What is NEAD?
NEAD stands for non epileptic attack disorder. It is also known by other names such as pseudo-seizures, functional seizures, functional neurological disorder, dissociative seizures and psychogenic non epileptic seizures.
These terms all mean the same thing, which is that the episodes that the person is experiencing are not a type of epilepsy and are instead caused by a build up of anxiety, stress or trauma.
The episodes are very real and can look almost identical to epileptic seizures. But because the cause is different, so is the treatment.
Non epileptic seizures can be misunderstood by health professionals and can easily be misdiagnosed. Sometimes the person experiencing the episodes feels that professionals don’t believe that they are real or they are not interested in helping them because it is not epilepsy.
At NEAD Support we are passionate about young people who are experiencing NEAD getting the right diagnosis and the support they deserve.
Why does NEAD happen?
We know that epilepsy is caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. In NEAD, the brain activity is normal. The episodes are caused by a build up of stress, anxiety or emotion. The episodes are the mind and body’s way of releasing that build up.
Why now?
NEAD most often starts in teenage years and sometimes in people who also have epilepsy. Young people who experience NEAD are often high achieving individuals. We see lots of people who compete in sports to a high level or take part in dancing or cheerleading competitions and also those who are achieving very well academically. They usually don’t feel stressed by these activities and they enjoy them. It may be that even though the young person enjoys these activities, they do bring additional pressure. For some people there have been difficult life events and for others there is no obvious reason. We do also see higher numbers of people with neurodivergence presenting with NEAD. Being a teenager in society today is difficult enough though and there isn’t necessarily another reason.
Treatment
The treatment plan will be unique for each person. Thinking about what has led to this point is always helpful. At NEAD Support we can help you to explore any underlying or lifestyle factors which may be impacting on you.
Specific techniques which help with anxiety can be used at the start of an episodes to stop it from getting worse. We also have talking sessions which can help with understanding and reframing thought patterns.
We can support all family members to understand the diagnosis, provide a care plan for school or college and can provide training to schools too. We usually see an improvement once everyone understands what is happening and how best to respond.
Feel free to have a look at the wellbeing section of this site. In most cases, whatever the underlying cause of the episodes, reviewing wellbeing whatever that means to you, will be helpful.
We have some top tips on sleeping, getting outside, thinking about what impacts on your mood and much more. We also have handy diary templates which you can download and complete. There are different ones for looking at sleep, mood or seizure events. Just writing things down can sometimes help to identify where things may be going wrong but also where they may be going right.
If you would like more support then register your interest with us and we will let you know once the appointments are running.
Does NEAD go away?
Yes. Most young people with NEAD have good responses to the treatment plan and the episodes usually stop.
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