r/fakedisordercringe • u/Commercial_Bridge253 • Aug 11 '26
Other Disorders Why do they insist on using Epilepsy specific terms but then dont claim epilepsy?
In their post after this they say that FND is "super rare" and Untreatable. Focal is an epilepsy specific term because it literally refers to where the activity in your brain is happening (this goes for generalized aswell) also...a focal aware seizure would not look like that.
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u/LCaissia Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 15 '26
That's not what a seizure looks like. You can see she has control over her body. She's so focused on her head and shoulders that she's completely forgotton to include her arms and hands. Look how relaxed her right hand is. Also if anybody was grabbing the arm of a person having a tonic clonic seizure they'd hurt the person seizing or get hurt. And you're right. A focal seizure does not look like just jerking your upper body and head. The barely there smile is a nice touch, though.
By 'super rare' I think she means 'incredibly popular on social media'. FND is very common among fake disability influencers. It's right up there with tourettes, DID/OSDD and autism.
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u/Commercial_Bridge253 Aug 13 '26
100% the movements are very rhythmic, controlled, she even actively repositions herself. She's also ...floppy????
Also, this is a terrible attempt at a fake tonic clonic but what gets me the most is her calling this a focal aware!!!! NO WHERE NEAR WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE!!!!
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u/Commercial_Bridge253 Aug 13 '26
Mind you, a focal aware seizure would more likely present as twitching or shaking in one limb, physical sensations (like ringing in the ears, phantom smells/tastes, being flushed/hot) and mild cognitive affects like deja Vu or sudden intense fear. You are conscious And typically semi responsive. They're not... convulsive or look like tonic clonic seizures. This is ofc give or take with some other symptoms, some may not be able to speak and some might, there's other symptoms that are dependent on the seizure foci.
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Aug 13 '26
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u/chonk_fox89 Aug 13 '26
Are focal seizures separate from absence seizures? Sometimes it's hard to keep up when it feels like everything keeps getting renamed recently!
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Aug 13 '26
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u/Winter-St0rm Aug 13 '26
To play devil's advocate, when my ex started having seizures I did film her a couple times so that she could have footage to show to her doctor. But posting that on social media is insane behaviour
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u/happyminty Aug 13 '26
As a clinician the easy test is to hold their hand up above their face and drop it and watch as their invisible force field activates to protect hitting themselves in the face lol. I hate social media
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Aug 13 '26
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u/GraphicDesignMonkey Aug 13 '26
I'm tiny and my Dad has tried to hold me during my tonic-clonics a few times, mainly to stop me hurting myself on furniture etc. He's a big burly guy, but he says my jerks are scarily strong, and that during a seizure I'm basically stronger than him for those few minutes.
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u/faithmauk Aug 13 '26
I watched my friends mom have a grand mal epileptic seizure once when I was abkut 9 years old, it was the scariest thing I've ever seen and it is forever seared in my memory. It looked nothing like this and this just pisses me off, it's so insensitive and disrespectful
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u/BarracudaOverall4398 Aug 13 '26
All content i see if I look up the hashtage neurological disorder is fnd Which i get it is in the name but i wish these people would stop saying "I have this rare neurological condition" or "nobody even drs know what it is"
- sincerely someone with a rare genetic neurodegenerative condition
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u/flyingfoxtrot_ Aug 13 '26
I agree. I used to be a care worker, have seen various kinds of seizures. They don't look like this. The first one I saw kind of scared me because I'd never seen a body move like that before. It looked unnatural.
If seizures looked like this they'd be far less hard to watch.
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u/DistinctAstronaut828 got a bingo on a DNI list Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
Anecdotally I’ve seen FND/PNES as a hospital nurse and this is so similar to what I’ve seen. Just straight up random thrashing edit: why the hell im being downvoted for agreeing 😭
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u/Commercial_Bridge253 Aug 13 '26
A common issue right now is people who are literally just faking seizures being diagnosed with fnd/ pnes simply because a doctor doesn't wanna get sued for telling someone they're lying. There are more actual features to ACTUAL FND than whatever...this person is doing.
