I have a hard time figuring out where to begin when trying to approach awareness for my own disorder. In short, I have multiple conditions that affect me, but PNES is probably my most debilitating condition, and also.. the least known? Most people that I talk to haven't heard of it, anyways. I want to make information on my condition as easy to access as possible so that the next person who gets diagnosed with it has an easier time than I did, somewhere in the world.

It's difficult to say what the one singular cause of PNES is. Different doctors and scientists have different theories. Some believe that it's a dissociative disorder, while others believe that it's a physical change in the brain. It's much more likely that it's a combination of multiple unlucky factors, which isn't a super clear-cut answer. There is, however, evidence that some sort of physical change takes place in the brain.

PNES (Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizure) is the most commonly used name, but it's debated whether or not that's the most accurate, sensitive, or up-to-date label. Other labels used include FS (Functional Seizure), Dissociative Seizures, and the more outdated pseudoseizures.

These are, of course, labels originating in western academia. Other communities refer to nonepileptic events with other terms. PNES is one of the most common reasons for Ataque de Nervios, if you're familiar with that. If you're Black, you may have also heard of people that struggle with chronically falling out, blacking out, or having indisposition. PNES is one of the most common reasons for this.

Different studies report anywhere from 1 to 5 cases per 100,000 people in the general population of the US and UK. The disorder is seen to disproportionately affect women and AFAB people, with a ratio of about 3 to 1. Most often, the disorder starts in the young adult years, but onset is not limited to this time, especially because there can be a long period between when symptoms begin and when someone recieves their final diagnosis, on average taking 3-8 years. This period doesn't need to be this long, but people are often misdiagnosed with other disorders first.

I'm not very good at writing. There's nothing about me that makes me pre-qualified to write this article. I just want more people to know why I fall over in the walgreens sometimes.