dissociative disorder

New post on Mind Hacks

A less hysterical reaction by vaughanbell There's a fascinating article in The Guardian about one of the least understood aspects of human nature: experiences like blindness, paralysis and seizures that seem to mimic gross damage to the nervous system but aren't explained by it. People can experience profound blindness, for example, but have no detectable damage to their visual system. These difficulties have various names: conversion disorder, hysteria, dissociative disorder, medically unexplained symptoms, functional neurological symptoms, somatoform disorder, or are denoted by adding the word 'functional' or 'psychogenic' to the disability. ......................... So this is why The Guardian article is so interesting because it is a little discussed area that needs a wider understanding both clinically and scientifically. It describes several people with exactly these difficulties and how they are experienced. Apparently, it’s taken from a new book by the same neurologist which is entirely about ‘functional neurological symptoms’ which could be equally as interesting.   Link to ‘You think I’m mad?’ – the truth about psychosomatic illness.