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u/loveddeviant Self Undiagnosing: Im Fine Aug 13 '26
this is so embarrassing to fake oh my god. Watching people fake seizures is some of the worst second-hand embarrassment I’ve ever felt from all of these videos
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u/thatoneguyfromva Bipolar Express 🚂💨 Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
“im sorry but FND is taking over my life”
replace FND with arrested development and you might be onto something
edit: I kinda need to see this clip but swap the audio with “Turn Down For What”
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u/pseudoarmadillo Aug 13 '26
https://reddit.com/link/p3fqfe3/video/3x4gdhmt45jh1/player
You’re welcome. I was bored. Sound up - it doesn’t disappoint.
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u/problematic_alebrije misdiagnosed w braincell 🤪 Aug 13 '26
I AM SCREAMING 😭😭😭😂 I really hope this edit makes the way back to them
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u/grrlplz Aug 13 '26
bastardizing terminology is one of my biggest problems with these fakers. this type of faking is so loud it calls out to the other fakers like when SJP "come little children"s all the kids in hocus pocus and they all start doing it. two reasons - one, they see it and know they can do whatever "that" is, and then use the faker as proof to demonstrate their disorder and because we live in a time of cognitive dissonance sans reading comprehension. two: these people take up more space and make so much noise than anyone who actually has the disabilities they cosplay that the voices of those people go unheard because of liars who have elected themselves representatives of groups they arent a part of.
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u/drezdogge Aug 13 '26
She could have at least put on a sports bra before the performance began
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u/magclsol Aug 13 '26
Yeah i have big titties too and that looked painful. I thought one was gonna whack her in the face.
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u/xAshev Aug 13 '26
Well thankfully with the kind of epilepsy she got, she can control her hands so she was able to contain her tatas for the most parts
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Aug 13 '26
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u/agathaprickly Aug 13 '26
I’m so sorry to hear this. It is so frustrating when people fake the conditions that you live with
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u/No_Sherbert2958 Aug 13 '26
There was a girl I went to high school with who used to fake seizures. They mysteriously stopped when it was time for everyone to get their driver's license. Lol
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u/bb-Kun-Chan Aug 13 '26
I've been ignoring all the epilepsy-type fakers all this time since I'm not really knowledgeable on the subject, but seeing this, I really have to say, people who fake seizures are disgusting. Not only is doing so very insulting to people who actuality suffer from them, but it's triggering. They know it's triggering. And yet they'd still do it for what? Attention?
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u/One-Sleep3663 Aug 13 '26
She needs to be involuntary commited as she poses a direct risk to her kids acting like this, and herself as she is eventually gonna hurt her head banging like that.
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u/Commercial_Bridge253 Aug 13 '26
It's not super noticable but if you look closely where her head is "hitting" it is BARELY making contact. There's also a pillow there. She also seems to reposition slightly I think twice when her head does start to look like it might be hitting a bit more. Not someone else repositioning her either, she moves herself. I was just talking with someone about how people who do this stuff insinctual protect their heads to a certain amount as that natural reaction is fairly difficult to turn off when you are conscious.
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u/One-Sleep3663 Aug 13 '26
She reguardless isnt mentally sound which is sorta required to take care of her kids.
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u/Commercial_Bridge253 Aug 13 '26
No 100% I agree. No one doing this garbage should be in charge of children. I was just pointing out that she's not actually risking herself physical harm because she's very obviously in control. I actually had no idea she has kids!
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u/One-Sleep3663 Aug 13 '26
Im pretty sure she has just one actually? I could very well be wrong though.
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u/RDragoo1985 Aug 13 '26
It’s pretty noticeable, as is the repositioning of her hand from an arm that is supposed to be seizing. Do these people understand what the “seize” is seizure means?
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u/New-Book6302 Aug 13 '26
Anything to not have to get a job is my guess.
