“‘dis-sociated’ – The first ever feature documentary on PNES

I’m Clea, the director, producer and editor of dis-sociated, the first feature-length documentary about Dissociative Seizures which is now available to watch on YouTube: I was inspired to create this documentary after my friend developed mysterious absence-like seizures, which doctors were unable to explain or prevent. Once my friend finally received a diagnosis, her life had fallen apart due to her seizures. She...

The International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) features an article about psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES)

There is one thing we can be sure of: if we are going to be successful in disseminating information and educating the public (professional and general) about PNES, we need to make sure it is reported on and written about in as many publications and venues as possible. So, imagine my satisfaction in reading and sharing the most recent article that has come out in the ILAE epigraph. Why is this important? Well,...

Functional Neurological Disorders (FND) Conference in Scotland, 2017

Early in September, I had the pleasure of attending a very exciting conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. The conference was historic and groundbreaking in many ways, not least of which was that the last International FND had been held a total of SEVEN years before! First question to tackle before we move forward is: What are Functional Neurological Disorders? And why are we talking about them when this blog features...

Why is scientific research in psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) so important and if you see that a study has opened up, why you should seriously consider applying to see if you qualify

A researcher of the brain You may not believe this if you are currently living with PNES and encountering a lot of the day to day challenges that come with it, but the panorama for PNES is actually improving (I know it can feel for some like too slow or not at all where you live, but remember, there is hope).  And one of the key ways in which we continue moving forward in making more improvements for those living...

Recommendations for books having to do with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures as holiday gifts 2016

My position has always been that the gift of knowledge is maybe one of the most wonderful gifts we can give to others.  That’s why I so value the work teachers do.  I am still in awe of how children enter school as illiterates and in just a few years are taught how to make sense of symbols (i.e. letters) ending up being able to read whole words, passages and even books, and able to write persuasive,...