I have suffered with FND for 5 years experiencing seizures, fatigue, chronic pain and severe depression. I have found it extremely difficult to accept my condition as not many people have heard of it, even medical professionals often have no understanding around it and I have been told multiple times “it’’s all in my head” or ‘they are fake seizures’ simply because scans have come back normal. I see so many posts of people being treated unfairly and being left in the dark in the FND support page, it can be so frustrating fighting this condition on a day to day basis as well as having to beg for help and look for answers.
Awareness needs to be spread so everyone has an understanding of what FND means, to support one another and stop this vicious circle of FND patients being dismissed and feeling so alone.
For myself, art is my therapy and escape from day to day life’s difficulties. Sometimes I only have the strength to just doodle rough sketches, but once I put the pen/pencil to paper my mind automatically turns off and I start to feel motivated, inspired and completely lost in the moment.

“Art is to console those who are broken by life”
– Vincent Van Gogh

Let’s hope this year we can make a change and spread as much information on FND Awareness Day 2021!

By Becca, Swansea