#Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures

[finnslay]

"She's just not listening" ~my advisory teacher today while I was having a seizure and "wouldn't" move into the chair. (I couldn't fucking control my body whatsoever and would've loved to have sat down in the chair because my legs really REALLY were uncomfortable in the position they were in.)

[livingwellnessblog]

Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures

Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) present a perplexing challenge, both for patients and healthcare professionals. Often resembling epileptic seizures, PNES are distinct in origin, being triggered by psychological factors rather than abnormal brain

Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) present a perplexing challenge, both for patients and healthcare professionals. Often resembling epileptic seizures, PNES are distinct in origin, being triggered by psychological factors rather than abnormal brain electrical discharges. Understanding PNES Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures mimic epileptic seizures in…

[catastrophe-coins]

PNES & Seizure Flag coining

we noticed that there was no PNES flag (which we expected), and no seizure flag (which surprised us) so we made both.

the flag on the left is the seizure flag.

purple is often associated with epilepsy, but we added a black stripe at the bottom and a white stripe at the top to symbolise non-epileptic seizures.

The ribbon in the middle is a very grey shade of purple, to represent how confusing and muddled it can be to try and figure out what kind of seizures you have, and what is causing them.

the flag on the right is the PNES (psychogenic non-epileptic seizures) flag.

we picked a more pink-ish purple to symbolise the neurological side of the disorder, and blue to represent the psychological side of the disorder.

the grey strip in the middle represents the invalidation and dismissal people with PNES experience, and also represents the fact that neither psychiatry nor neurology want to accept that people with PNES are within their field.

i have no spoons for image descriptions, i may add alt text at some point, but if someone would add an ID that would be very much appreciated.

tagging - @mad-pride @liom-archive

[3liza]

a lot of people INCLUDING DOCTORS are completely unaware of this but it's not that uncommon for people to get so stressed out they will have a seizure, without being epileptic.

these people can experience any of the symptoms of seizure but will get a negative result on the standard epilepsy tests. this is the epilepsy foundation website and is not a bullshit website, this is actual epilepsy experts and advocates saying "you can have seizures from being too sad, too traumatized, or too stressed". unfortunately a lot of doctors will hear a patient report this, test them for epilepsy, and when the tests are negative, stop the diagnostic process there because they just don't know what else it could be or how to help their patient. bad doctors will make a mental note than the patient is hysterical* and/or malingering. terrible doctors will start diagnosing them with personality disorders that will prevent the patient from receiving adequate care later on (histrionic personality disorder, borderline, bipolar, etc). well, it can just be stress and trauma.

but it's pretty simple, sometimes even non-epileptic brains can overload and boil over and trigger cataplexy, muscle spasms, absence episodes, hallucinations, and all the rest of the seizure behaviors. one of the papers I read on Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizure (lmao PNES) mentioned that diagnosis alone was sufficient to significantly reduce or completely cure a lot of cases, presumably because if you know what's happening to you in a psychogenic illness and why, a huge burden of fear and stress is lifted from the disease process. unfortunately the combination of all these factors (tests negative for epilepsy, caused by psychological stress, resolves when diagnosed) produces an impression of the patient "faking it". this is true of most psychogenic illness because our culture doesn't consider the processes of the brain to be "real", but again, I have to emphasize, this is the official epilepsy foundation website and they have no reason to blow smoke up anyone's ass about this

* they're technically correct, hysteria as a classical diagnosis before it got turned into "she's making it up" documented a lot of these same symptoms, including the "hysterical arch" posture of a patient experiencing a full body spasm seen sometimes in stress seizures

[howlsofbloodhounds]

TW: medical/revenge whump. Abuse of authority/power. Torture. Reprogramming/reconditioning under the guise of “therapy” and “helping.” Abuse, gaslighting, manipulating, mentioned starvation and murder. Dehumanization, drugging, withholding medication.

Whumper(s) want revenge/justice, and at least one believes they’re “helping” and justified.

So I was thinking more about killer and revenge/medical whump. And a dark turn on how he asked Color to “teach him how to be a good person.”

And I was thinking about his Good Ending, and how staying in the Omega Timeline (with Color) requires him getting some actual therapeutic services and support.

Some medical intervention, possibly even needing to get his levels of DT checked or monitored.

