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Jul 11, 2019 · What Is Hysterical Blindness? When a life change causes extreme anxiety. Posted July 11, 2019|Reviewed by Jessica Schrader. Heightened anxiety impacts a person’s world, including his or her...
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Signs and symptoms of functional neurologic disorder may vary, depending on the type of functional neurological symptoms, and they're significant enough to cause impairment and warrant medical evaluation. Symptoms can affect body movement and function and the senses.
Signs and symptoms that affect body movement and function may include:
•Weakness or paralysis
•Abnormal movement, such as tremors or difficulty walking
•Loss of balance
•Difficulty swallowing or feeling "a lump in the throat"
Seek medical attention for signs and symptoms that concern you or interfere with your ability to function. If the underlying cause is a neurological disease or another medical condition, quick diagnosis and treatment may be important. If the diagnosis is functional neurologic disorder, treatment may improve the symptoms and help prevent future problems.
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The exact cause of functional neurologic disorder is unknown. Theories regarding what happens in the brain to result in symptoms are complex and involve multiple mechanisms that may differ, depending on the type of functional neurological symptoms.
Basically, parts of the brain that control the functioning of your muscles and senses may be involved, even though no disease or abnormality exists.
Factors that may increase your risk of functional neurologic disorder include:
•Having a neurological disease or disorder, such as epilepsy, migraines or a movement disorder
•Recent significant stress or emotional or physical trauma
•Having a mental health condition, such as a mood or anxiety disorder, dissociative disorder or certain personality disorders
•Having a family member with a neurological condition or symptoms
•Having a history of physical or sexual abuse or neglect in childhood
Some symptoms of functional neurologic disorder, particularly if not treated, can result in substantial disability and poor quality of life, similar to problems caused by medical conditions or disease.
Functional neurologic disorder may be associated with:
•Pain
•Anxiety disorders, including panic disorder
•Depression
•Insomnia
•EEG (electroencephalogram)
•Hypnosis
•Transcranial magnetic stimulation
•X-ray
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Signs and symptoms. Conversion disorder begins with some stressor, trauma, or psychological distress. Usually the physical symptoms of the syndrome affect the senses or movement. Common symptoms include blindness, partial or total paralysis, inability to speak, deafness, numbness, difficulty swallowing, incontinence, balance problems, seizures ...
Jul 18, 2022 · Functional neurological symptom disorder — better known as “conversion disorder” — is a mental health condition that causes physical symptoms. The symptoms happen because your brain “converts” the effects of a mental health issue into disruptions of your brain or nervous system.
Jul 7, 2023 · In the past, these events were often referred to as "hysterical blindness" or "hysterical paralysis." Conversion disorder is a relatively rare mental illness, with 2 to 5 out of 100,000 people reporting symptoms per year.
Jan 11, 2018 · Conversion disorder is when a person experiences temporary physical symptoms, such as blindness or paralysis, that do not have a physical cause.
Conversion disorder (also known as functional neurological system disorder) is a condition in which a person experiences physical and sensory problems, such as paralysis, numbness, blindness, deafness or seizures, with no underlying neurologic pathology.
