The Seizure Turnaround

Send us Fan Mail When the medical system left him in no-man’s-land, Steve took his recovery into his own hands. After surviving rock bottom, including severe mental health struggles and a gruelling 14-month wait for specialist care, Steve was facing up to 70 functional seizures every single day. In this episode, we explore how he turned a desperate situation into a digital lifeline. Steve shares the story behind Neurolog, the free app he built to track the "untrackable."In this episode, we di...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you finally see yourself reflected on screen? This week, Lana sits down with Audrey to discuss her life-changing 2023 autism diagnosis after watching Love on the Spectrum. Audrey opens up about her experience with functional seizures/FND and how specific trauma-linked cues—from family conflict to certain tones of voice—became seizure triggers. We also dive into why therapies like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Brainspotting offered ...

Send us Fan Mail In Part 2 of The Remission Room, Ben and Kate describe their 16-year relationship and the highs and lows of navigating Kate’s 12-year functional seizure journey and her subsequent years in remission. They discuss meeting in high school as Kate was developing the condition and how Ben learned to respond during seizures, including keeping her safe and advocating against unnecessary 911 calls. After moving to a new city post-college with Kate too unwell to work, Ben became her p...

Send us Fan Mail This episode of The Seizure Turnaround features Kate Berger, author of View from the Floor and All the Days in Between, describing how she developed panic attacks and then PNES/functional seizures during her senior year of high school at age 18. She describes exposure therapy and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), later emphasizing Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR) as major therapeutic supports. Kate shares ...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of 'The Seizure Turnaround,' investigative journalist Nadine Sebai shares her compelling journey from an active frontline reporter to being diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND). Nadine provides an intimate and unfiltered look into her struggles, coping mechanisms, and the pivotal moments in her quest for remission. The episode dives into her rigorous treatments, the psychological hurdles, and the epiphany that helped her gain some control over...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Seizure Turnaround podcast, poet and advocate Matina Alexis shares her profound journey of dealing with functional seizures, also known as PNES, and how writing became a crucial tool in her recovery. Matina discusses the challenging process of getting diagnosed, the traumatic events in her life, and her path to uncovering deeply repressed childhood traumas through therapy and trauma dreams. She also highlights the role of her poetic work, 'The Softest B...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Natalie shares her journey of living with functional seizures and the transformation that followed. Before developing seizures, Natalie struggled to manage motherhood, work, and her mental health. Her journey took a significant turn when she experienced her first seizure in a mental health clinic during a group session. Natalie describes the physical and emotional turmoil she faced and how she took a pragmatic approach and discovered effective ways to manage ...

Send us Fan Mail In this in-depth discussion, Natasha (pseudonym) shares her family's challenging journey surrounding her son Oscar's functional seizures, beginning from a playground incident at age 10 which led to years of medical uncertainty. Initially misdiagnosed as post-concussion syndrome, it took many seizure episodes and exhaustive testing before a neurologist identified Oscar's condition as functional seizures. Natasha elaborates on the emotional toll, the impact on family dynamics, ...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Seizure Turnaround, Lana speaks with Janis Shoesmith, a former pediatric nurse diagnosed with functional seizures following a traumatic assault at work. Janis shares her journey from a confident and sociable nurse to grappling with PTSD and frequent seizures, and her eventual path to recovery through psychological therapy and personal resilience. Janis opens up about the challenges of receiving a diagnosis, the long wait for specialised treatment, and t...