Support for any blindness, chronic pain & fatigue, possibly even any dissociative/psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), he could struggle with. Deconditioning and deprogramming. CBT.

Medication. Any communication and food therapists.

And like this leaves him in a very vulnerable position, and puts strangers he doesn’t know or trust—who do know and have every reason to hate him—in a position of power over him.

So I’d imagine he’d be put in a highly guarded cell. They say it’s for his own protection but no one’s ever really protected him before. He thinks they’re trying to protect the staff and other patients from him.

A part of him is pleased to know that. Another is ashamed.

It changes with a certain member of the staff, however. They have a lot of power and authority in this facility, and they are someone Killer has hurt very, very badly before.

Yet he doesn’t recognize them, or if he does, it’s only as something vague like “an Undyne” or “a Toriel.” He doesn’t remember what exactly he did or said to them, how he wronged them—which only makes this person’s anger worse.

Maybe Killer doesn’t even notice anything up at first until he notices a change in his body’s reaction to medication, certain looks and comments they send his way.

But he doesn’t deny any of this person’s accusations—he fully heartedly believes he’s completely capable of whatever atrocities they said he did. He doesn’t trust himself that much. He doesn’t need much proof.

And I don’t know. Maybe this person was initially just planning to confront it, or kill it, or just torture it.

But maybe they see genuine remorse and guilt in Stage 1, and decide that they will help decondition it.

They see now that it was a tool, a machine, and machine’s can be fixed. Even one taught to do bad things can be good, they just need to show it how. And it wants to be good, it wants this. So they’ll be a better teacher than the one’s who had it before.

And like, maybe Killer’s Stage 1 self fully buys into it eventually. He doesn’t tell anyone what’s happening because he believes he deserves it, and it’s only fair. And that he’ll come away fixed and better again.

If he’s ever allowed into Stage 2 for very long to attempt to escape the pain—which is something the teacher discourages, because good things don’t run away from their crimes and selfishly numb out their guilt—he still doesn’t tell anyone anything. Believing it doesn’t matter.

He’s once again clinging to Color’s visits for any sense of hope, and doesn’t really believe it’s possible for him to live without pain or be free anymore.

So he just tries to enjoy what little he has left, even as They snap at him to stop pretending he is something that can care about anyone or anything. They say he is manipulating Color, trying to trick his “friend” into helping him escape and run back to Nightmare to be evil again. They say that good people are honest.

Eventually Killer just stops seeing Color or responding to any letters. He can’t be around him without wanting to hide in Stage 2, but he cannot do that anymore. It’s bad.

Anytime he acts on previous conditioned behaviors or beliefs, he’s punished for it—such as taking away basic necessities, solitary confinement, restraining him either with a straight jacket or with chains.

If the new teacher is an AU of a Chara, there’s a possibility Stage 4 would just be relieved that They haven’t left it and fall back on its old habits.

Only to get increasingly confused and hurt when They keep treating it harshly —no praise and pleasure when it shows its devotion and loyalty, no reward for fulfilling tasks.

Only pain and pain and pain. It can’t figure out why They aren’t happy with it and why everything it does seems to upset Them. Why They suddenly seem to not want it to exist anymore.

Rather than being convinced to be ‘good,’ Stage 4 will just become more and more convinced that its being bad and attempt to keep doing what always used to make Them happy when They were angry. Like offering dead animals it somehow found, kneeling, somehow handing Them a fork it wasn’t aware it wasn’t supposed to have so They could discipline it.

Offering Them its SOUL.

So between all the Stages; 1 would probably be crying and constantly begging for forgiveness, a lot of panic attacks and moments of falling mute due to overwhelming fear and stress and guilt (selective mutism.) He’ll be punished for for behaving childish and being disruptive.

Stage 3 is completely nonverbal, and likely always snapping and snarling and tugging against the chains or jacket. Trying to attack and run.

Like quietly curling up in a corner whenever finally left alone, uncontrollable twitching and harsh stimming behavior; such as smacking his skull against the wall repeatedly. Unlikely to whimper regardless of how much he wants to. Curl up in such a way to protect his stomach and SOUL, and unlikely to sleep.

