

Alison smiles into the camera.
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Functional Neurological Disorder treatment programs are worth the effort!

I participated in the MoRe—Motor Reprogramming—program in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2016. It was the single most helpful treatment I have ever had, and may ever have, for my Functional Neurological Disorder(FND). In this post, I want to go over why this is a treatment option, how it works, and how you can find a similar…

Two chic Black women grab coffee from an outdoor pick-up window. The woman closest to the barista is in a gold-customized travel mobility scooter and wears a fuzzy purple bucket hat, sweater dress, pink backpack, and red face mask. Next to her, the second woman waits in a pink coat and beret. Bits of snow gather on the ground and sidewalk while the cafe’s windows are decorated with coffee decals.
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Caregiving: Do I need to hire a caregiver?

While the term caregiver is bandied about a lot in the disabled community, it’s important to distinguish between paid and unpaid caregiving. Many of us have been caregivers in a less official capacity at various points in our lives—caring for children, parents, siblings, or friends during temporary or long-term health problems. Most of us have…

me, sitting and looking at a pond
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Can you get disability if you have FND?

Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) is a relatively common (though rarely properly diagnosed) condition. I was diagnosed in 2003 when it was still being called Conversion Disorder (and labeled as a mental illness rather than a neurological condition). I want to be really clear about this: the condition you have (your diagnosis) is less impactful on…

A person showing their belly with a large scar down the middle. Around this car are words that describe trama
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Medical trauma: a shared experience within the disabled community

I took a deep breath, put my mask on, and limped into the office. My fingers shifted, tightening so my fingertips touched my palm, squeezing, relaxing. They shot out, stretched to their fullest extent. Some stayed that way, others shifted. I was aware of this, but not consciously telling them to do so. My teeth…

Alison smiling, wearing a FNDHope shirt and holding a sign reading "I am #FNDAware, are you?"
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How psychiatrists, psychologists and psychological tools help FND patients

Functional Neurological Disorder is a common but infrequently diagnosed neurological condition that appears to be on the boundary between neurology and psychiatry. When I was diagnosed in 2003, it was labeled as a psychiatric condition that required a neurologist and a psychiatrist to diagnose. Since the mid-2000’s there has been a huge push by both…