For 14 years, ever since I first met my first patient diagnosed with PNES, I have known that PNES falls clearly within the scope of practice of psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychotherapists. These are the professionals who should be working with this group of patients and who can help them. A major obstacle however is that […]
From its very inception, this book of patient testimonials was crafted to give a voice to those who suffer from PNES. It was hoped that these voices would reach others who are similarly afflicted as well as family members, loved ones and health professionals. Because the testimonials included in the book came from across the
Very much like last year at our first annual PNES conference, this year’s PNES conference far outdid our expectations. The audience of patients and loved ones and the doctors who were present left feeling energized and hopeful, learned a tremendous amount from each other and will go on to work on projects this coming year.
I just finished reading this wonderful new book that has been added to the growing body of PNES literature. It is co-authored by Kate Taylor and Jeffrey Underwood. In just 85 pages, it provides the reader with a candid view of the struggles author Kate Taylor faced when she developed PNES and sought help from
This first half of this post is from September 2014 and the second portion is from June 2015 My name is JJ and I am 22. My seizures have been a sporadic problem since I was 13. They really became a problem December 2013. I had quit drinking in September, I later discovered my alcoholism
Treatment for psychogenic non-epileptic seizures: Love and light Read More »
In the last couple of weeks, an article started to appear in different social media outlets in which a neurologist was quoted as saying that an important contributing factor in functional illnesses (including seizures and paralysis) in children is that their parents are showering the children with “too much love and attention.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/11640715/Parents-can-be-too-nice-to-their-children-neurologist-warns.html There seems
Today’s blog is the result of a profound series of conversations I recently had with someone. We were talking about a harmful emotion that can result from experiencing abuse: Hatred. Hatred is different than anger. Anger is an emotion. It is, like all other emotions; it’s neither right or wrong nor good or bad. It
Over the last year and a half the psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) movement has been trailblazing, steadily putting PNES on the map and making sure that this condition is not only heard but also seen. PNES is coming out of the shadows. Last year, one hundred people showed up for the FIRST NEREG PNES conference
Marching for Psychogenic Seizures in Washington, DC on April 11, 2015 Read More »
For several years, I had been hoping to have a conference on psychogenic seizures but when I had brought this up, I was met with doubts. It was thought that there might not be enough interest in the topic of PNES and it was predicted that we might end up standing alone in an
In March of 2011, I blogged about an important topic: what is the proper name for “psychogenic seizures.” Recently, there has been a renewed interest in how we call this condition. In particular, the question that has arisen is whether the word “seizures” should be in the label. In addition, there are a number of