He’s punished for not speaking, for behaving like an animal, punished if he doesn’t use his words. For hoarding food and eating with his hands too fast. For biting and scratching, and for twitching/hurting himself “for attention.” For being ungrateful and not sleeping.

The more Stage 4’s desperation for Their approval increases the more and more Killer becomes unstable. It’s punished for punishing itself after every failure, every expression of emotion.

It’s punished for becoming so desperate for things to make sense that it starts basically becoming even more Determined to prove its loyalty the only way it knows how—by trying to kill, kill, kill.

Stage 4’s entire world will be flipped on its head simply because it will not think to do the things that this Chara deems “good.” Because it was taught differently, that killing is good, that’s its purpose, it must. It does not know the concept of mercy or kindness and would never think to offer any to “lines of codes.”

It will try to adapt, because it wants to please Them, but They refer to it as if it is a person. They get mad at it when it does not react to death or pain. They call it words when it brings Them offerings.

If They constantly give it punishment after punishment it and it doesn’t understand why, and no rewards or being rewarded for doing the ‘bad’ things it’ll only feel like a test.

It won’t understand why not killing is being rewarded—it should not be, it has been bad. It has been ungrateful and disobedient.

It won’t accept food as rewards because that is not what it’s supposed to do. It accepts food only at certain times every week.

It won’t make choices, express autonomy, or display any moral judgment—it will not accept positive reinforcement for disobedient behavior such as trying to be led to believe it is a person or capable of making any choice. It will resist any attempts to be humanized.

If the new teacher is an AU of Chara, it will rapidly oscillate between instinctive, reverent obedience and resistance—falling more and more into confusion and cognitive dissonance. A rising sense of betrayal because They never did this before and Where is the real Them? and have They abandoned it?

Stage 4 will likely suffer a lot of breakdowns and shutdowns trying to be taught how to be a “good person,” because it fundamentally does not view itself as a person.

But if the new teacher is not an AU of a Chara or doesn’t have “Their heart,” (the locket), Stage 4 is likely to be extremely dismissive of them. “This one is not a person. Do not pretend as if it is.” or “They have no use for your kind of goodness.”

Likely to either straight up ignore or dismiss any attempts to change it, dismissing the words as a part of this particular code’s script. Mock any attempts to convince it to participate.

Will likely not accept any form of punishment from anyone who isn’t Them or allowed by Them, fighting back against punishment and not accepting reward. More likely to plan a way to kill this particular code to reaffirm its devotion to Them.

Meanwhile Stage 2 would be apathetic, playing along when it benefits him; pretending he’s “learning.”

He’d passively take any punishment or reward without any genuine care, regardless of how he pretends or any sarcastic comments. This is very likely the Stage planning the escape/revenge, if he cares at all.

(The way to get him to comply is likely to get him to doubt his memory and experiences.

Convince him that everything that happened with Nightmare and after Nightmare never really happened, was all just a dream or—if the new teacher is an AU of Chara—that there’s been another Reset.

And instead he’s still in his timeline, and either Chara is teaching him something new or he got help from the rest of the Underground after killing them. Reinforces the message that he “wants this.”)

If the new teacher is an au of Chara, Stage 4 would be too far caught up in Their presence and just wouldn’t want to leave—would never think of it. If the teacher isn’t an AU of Chara, it’d just be thinking of ways to slaughter them and escape to return to Them.

Stage 1 would believe he deserves it, and the teacher is only teaching him how to be better. Whereas Stage 3 lives in the moment, resisting any attempts to be changed for any reason whatsoever and fighting back with every punishment.

Killer will likely have to be heavily sedated just to be able to properly “work with” him without hurting himself or anyone else—likely often either dehumanized or infantilized heavily. He will attempt to regain some margin of control, even if it’s as simple as biting the hands that literally feed him or spitting in their faces.

[imanopossum]

my henry headcanons 🗣️ don’t be surprised if i update and edit this post as i come up with more so feel free to check back in every so often!!

