Several times a year, this blog invites writers who live with PNES to share their writings. This month, we have a moving poem submitted by Brittney. My name is Brittney, I’m 30, a member of the PNES support group, and I cannot work due to multiple conditions. I wrote the poem below in July when I …
We’d be hard pressed to find a clinician or researcher who doesn’t agree that the proper treatment for a confirmed diagnosis of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) or non-epileptic attack disorder (NEAD-as it is called in the UK) is some form of psychotherapy. Although, we’ve known this for decades, we’re still sorely uncertain as to which …
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 …
In July 2013, we published an article in the Journal Epilepsy and Behavior looking at: Psychological trauma in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures: Trauma characteristics and those who develop PTSD. The full article can be found here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1525505013001819). We found that 45 out of 61 (73.8%) patients reported experiencing at least one traumatic event in …
I have psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) but was never traumatized: Is this you? Read More »
What unites patients with PNES into a single category? The fact that they have abnormal behaviors and changes in consciousness that resemble an epileptic seizure, but that are in fact non-epileptic as per EEG? However, right about there is where the similarity ends. To bunch all of PNES patients into one bag and hope to …
Dr. Selim Benbadis published an excellent editorial article in the Neuropsychiatry Journal this year in which he called out both the American Psychological and American Psychiatric Association for the absence of information about Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (conversion disorders) they have on their sites. He pointed out that both associations have a plethora of mental health …
Up to 90% of patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) report histories of significant trauma (often childhood sexual and physical abuse). If we compare with control groups and the general US population, we find that in fact, patients with psychogenic non epileptic seizures have suffered more abuse than these other groups. As for post-traumatic stress …
So, for those who dismiss PNES as something that is “just psychological,” don’t be so hasty. The fact that it is psychological does not mean it does not have some very real consequences.
How many people with PNES have a history of trauma? An interesting article was published in the Journal Epilepsy and Behavior ( 2004) by Fiszman et. al. It reviewed 17 PNES studies and found that traumatic events and PTSD in persons with PNES were very common. Depending on the study: 44-100% of PNES patients had …
You’ve certainly been dealt a real challenge. Why? Because PNES is a very complicated psychological condition that seems to defy logic. There are however some promising treatments. We only need to figure out who they will serve best. In my opinion, the biggest problem lies in that we may be lumping different conditions into one single …
So you’ve been told you have PNES – What’s that? Read More »
