From Jon Stone, Amanda Payne, Jamie Lacelle and Mark Edwards, Edinburgh, UK
Your recent article on functional neurological disorder shed welcome light on a common, disabling and distressing condition (6 April, p 28). But, as patients and health professionals who participated in the article, we felt let down and upset by the choice of titles in the printed version: “Mind over matter – How you can think yourself sick… and well again” and “Mind tricks”.
These imply old-fashioned ideas of “imaginary” or “made-up” illness purely in the domain of the mind, not modern ideas that include a brain perspective, which the article discussed. They suggest, wrongly, that patients can easily think themselves out of their symptoms. It is a challenge to develop non-dualistic language to navigate the fine line dividing fact from stigmatising stereotypes.
You can find more information at neurosymptoms.org, FNDHope.org and FNDAction.org.uk.
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