-autism 🔥🔥🔥this one’s fairly obvious and widely agreed upon though even my MOM said he was autistic 😭😭😭

-his favorite art medium is charcoals

-if he was in band he would play oboe, and piano in front ensemble during marching season. i’m a band kid and i say so. oboes are all gifted kids but you can’t march oboe on the field and let’s be honest henry would not survive summer band practices unless he was in front ensemble who dont have to march

-epilepsy, specifically a subtype called psychogenic nonepileptic seizures or PNES. this subtype is seizures that are caused by psychological distress or ptsd. fairly self explanatory

-asthma, this one just feels right i have no evidence but i feel it in my balls

-he loves ovaltine. evidence: captain midnight sponsored ovaltine in commercials, think ralphie and his annie cipher in a christmas story, also bc he had captain midnight ciphers

-he would always win at hide and seek with alice, he is thin and lanky and would have no issue hiding in some tight little spot where alice wouldn’t find him

-former gifted kid (relatable), shadow brenner in the vr game and louis himself said henry is “too smart for his own good”. his strongest subjects are biology math and literature

-he subconsciously habitually rubs at the scar on his hand. (ahaha i do that. i’m totally not projecting guys)

-picky eater, virginia does not gaf and continues to cook stuff she knows he doesn’t like

-he’s actually an animal lover bc he clearly loved the puppy he got for his seventh birthday and he was petting claudia’s cat before the mind flayer made him kill it and was so sad when he accidentally killed the rat that he actually hugged brenner like what bro was that desperate for comfort he hugged his abuser (stockholm syndrome.)

-besides captain midnight his favorite superhero would obviously be spider-man

-he’s a pisces (emotionally intuitive, sensitive, artistic, intelligent) tbh a fall or winter birthday feels more right for him and february seems pretty fitting CHAT I NEED THEM TO TELL US WHAT HIS BIRTHDAY IS I MUST KNOW I DONT EVEN CARE IF IM WRONG I JUST NEED TO KNOW

-he’d listen to hozier, melanie martinez (anyone ever notice crybaby and henry align almost exactly. abusive home-> trapped in a facility-> dying?/transformed into something nonhuman), ethel cain, pink floyd, poor mans poison

-he would get a coverup spider tattoo over the 001

[serfuzzypushover]

It's the "Mituna Anon" again, but you can call me / us "Post" or "Script" (I'm a system). Using anon because it won't let me ask from the blog I want, it's forcing me to use my base blog, UnU, anyways- :3

Have another me projecting onto Mituna head canon dump about like- Seizures and disability stuff:

Mituna with PNES (Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures).

Mituna who is actually clear and coherent sometimes.

Mituna with Dyspraxia / Fine Motor Control issues.

Mituna who was traumatized by what he saw and always had slight issues and overworked himself to a state that triggered all these other issues like a regression.

Mituna who acts childish for the same reasons someone with dimentia might be. He gets scared but he can't put his thoughts together anymore so he just lashes out or wanders off.

Mituna who needs a caretaker because he definitely will hurt himself on accident if he doesn't have one.

Mituna who doesn't really realize how bad of a state he's in until it's too late and he's already doing something unsafe or has gotten hurt.

Mituna who uses a wheelchair, cane, and crutches to varying degrees as needed.

Mituna who wears like skater pads and a helmet for his own safety because man trips over, bumps into, and falls on all the things because he's usually in a dissociative or derealization blur / haze and nothing around him really feels real or like a threat.

Mituna who basically feels like he's high 95% of the time because that's how seizures can feel sometimes, everything is far away and it's all kinda blurring together and he's dizzy and it's fucking confusing and upsetting but also he's too blurry to actually care that hard so he's just kind of existing. (I have had a seizure that felt like being high, I swear this is a real thing.)

Mituna who gets frustrated that he needs someone to watch him because it's really close to Beforan Culling if someone starts being a little too protective. (Even if you actually need it, it can suck to be in need of caretaking and help when you used to be more capable, or usually are more capable. It can feel like being treated like a kid and it's why *I* pick my caretakers and I hate random people in public trying to help me, they treat me like a kicked puppy and I am in fact, very conscious in my head it's just very hard to communicate or function.)

(Also here's the blog I actually post stuff like this on I guess: https://www.tumblr.com/ps-scene-setting)

ouughh yesss yes these are all great!!

[theamphibianmen]

I see a lot of posts about how shitty it is to film disabled people in public and to make jokes when someone is having a medical emergency, and while in general I absolutely agree, there is a degree of nuance.

