Functional Neurological Disorder
Date issued: May 2021
Review date: May 2023
Ref: D-357/CH/Learning Disability Team/FND Plain English
PDF FND - Plain English final May 2021.pdf [pdf] 660KB
Functional Neurological Disorder:
This leaflet has been written to help you:
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Understand what Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) is
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Recognise some of the symptoms of FND
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Try different techniques and exercises to relieve the symptoms from your FND
What is FND?
To help you understand the condition we are going to break down its name.
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is how your body works
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is anything to do with your nerves and the messages they send to your brains
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is when something doesn’t work as well as it should
So FND is a condition where people experience neurological symptoms as a result of problem messages being sent to and from their brain.
It is important to know that FND is not due to any brain damage or disease of your nervous system.
FND symptoms:
Functional Neurological Symptoms can include:
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Paralysis
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Abnormal movements
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Sensory symptoms
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Cognitive problems and
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Seizures
FNS are often linked with how you are feeling in yourself. Making small changes to your daily routine can improve how you feel and can help with symptoms.
Here are some tips on managing your physical and mental wellbeing to improve how you feel. Try raising your heart rate once a day in accordance with your current fitness level. For example:
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Walking to the local shop
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Taking the stairs instead of the lift or
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Going for a short jog.
Benefits to keeping active include:
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Reducing feelings of anxiety and depression
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Improving your quality of sleep
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Improving joint pain and stiffness
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Lowering blood pressure
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Improving heart health
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Improving your brain function and memory
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Weight management
Worry and stress:
Feeling worried or stressed are common feelings and here are some simple tips to help manage these:
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Open up and talk through your feelings with a trusted friend or health professional.
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Go outside when you can and enjoy the fresh air.
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Keep a simple to-do list and prioritise tasks in order of importance.
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Set yourself realistic goals and plan manageable steps to reach them.
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Schedule in breaks throughout your day.
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Identify unnecessary goals or tasks that may trigger your stress.
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Delegate items on your to-do list to someone else.
Breaking up your day:
In order to be proactive and productive with your day try switching between tasks. Do something physical, something mentally challenging and then have a short rest. This will break up your day into manageable sections and give your body and brain a chance to recover.
When stressed you may have numerous thoughts racing around your head and feel quite overwhelmed. In times like these it can help to ground yourself in the present moment.
A simple way of doing this is the ‘5 things’ technique.
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Name 5 things you can see in your current surroundings
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Name 4 things you can feel right now
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Name 3 things you can hear right now
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Name 2 things you can smell right now
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Name 1 thing you can taste right now
If you feel stressed or overwhelmed it is important to pace yourself. This involves focusing on what you can do and reducing any unnecessary stress factors. Ensure your goals are realistic and take manageable steps to reach them.
One thing you enjoy a day:
It is important to make time for things that boost your mood and bring you joy. Try to fit at least one thing that you enjoy doing in to every day.
This could be the same thing or something completely different each day. You could:
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go for a walk
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draw
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watch your favourite sport
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listen to music
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bake or
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read a book.
Contacting the team:
Neurology Department
Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust
Derriford Road
Crownhill
Plymouth
PL6 8DH
