Old wine in new bottles, “Functional” as a prejudiced euphemism for “Hysterical”
[This is a draft article]
I know FND folk are trying to retake the name “functional”, but the truth is to doctors “functional disorder” means something along the lines of: “nothing wrong physically, likely psychological factors involved”. FND people deserve a better name, or even a better diagnosis.
ME is not a functional disorder. ME is a physical disease. Maeve died because she was treated with no humanity, doctors believing she had a functional disorder. “can’t find anything medical, feel it is functional, can drink if she wishes” - Hospital Doctor in Maeve’s case
Australian Study
What’s most shocking to me about this segment is the sentence at the bottom. Where they admit FND and MUS are used as euphemisms for “hysteria”. When are we going to stop ridiculing patients for diseases medicine is to incompetent to diagnose or explain?
The FND Case
Thats assuming FND is a single illness and not a catch-all for undiagnosed neurological illnesses as its DSM-5 suggests
The worst part of the software analogy is it isn’t true. “hardware” problems have been found in FND but these researchers ignore it. It’s enraging. The leading FND studies use the same language Wessely and the scams like the “lightning process” use. We NEED good FND research.
When you’re diagnosed with FND, the only experts in your condition are those saying your symptoms are “software issues” ie. psychological. And also, it’s hard to have your condition criticised. If someone told me ME/CFS isn’t real, I would feel hurt too.
FND might be in a similar state of “CFS” in 2005 when Wessley was the leading expert the disabling conditions was referred to as “chronic fatigue” There’s a reason FND is listed in the DSM (diagnosis manual for “mental disorders”). All the leading researchers are pretty much BPS.
The problem with FND is that it is a label created to psychologise patients’ symptoms. Studies have shown structural abnormalities in FND patients, but they ignore it. And say “software” issue. All of the leading FND researchers co-authored a paper supporting PACE.
Yep. The top publisher on FND, the man who “created it”, Jon Stone, publishes more on “how to convince patients they have FND” than “what is FND”. He has said (paraphrased) FND is a rebranding of conversion disorder to make patients more likely to accept their diagnosis.
The Replacement
Long Covid and ME have mostly earned the badge of “biological illnesses”, so psychosomatic researchers are fighting back. They are diagnosing people they would have previously diagnosed with ME or LC, with FND. There is a push to “replace” ME/LC/POTS etc. with FND. (1/3) FND is a non-specific diagnosis that means “neurological symptoms a doctor can’t find the cause of”. However, it is presented to patients as a distinct illness to “make them accept the diagnosis”. They then treat this as a somatic disorder: GET+CBT+Antidepressants. (2/3)
There are myriad reports of (BPS) doctors who previously diagnosed ME/CFS diagnosing FND to get around the guidelines banning GET. For example children going to Crawley’s “chronic fatigue” clinic. The same Crawley who is a notorious proponent of GET+CBT+Lightning Process. (3/3)