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Date issued: May 2021 

Review date: May 2023

Ref: D-358/CH/Neuropsychology/How to manage your symptoms

PDF:  How to manage your symptoms final May 2021.pdf [pdf] 388KB

What is Functional Neurological Disorder?

Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) may sound complicated, so let’s break down these words:

• Function = how our body normally works; how it functions day to day

• Neurological = anything to do with our nerves and the messages they send to and from our brains

• Disorder = when something doesn’t work as well as it should

So put together, FND is a condition that affects your brain and causes your body not to function as it should. Your brain receives millions of messages from the nerves around your body every single day. Sometimes our brains can’t cope with all of these messages and you can experience neurological symptoms. This is what FND is.

The symptoms that you may be experiencing are called functional neurological symptoms (FNS). Symptoms may include:

• Being unable to move parts of your body as normal

• Problems with talking

• A difference in how you touch, see or smell things

Symptoms are often linked with how we are generally feeling in ourselves. Making small changes to our daily routine can help to reduce the severity of symptoms.

This booklet has been written to help you manage your symptoms.

Keeping Active

The words ‘physical activity’ can be quite daunting to some however we are not expecting anyone to run a marathon!

Try raising your heart rate once a day. For some, this might mean walking to the local shop. For others, it might be choosing to take the stairs instead of the lift or going for a short jog.

Some benefits to keeping active:

• Reduce feelings of anxiety and depression

• Improve your quality of sleep

• Improve joint pain and stiffness

• Lower blood pressure

• Improve heart health

• Improve your brain function and memory

• Aid in weight management 

Pace Yourself

Focus on what you can do and reduce any unnecessary stressors.  Ensure that your goals are realistic for yourself and make attainable steps to reach them.

Switching Between Tasks

In order to be proactive and productive with your day, try switching between tasks that involve something physical, something mentally challenging, and then having a short break. This will compartmentalise your day into manageable sections and give your body and brain a chance to recover.

5 THINGS

When stressed, you may have thoughts racing around your head and feel a sense of being 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.

• Name 5 things you can see in your current surroundings (e.g. a chair)

• Name 4 things you can feel right now (e.g. cool air)

• Name 3 things you can hear right now (e.g. people talking)

• Name 2 things you can smell right now (e.g. perfume)

• Name 1 thing you can taste right now (e.g. toothpaste)

1 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 can be the same thing or something completely different each day and may include things like:

• Painting or drawing

• Playing or watching your favourite sport

• Going for a walk or run

• Cooking or baking

• Playing an instrument or listening to music

• Reading a book or flicking through a newspaper/magazine

Tips to Manage Stress

Feeling worried or stressed are very common feelings. Here are some simple tips to help manage them.

• Open up and talk through your feelings with a trusted friend or health professional

• Engage in mindfulness and meditation to help stay in the present moment. (Try the ‘5 Things’ mindful activity on the previous page, and for more information on mindfulness, refer to https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mindfulness/)

• Get outside when you can and enjoy the fresh air

Practicing time management can also help to reduce feelings of stress:

• Keep a simple to-do list and prioritise tasks in order of importance

• Set yourself realistic goals and plan manageable steps to reach them

• Always schedule in breaks throughout your day

• Identify any unnecessary tasks that can be taken off your to-do list or delegated to somebody else

Useful Information

NHS Choices:  www.nhs.co.uk

FND Action:  www.fndaction.org.uk

FND: A Patient’s Guide: www.neurosymptoms.org