When my wife's condition initially began to escalate, one of the first diseases considered was Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The neurologist at the time quickly concluded it was functional, ruling out MS due to the absence of appropriate MRI lesions and stating that the clinical signs were insufficient for a definitive MS diagnosis.

The idea that physical health problems could be caused by psychological factors, that is mind, emotion, or behaviour, rather than by physical pathology, is hardly new. Its roots trace back to ancient civilisations, from Egypt, 1900 to 1500 BCE, to classical Greece, 5th to 4th century BCE, where hysteria-like symptoms were first described. These early ideas strongly influenced the development of medical psychologisation, later formalised in the DSM.

In the world of FND diagnosis, observation is the primary tool used to positively identify cases caused by non-organic "functional" factors, rather than by physical damage to the spinal cord, nerves, or brain.

The act of relabelling is ancient, but it surged in the 20th century as an euphemistic attempt to appear more humane and sensitive, aiming to destigmatize the meanings certain labels carry.

A critical take on FND, emphasising the need for objective, falsifiable evidence and warning against dismissing measurable medical conditions.

A searing poem of rage against the medical dismissal of a woman’s pain, misdiagnosed as FND. It condemns the gatekeepers’ ignorance, scorn, and reliance on flawed theories, leaving her to suffer while her truth is silenced. The poem’s raw emotion and vivid imagery demand accountability for her enduring struggle.

Back in the 1990s, some psychologists were already raising concerns that many studies weren’t holding up when tested again. At first, these warnings didn’t get much attention, but they planted the seeds of what would later be called the replication crisis.

Over the years, along with various doctors, we have considered many hypotheses regarding my wife's medical condition, ranging from Parkinson's, Wilson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), hepatic encephalopathy, B12 deficiencies, CMT (Charcot-Marie-Tooth), and even, briefly, FND, until we realised how speculative such a diagnosis truly is (in essence, no diagnosis, MUS in sheep clothing)

Karl Popper's criterion of falsifiability, first presented in Logik der Forschung (1934) and later translated into English as The Logic of Scientific Discovery (1959), is one of the most influential frameworks for separating science from pseudoscience.

Interestingly psychopharmacological influences (how drugs affect the mind and behaviour) are known to produce neurological symptoms.