Olivia’s Story | FND Awareness Day UK 2026

This is my story,

Before Christmas in 2025, I ended up in hospital because I was having really bad abdominal pain. I was waiting to see the doctor and the last thing I remember was falling asleep in the waiting area. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a bed in A&E and the doctors were saying they wanted me to stay overnight for observation. What was meant to be one night turned into a whole week in hospital, and that’s when everything suddenly changed and I was told it was FND (Functional Neurological Disorder).

Since then, my life has been very different. FND affects me every single day and it can be really hard to deal with physically and emotionally. I wish more people understood how challenging it is, because even though you can’t always see it, it impacts so much of my daily life and what I’m able to do.

~ By Olivia, Age 19