I have seizures, (most likely psychogenic/nonepileptic, I'm still going to be working with a neurologist to confirm my brain is intact though) and sometimes my friend @corypaws films them so that I can show my doctor. They have expressed guilt about doing this, but here's the thing: not only did I consent to this, it was my idea.

I had a seizure yesterday, and another friend, @thosegoodbois , made a joke about Caesar salad during it. They also felt guilty about this, but it was still incredibly helpful for me. On certain rare occasions, I'm fully conscious and aware for seizures. This was one of those times, so I heard everything. The people around me staying calm helped me stay calm too.

If a disabled person outright asks you to film them, you should really consider doing it. If a disabled person asks you to stay calm during a medical situation, you should at least try. Videos can be a very helpful diagnostic tool, and help make sure we are believed by doctors*. Freaking out when we have a medical problem might cause us to freak out too.

So basically I agree that in general filming disabled people and making jokes during medical emergencies is bad, but it's fine if you have consent.

Remember: disabled people are not a hive mind. At the end of the day, it should come down to what the individual wants.

*you probably shouldn't post it online though

[spookietrex]

New Chronically ill bookmark that will be going up on my shop soon.

Picture ID: a lavender colored vertical bookmark. On the left of the image read the words, "Chronically ill and not thrilled" in black with a shadow of white behind the text. There are stars all around the words and the image to the right: a hand-drawn roller-coaster with 3 cars, one decorated in zebra colors (EDS), purple and teal (psychogenic nonepileptic seizures, PTSD, Sexual assault survivor, food allergies, fibromyalgia, ED), green and blue/turquoise (depression, climate change/global warming, autism, CFS, arthritis, DV, and dysautonomia). Bottom of picture reads Apothic Studio 2024. End picture ID.

[disabled-systems]

(Regarding non-epileptic seizures)

According to the United States' National Library of Medicine's academic article entitled 'Dissociative Seizures: a Challenge for Neurologists and Psychotherapists', a Dissociative Seizure is defined: "Dissociative seizures resemble epileptic seizures but have no electrophysiological correlate. Their manifestations may include alterations of consciousness such as trance or stupor, amnesia, and/or hypermotor seizures with more or less rhythmic movements of the head and trunk, muscle stiffness, and tremor-like movements. In the current diagnostic manuals (DSM-IV, ICD-10), they are considered a manifestation of a dissociative or conversion disorder (e1). Dissociative seizures are not under the patient’s voluntary control and are thought to represent the patient’s involuntary response to emotional stress." Associated cited articles include 'Reuber M. Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures: Answers and questions', 'Gates J R. Diagnosis and treatment of nonepileptic seizures' and 'LaFrance WC, Jr, Devinsky O. Treatment of nonepileptic seizures'. Further, the United Kingdom organization Epilepsy Action mentions that, "...it’s thought they are a physical reaction to distressing triggers such as sensations, thoughts, emotions and difficult situations. Some experts say dissociative seizures are the brain’s way of ‘shutting down’ to protect itself from overwhelming distress. What happens during a dissociative seizure varies from person to person. Some dissociative seizures look very similar to epileptic seizures, whilst others look more like fainting. Someone having a dissociative seizure may fall to the floor and have shaking or jerking movements, bite their tongue and lose control of their bladder. Other people may go blank and stare, and not be able to respond to people around them.

Sources:

stresshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3647137/

https://www.epilepsy.org.uk/info/seizures/dissociative-seizures-non-epileptic-attack-disorder-nead

So, in those with dissociative identity disorders, non-epileptic seizures may occur in between switches. For instance, if I switch with Doc and in between the switch our head droops or our eyes blink rapidly or feel like we’re going to fall over; that is a non-epileptic seizure switch.

I hope this helps! Sorry if it comes off as rude, we’re in a class where we research stuff constantly and we responded in between work

- 🌅 anon

thank you so much for this info!! i had no idea, this is great to know :)

-aimee (any)

[obfuscated-abstract]

Title: Hypermobility in patients with functional seizures: Toward a pathobiological understanding of complex conditions

Date: May 2022 Published in: Epilepsy & Behavior Publicly available: Yes

Citation: Koreki, A., Eccles, J., Garfinkel, S., Critchley, H., Cope, S., Agrawal, N., Edwards, M., & Yogarajah, M. (2022). Hypermobility in patients with functional seizures: Toward a pathobiological understanding of complex conditions. Epilepsy & Behavior, 132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2022.108710

Abbreviations:

BS: Beighton scale

CBT: cognitive behavioural treatment

FND: functional neurological disorder

FS: functional seizures

PNES: psychogenic nonepileptic seizures

Article Summary

Abstract

Introduction

Functional seizures (FS) also known as psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) are episodes of altered awareness that resemble epileptic seizures or syncope but are not explained by these or other medical disorders. These are a common presentation in neurology and epilepsy clinics.

