Symptoms of FND
FND disrupts the way the brain communicates with the body. Since the nervous system is involved in everything we do, from moving and sensing to thinking and feeling, the symptoms of FND can be incredibly diverse. These symptoms can change frequently, varying from day to day or even hour to hour. Some people with FND experience periods of improvement followed by sudden relapses, making it difficult to predict the course of the condition. However, with the right support and treatment, many people with FND can learn to manage these challenges and improve their quality of life.​
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This page highlights some of the common ways FND can affect people, but it doesn't cover everything. To learn more, explore the sources on our resources page.
The most common FND symptoms affect awareness, cognition, movement, and sensation.
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Awareness Issues
FND can significantly affect a person’s awareness, leading to episodes that are both frightening and disruptive. These awareness issues can interfere with daily activities, work, and social interactions, often causing anxiety and fear about future episodes. ​
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Here's an overview of the main awareness issues associated with FND:
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Non-epileptic Seizures (NES)/Functional Seizures: These events resemble epileptic seizures, with symptoms like shaking, muscle stiffening, and loss of awareness. However, unlike epileptic seizures, NES are not caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Instead, they are thought to originate from a disruption in how the brain processes and controls movement and senses.
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Blackouts/Fainting: These involve a sudden loss of consciousness, often accompanied by a brief loss of muscle tone. While fainting can have various causes, in FND, it's often related to a dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system, which regulates automatic bodily functions like heart rate and blood pressure.
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Dissociation: Dissociation involves feeling disconnected from oneself, one's surroundings, or one's memories. It can range from mild detachment to a complete sense of unreality. People with FND may experience episodes of depersonalization (feeling detached from their body) or derealization (feeling like the world around them is unreal).
Cognition Issues
FND can impact how your brain processes information, leading to challenges with thinking, memory, and focus. Cognitive symptoms in FND vary widely from person to person and can fluctuate over time. It’s important to recognize that these cognitive difficulties are real and can be highly disabling, affecting work, education, relationships, and everyday tasks.
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Here's a breakdown of common cognitive challenges associated with FND:
Memory Problems
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Difficulty recalling information: This can involve struggling to remember recent events, appointments, names, or even what you were doing moments ago.
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"Going blank": You might experience moments where your mind seems to go blank, especially when trying to recall specific details or during conversations.
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Misplacing items: Frequently losing or misplacing things like keys, phones, or important documents can be a sign of memory problems.
Concentration Difficulties
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Sustaining focus: It might be hard to concentrate on tasks, conversations, or activities for extended periods. You might find your mind wandering or easily getting distracted.
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Mental fatigue: Cognitive tasks can feel mentally exhausting, leading to a sense of brain fog or difficulty processing information.
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Impaired attention: Paying attention to details or following instructions can be challenging.
Language and Communication Issues
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Word-finding difficulties: You might struggle to find the right words when speaking or writing, leading to pauses or using incorrect words.
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Slowed processing: It might take longer to understand what others are saying or to formulate your own responses.
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Difficulty with complex tasks: Tasks that require multiple steps or mental calculations can feel overwhelming.
Movement Issues
FND can cause a wide range of movement issues by disrupting the brain's ability to control and coordinate muscle activity. These movement symptoms vary greatly from person to person and can change over time. They can make daily activities such as walking, dressing, eating, and communicating challenging.
Here's an overview of some common movement issues associated with FND:
​Weakness or Paralysis:
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Partial or complete loss of strength: This can affect any part of the body, such as the arms, legs, or face, making it difficult or impossible to move the affected muscles. The weakness or paralysis may fluctuate in intensity, shift from one limb to another, or come and go.
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"Give-way" weakness: A sudden loss of strength when trying to use the affected limb, often described as the limb "giving way.
Movement Disorders:
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Tremors: Involuntary shaking or trembling movements, which can affect the hands, arms, legs, head, or voice.
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Dystonia: Sustained muscle contractions that cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures.
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Myoclonus: Sudden, brief, involuntary jerks or twitches of a muscle or group of muscles.
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Tics: Repetitive, involuntary movements or vocalizations that are often sudden and brief.
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Gait disorders: Difficulties with walking, such as dragging a leg, feeling unsteady, or having an unusual walking pattern.
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Drop attacks: Sudden falls without loss of consciousness, often caused by a sudden loss of muscle tone in the legs.
Sensation Issues
FND can interfere with how the brain processes sensory information, resulting in a variety of unusual and often distressing sensations. These sensory symptoms can differ widely from person to person and may change over time. They can make everyday activities like walking, reading, socializing, and eating challenging and uncomfortable.
Here's an overview of common sensory issues associated with FND:
Vision Problems
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Double vision: Seeing two images of a single object.
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Blurred vision: Difficulty seeing clearly, as if things are out of focus.
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Tunnel vision: Loss of peripheral vision, resulting in a narrowed field of view.
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Visual field deficits: Blind spots or areas of reduced vision in one or both eyes.
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Photophobia: Increased sensitivity to light, causing discomfort or even pain in bright environments.
Hearing Difficulties
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Hyperacusis: Increased sensitivity to everyday sounds, making them seem louder and more distressing.
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Tinnitus: Ringing, buzzing, or other noises in the ears that aren't caused by an external sound source.
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Distorted hearing: Sounds may seem muffled, distorted, or unclear.
Changes in Skin Sensation
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Numbness: A loss of feeling or sensation in a part of the body, like feeling like you're wearing a glove or sock when you're not.
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Tingling or "pins and needles": An uncomfortable prickling sensation, often described as feeling like your skin is crawling.
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Pain: FND can cause pain in any part of the body, and the pain can be constant, intermittent, or triggered by specific movements or situations. The pain may not follow typical nerve pathways, which can be confusing.
​Other Sensory Changes
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Loss of taste or smell: Reduced ability to taste or smell, which can affect appetite and enjoyment of food.
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Internal sensations: Unusual sensations within the body, such as a feeling of fullness in the throat (globus sensation) or a sense that a limb doesn't belong to you.
Speech & Swallowing Issues
FND can disrupt the complex brain processes that control speech and swallowing, leading to various difficulties. These challenges often occur alongside other FND symptoms and can significantly impact communication, social interactions, and eating—ultimately affecting a person’s quality of life.
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Here's an overview:
Speech Issues
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Dysphonia: This refers to difficulty producing voice, resulting in changes in voice quality, such as hoarseness, breathiness, or a strained voice. In some cases, it can even lead to complete loss of voice (aphonia).
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Dysarthria: This involves difficulty with the articulation of speech sounds, leading to slurred, slow, or mumbled speech. It can be caused by weakness or incoordination of the muscles involved in speech.
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Stuttering: This is characterized by repetitions, prolongations, or blocks of sounds or syllables, disrupting the flow of speech. While stuttering can have various causes, in FND, it may be related to anxiety or difficulty coordinating the muscles involved in speech.
Swallowing Issues
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Dysphagia: This refers to difficulty swallowing, which can involve problems with any stage of the swallowing process, from chewing and moving food in the mouth to transporting it down the esophagus.
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Globus sensation: This is a persistent feeling of having a lump or something stuck in the throat, even when there is nothing there. It can cause discomfort and anxiety, especially when swallowing.