My name is Brídín Fox (nee Flanagan). I am 29 years old and I was diagnosed with FND (Functional Neurological Disorder) after experiencing severe and odd neurological symptoms for a long period of time. I had never heard of this condition prior to being diagnosed. In a nutshell, FND is a condition that causes physical symptoms that mimic those of Parkinson's, MS and Stroke.

When I was diagnosed with FND in 2019, a neurologist explained the condition to me in the most simple terms that I found much more beneficial than all the medical jargon!

Firstly, FND does not allow you to control, induce or bring on your symptoms. Personally, I do feel that this contributes to a stigma attached to the condition and it is why I was so confused and angry when I was first diagnosed. However, with the support of my husband, Ciarán, my family, my in-laws, my GP, my friends, my boss and close work colleagues, I have come to a point where I now feel comfortable enough to share my story with FND publicly in the hope that it may help someone else who is experiencing the same symptoms and reassure them that it is a condition that can be managed.

Don't get me wrong, it is unnerving (no pun intended!) putting out details of my health struggle. At times, it was a very lonely, frustrating and defeating place to be, regardless of all the support I had. Before my diagnosis, my family and I feared the worst. Thankfully, I had the support to keep pushing for answers and help, which paid off when I finally understood what was happening to my body.

From my understanding of the neurologist's explanation and from my experience of living with FND, the best way I can explain FND is as follows. I am not a medical expert, I am not claiming that this is how all FND patients experience symptoms, I am trying to explain the cause / functioning of this condition as best I can to those who, like myself prior to my diagnosis, have never heard of it before.

Basically, your brain constantly sends signals all over your body in order for you to do simple things such as move your arm. With FND the signal gets misdirected or misfired and can get sent to a different part of your body, can get lost or gets 'cut off' before reaching the target area resulting in you having no physical power to move that part of your body. It can also get sent multiple times causing the movement to be repeated more than intended which causes spasms and seizures. It is not known why the signals misfire, but it is clear that they have been. One day, the signals can work fine and you can go about daily life with no interruptions or misfiring signals. On other days, your signals can go haywire and you can be completely bed-bound with no power to move your limbs and/or with constant seizures. Again, and this is most commonly for me recently, there will be days where the signals cause chronic pain and numbness but they will still allow your body to move- just with a lot of pain! For me, this is a sign that I am managing my condition as best I can.

There is no known single cause of FND but a combination of how our biological, psychological and social environment can affect our brain function. Lots of different people can get FND, and it is not just caused by stress.

The difference in FND and conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s, is that with the latter conditions, the damage is present in the brain, but with FND there is no structural damage or evident disease but rather a problem of how the brain is functioning. This means that while the same symptoms are present, there appears to be no damage in the structure of the brain that is causing them. Symptoms can be and often are just as severe and disabling as when structural damage is present.

Some people might only have one symptom such as functional weakness of limbs, and others may develop many, varying symptoms. The symptoms can also vary in severity. From my personal experience, symptoms often come in bouts or flare-ups and can at times be triggered by an outside factor. I can experience weeks or longer even, symptom free, while at other times I can lose complete use of my limbs.

The most frustrating thing about this diagnosis is that it is not a commonly known condition and very little is understood about it here. Unfortunately, I have experienced medical professionals who were of the opinion that my symptoms were "in my head" even though it was physically apparent that my legs would not allow me to walk no matter how hard I was trying. Because damage in the brain can't be seen in a scan with FND, some doctors assume it is being made up. It is not. It is a problem with how your brain functions and sends messages to the nerves. It is not a case that all other conditions/diseases are ruled out and then a diagnosis of FND is given, rather, a positive diagnosis of FND is needed through various tests, to give a diagnosis of FND.

For me, after consulting with a neurologist in RVH Belfast, I can directly link the onset of my symptoms to significant traumas that I experienced around the time they first began. I can also, now in hindsight, link the worsening severity of my symptoms to the sudden passing of my mother, Marion Flanagan (nee Fanning) in her sleep in 2011, and the passing of my father, Leo Flanagan, after a battle with cancer 18 months later. Trauma is not always the underlying cause of FND symptoms and many people who are diagnosed have not experienced traumas that cause their symptoms to present.

Although great strides are being made in England in the NHS and from the work of other charities, here locally, it is very much the case that you are left to seek help yourself after being diagnosed. There is little known about the condition or how to treat it. There is, as with many areas of healthcare, a lack of funding and research into the condition. I am very lucky to have the support that I do amongst those close to me. I am also very lucky to have a very supportive boss and colleagues who have helped me and continue to support me in my working environment, allowing me to continue working. I am aware however, that not everyone who suffers from FND is as fortunate to have this support.

I have recently become aware of the only NI based charity that helps FND patients, "FNDMattersNI". The charity currently aim to secure premises that would allow them to further provide and build on services that they currently provide, such as various alternative treatments, a safe space and group support sessions for those affected by FND, to name but a few. This would be a huge step for over 1500 people here who have been diagnosed with FND and sometimes feel lost and forgotten within the health system along with those who are suffering from FND but have not yet received a diagnosis.

Please help support this cause in any way you can, big or small, by donating to this page and sharing with your family and friends. All funds raised will be donated to the charity FNDMattersNI directly and will be used to help them continue to support local people suffering from this debilitating condition and to promote awareness of the condition both among the wider the public and among healthcare professionals.

Thank you!

If you want to find out more about this charity, or FND in general, please visit their website:

FNDMattersNI