FS are associated with elevated morbidity and mortality rates as well as significant healthcare costs.

A current treatment is cognitive behavioural treatment (CBT) but this, and focussing on psychological comorbidities like anxiety and depression do not show definitive success. Recent research is centred around the interface between psychiatry and neurology in the case of FS

Join hypermobility (varied along a spectrum that includes Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and Marfan syndrome at its extreme) has been associated with several neuropsychiatric disorders including in a recent evaluation of a functional neurological disorder (FND) clinic which reported significant levels of hypermobility among patients, prompting this further investigation.

Methods

Diagnosis of FS made using the International League Against Epilepsy diagnostic criteria. Joint hypermobility was assessed using the Beighton Scale (BS).

Anxiety and depression were assessed with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory

Results

Detailed results and statistical interpretation are given here. Hypermobility was significantly associated with FS independent of potentially confounding factors.

Figure 1 shows a plot supporting these findings

Discussion

Notwithstanding the selective nature of the study population, the results suggest that joint hypermobility is more frequently observed in patients with FS.

Since the study contained significantly more women (and joint hypermobility is more common in women), the prevalence of joint hypermobility was more common in the comparison group than the general population and the prevalence among patients with FS was even higher.

The results were significant even after controlling for anxiety and depression, suggesting that joint hypermobility is an independent likelihood factor for FS.

Differences in autonomic control , interoception, and brain structure which are associated with joint hypermobility may predispose patients to FS but more research is required to replicate these results and investigate the implications of this result on screening, diagnosis, and treatment of these patients.

Limitations to this study include that the examination was not blinded to whether the patient belonged to the FS or comparison group, and that other potential confounding factors such as occupation or chronic illness were not analysed (due to lack of information)

[finnslay]

I went "Floppy Noodle Mode" (atonic seizure) in theater yesterday

A said I was like a wet spaghetti noodle

C goes "oh my gosh, they're Finnuccine"

Theater kids are ruthless 😭

[thedisabilitybookarchive]

Update: 31.03.2024

Fixes:

Updated entry for "'The No-Girlfriend Rule'- Randall, Christen"

Update blog entry for "'The No-Girlfriend Rule'- Randall, Christen"

Added:

Category for "PNES | Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures"

Tag for "PNES | Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures"

"Horse Riding" to "Themes & Tropes" page

Aesthetic:

Other:

Added the City of Spires series by Claudie Arseneault to the "Under Review" list. This is just while I verify some information regarding the rep in this series.

[zcja]

(tyla) [THE GIRLBOSS]. please welcome [ZOJA KINGSTON (SHE/HER)] to Huntsville, WV. they are an [24]-year-old [VISITOR] who lives in [TOWN]. you may see them around working as a [FREELANCE STYLIST]. poor unfortunate soul. we’ll see if they survive. (+ GATHERER) (katie, 26, she/her, est)

data.

— full name: zoja kingston

— alias: zozo (family, close friends)

— age/birthday: 24 years old, december 25th

— zodiac: capricorn sun

— gender/pronouns: cis fem, she/her

— sexuality: bisexual

— occupation: former ceo of her own natural skincare/haircare company focusing on products for textured hair, currently does freelance styling (hair, clothes, makeup) + has a good amount of her products with her

visuals.

— face claim: tyla

— height: 5'3"

— distinguishing features: not very tall but has a pretty commanding presence, she calls attention due to her confidence. big, bright and charming smile that just makes you want to like her. clear and sweet voice, though it's quick to turn curt if she finds that she isn't being listened to. smells woodsy and citrusy. always styled well, likes to style her hair differently every so often.

personality.

