We have been nominated for the very prestigious, National Diversity Awards 2015. For our Functional Movement Disorder Community Group, in the Disabled section.

Yes you read that right, I was very surprised myself. Though we are an online group, Functional Movement Disorder Page, and website, we can make a massive impact to society all around the world.

There are still a couple of days left to nominate, if you wish here is the link – https://nominate.nationaldiversityawards.co.uk/Nominate/Endorse/26876?name=Functional%20movement%20disorder

As Functional Movement Disorder is such a rare disorder, it is harder for us to get people including family and friends, to understand it is real and what comes with it.

Even being put forward and nominated for the award, is yet another awareness in itself!

With our rare disorder we may only add up as sufferers in the hundreds, not the thousands, or the millions like some other movement disorders. But we are here, and we are being heard!!!

I am very proud of us all, how open we can be, and sharing our stories and expressing what we go through.

So good luck to us all, and keep raising more much needed awareness of :

Functional Movement Disorder

We are here! X

During our week of Functional Movement Disorder Awareness, I would like to look at other things that may be part of the reason why we have this disorder.

Anxiety, Depression, IBS (irritable bowel disease), all of which I myself suffer with, can impact upon the gut. It plays a big part in our daily lives.

You may have seen, or heard before, about how the food we eat which goes into our gut can effect us. What happens in the workings of the gut, can have a connection to the brain. Changing the way the brain works, and also giving reasons behind brain inflammation or brain degeneration through the gut-brain connection.

I’ve been looking at this for a while, and I have been taking those little probiotic drinks for years, to put good bacteria into my stomach. I have a lot of stomach problems, and the drinks do seem to help a little. 

Here is a link to a study being done, relating to the gut and its relation to Multiple Sclerosis. As you know, we suffer many of the same symptoms as MS, so surely this could be a related factor to our disorder as well.

Take a look, and decide for yourself.

http://www.psypost.org/2016/05/exploring-gut-brain-connection-insights-multiple-sclerosis-42704

What are your thoughts on this, do you have problems like this too?

Hi I set up the pages last night for the information, and out lining the symptoms that can come with Functional Movement Disorder.

You can just click on the page links above, or click the links on here below:

Link – Functional Movement Disorder – Starting To Be Explained

Link – What Symptoms Does This Disorder Include?

I hope these information pages help you, your family or carers, or if you are just looking for research.

I will give more definition, and details of what each symptom comes with over the following weeks.

We are not aware of the vast amounts of nervous system activity that occur below the brain’s level of consciousness.
Such activity is mainly the province of the ANS (along with the enteric division, which controls most of the abdominal organs, chiefly the stomach and intestines).

We can think of the ANS (Autonomic Nervous System) as our “automatic pilot”. It monitors internal conditions such as temperature and the levels of chemical substances and keeps these within narrow limits; it also controls processes we rarely think about such as heart rate, breathing, digestion,and excretion, by stimulating muscles to contract and glands to release their products.

There are two divisions – the sympathetic and the parasympathetic – of the ANS, the complementary actions if which are shown below.

Here is a very interesting piece to note:

Out Of Our Control
When overwhelming emotions such as sudden grief sweep through the body, this is mainly the result of ANS activity.
It takes time and mental effort for the brain to reassert conscious control.

The information above is sourced from Dr Alice Roberts “The Complete Human Body”

This Tuesday believe it or not, I actually went out and bought myself a “Self Confidence” book.
My disorder has made me so low lately, that I have lost all self esteem and confidence.

The constant spasming of my body and my leg pains. The looks from strangers. Even when strangers are being nice, holding doors as lovely as it is (and very much needed and appreciated) it still makes me feel small, not a full functioning person anymore.
Well, that of course is because I am not!

There is a very good poem I came across in the book I would like to share with you, I hope it brings a smile to your face as it did mine 🙂

If you think you are beaten you are,
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you’d like to win but think you can’t,
It’s almost certain you won’t.

If you think you will lose, you’ve lost,
For out of the world you’ll find,
Success begins with a fellows will,
It’s all in the state of the mind.

If you think you’re outclassed you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself,
Before you can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go,
To the stronger or faster man.
But soon it late, the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.

Walter D Wintle

Quite lovely isn’t it,and just makes you think and take stock of your life.

Enjoy x

Let’s raise awareness through talking, and engaging with others. Show family, friends, groups, information or links about what Functional Movement Disorder symptoms are.
Let’s try to grow awareness of what we go through, of what we suffer.

1 in 3 people who are seen by Neurologists, are diagnosed with some form of Functional Disorder! That’s a lot of people, yet we are still swept under the carpet because they are not sure how to make us better.

As there are different forms of Functional Disorder, they all need treating on an individual basis.

So while we are trying our best to make ourselves better, let’s try to get more of the medical profession to understand our problems.

Awareness is what it’s all about!

Here is a quote to boost you up!

Self confidence is not the absence of self doubt.
It’s being able to live with your doubt as your companion but not as your master.

I guess that makes some sense, but I am still learning.
My learning curve looks like it may be a long one!

Have a good day folks, and a Very Merry Christmas! 😀

There in lies a very good question!

Functional Movement Disorder, makes a persons body stop functioning at a normal level. It can include many areas of the body movements, or only one area.

It is a very confusing and misunderstood condition, and also seems that it is not even widely known about in the medical profession.
My own initial GP Doctor, had to Google the condition to find out what it was I had been told was my diagnosis. My new GP Doctor does know what the condition is, but did make the big mistake of saying “It’s in the head”. This didn’t go down very well with me, but luckily I already have a good understanding of what this condition entails, the wheres and the whys.

I am quite sure that for a person of lesser knowledge, would immediately jump to the conclusion that it is a “Mental” condition, but don’t worry is isn’t. Although it is to do with the head, it is the brain not the mind that is broken.

In fact it is a break down of the Central Nervous System, which has at some point had a disconnection. Meaning the brain can no longer send or receive signals correctly to or from the body, for the persons movements.

This means that the person can have odd postures, involuntary muscle spasms, unexplained pains, non-epileptics attacks or seizures, and some patients may end up with some form of disability. It seems to mostly effect one side of the body, leaving the side weakened. It can effects some other areas in some patients, there are a few who have dual sided weakness.
There are many conditions that this disorder has, which will be more thoroughly explained in another page.