— general: her father always stressed the importance of not depending on someone else to take care of her, and zoja took that personally. she's very passionate and motivated, you won't find her taking a day to relax and do nothing. very determined, can be described as a go-getter. has a hard time being told no.

— positive:  efficient, self-confident, energetic, charismatic

— negative: stubborn, insensitive, defiant, impulsive

biography.

— summary: ( cw mentions of character death (car accident), death during childbirth, mentions of seizures ) zoja never knew her mother, since she unfortunately passed away shortly after zoja was born. it meant that zoja's father was left to raise her and her older brother, and he did his best to be there for them like a father and mother would be. zoja had always been close to her father as a result, though she was anything but spoiled -- her father had always told her that life wasn't like a fairytale, and that she should work hard for what she wanted in life. zoja took that very seriously.

when she was young, she had a seizure at a family party and was later diagnosed with a seizure disorder, PNES (psychogenic nonepileptic seizures) and though at first it upset her, she was determined to not let it define her. she went through years of testing to find the right medication to treat her seizures, eventually finding that a combination of therapy and medication were sufficient to help manage her symptoms. she didn't let that stop her, determined to live life to the fullest, enrolling in every club and activity that she could so she could find her passion.

she found it in high school in skin and hair care where she created her own brand and marketed it online. it was slow to gain traction, but by the time she'd graduated it was already starting to make a name for itself and by the time she was 21 years old, she had a full, real online business with loyal followers, and felt like she was on top of the world.

that is, until her brother cut her off. he'd found out about the feelings she had for his wife, beryl, who zoja had met through him in high school, and had developed a crush for that she tried to ignore, though it manifested into full blown feelings. once her brother found out he stopped talking to her, and shortly after he passed away in an accident, though beryl never found out about zoja's feelings for her. zoja didn't find out immediately, though when she did find out she immediately went to go find his wife, beryl. upon finding out that beryl was in huntsville she went to find her, guilt-stricken by her damaged relationship with her brother and worried for beryl. of course she never could have anticipated how bad the situation she walked into would be.

zoja quickly set up in huntsville, focusing on doing what she could to take care of herself and also be there for beryl; she started her own styling business, using her products and expertise.

connections. find here.

[lunarwildrose]

Merci Micky @octobernocturne for bringing me to my new neurology appointment. Dude had two medical students there; I gave consent, as I'm used to being studied by med students.

I have PNES, psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. Basically ...

"Psychogenic nonepileptic seizure (PNES) involves attacks that resemble epilepsy-related seizures in symptoms and signs, but abnormal electrical activity in your brain doesn’t cause them. Instead, the seizures are a physical reaction to underlying psychological distress.

The psychiatric diagnosis for PNES is conversion disorder, as a mental stress is being converted into a physical symptom. Conversion disorder is also known as functional neurological symptom disorder. Many people with PNES have experienced trauma.

People who have PNES aren’t faking the seizures. They have no conscious or voluntary control over them."

So ... just ... learn more coping skills, become comfortable with emotions, my body, talk therapy, heal from trauma, etc ... what I've been doing ... and ... if I still have seizures in six months when I see the neurologist again, I'll start a new specialized therapy for PNES. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[this-is-me19]

Non-epileptic seizures (NES) or functional (sometimes called dissociative) seizures may look similar to epileptic seizures but they are not caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. This page will help you understand what non-epileptic seizures are, what causes them, how they are diagnosed and how they can be treated.

What is psychogenic nonepileptic seizure (PNES)?

Psychogenic nonepileptic seizure (PNES) involves attacks that resemble epilepsy-related seizures in symptoms and signs, but abnormal electrical activity in your brain doesn’t cause them. Instead, the seizures are a physical reaction to underlying psychological distress.

The psychiatric diagnosis for PNES is conversion disorder, as a mental stress is being converted into a physical symptom. Conversion disorder is also known as functional neurological symptom disorder. Many people with PNES have experienced trauma.

People who have PNES aren’t faking the seizures. They have no conscious or voluntary control over them.

Many people with PNES first receive a misdiagnosis of epilepsy. It’s also possible for someone to have both PNES and epilepsy-related seizures. This happens in about 10% to 15% of cases.

Other names for this condition include:

Psychogenic nonepileptic spells.

Psychogenic nonepileptic episodes (PNEE).

Psychogenic nonepileptic attacks.