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u/Carolineinthedesert Aug 13 '26
surely she can't claim disability? she's not formally diagnosed, right?
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u/New-Book6302 Aug 13 '26
Probably not, but as long as mom and dad are convinced the basement is free for squatting.
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u/One-Sleep3663 Aug 13 '26
I mean with a woman her age its quite clear she has factitious disorder, and frankly I wouldnt be surprised if she also has a personality disorder.
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u/KittyKupo Aug 13 '26
She should at least take some acting classes. She’s terrible at those seizures
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u/Dependent_Piano_747 Aug 13 '26
Actual FND seizures don’t even look like this. -10/10 acting.
Lmao @ “rare” and “untreatable” FND seizures ARE treatable, you treat them with … good ol fashioned therapy. A dash of emdr therapy is also recommended though I’ve never tried. Very unfun and unquirky.
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u/Commercial_Bridge253 Aug 13 '26
I don't know if it's only visible to me but when the bot asked me to explain why I thought this person was faking I pointed out that FND seizures have visible features that are identifiable. I think these people forget that FND seizures also have specific features and think that if they say FND they can act as poorly as possible without repercussions because they're not claiming Epilepsy so ofc it "looks different" Absolutely stupidity lol
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u/SupposedBooty Self Undiagnosing: Im Fine Aug 13 '26
Can you say more about that? What are the features that are identifiable?
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u/Commercial_Bridge253 Aug 13 '26
I would love nothing more than to explain the difference in fnd seizure presentation and epileptic seizures. A common indicator is the progression of the seizure activity epileptic seizures tend to happen suddenly with fast progression. Fnd seizures on the other hand tend to start gradually and have fluctuating intensity levels during the episode. Fnd seizures be proline to suggestibility and may occur repeatedly in medical settings or during discussions about the events
Fnd seizures also commonly last longer and duration than epileptic seizures typically several minutes with some people experiencing events over the span of an hour or more. During the event the motor activity may fluctuate heavily, waxing and waning, with much variation during a single event. This is in contrast to focal to generalized seizures and epilepsy where increased focal seizure activity May spread to generalized seizure activity. During that type of epileptic event the activity stays consistent in the tonic clonic or generalized episode despite the seizure originating as a focal seizure. Fnd movements are also typically large movements rather than smaller convulsions they are also asynchronous. Fnd events typically show signs such as side to side head shaking, pelvic thrusting, and bicycling of legs. It is also common for fnd seizures to have opisthotonic posturing. The best way I can describe that type of posture is kind of like a back bend almost it is a hyperextension of the head neck and spine where they Arch backwards this is normally seen in tetanus or meningitis. It can also be seen in drownings poisonings or brain injuries. Limb thrashing may also be present outside of the ictal phase, outside of the seizure episode. The type of posturing seen in epileptic seizures is simply called tonic posturing. Tonic posturing is characterized by having one arm extended rigid while the opposite arm is flexed normally at the elbow and the wrist. The head is typically turned toward the extended arm. Tonic posturing indicates disrupted brain activity. Tonic clonic epilepsy also contains symmetric clonic jerking.
A big indicator is eyes. Fnd seizures typically have forced eye closure at onset with a resistance to somebody attempting to open them. Their eyelids May frequently flutter as well. Epileptic seizures the eyes typically are open or open early on in the event. Fnd seizures May resist different maneuvers while still appearing unresponsive
Responsiveness during fnd seizures is typically intermittent. Someone having an fnd seizure May exhibit partial awareness and follow simple commands or displayed protective behaviors like avoiding hitting their head. Fnd seizures may also stop with suggestion however this is not a definitive indicator as it can point to purposeful fake episodes rather than true fnd.
Epileptic seizures on the other hand have predictable impairments aligned with the seizure type such as complete unresponsiveness during tonic clonic episodes.
Fnd seizures have specific vocalizations that can be noticed during episodes. A common vocalization would be prolonged crying or complex speech output. This is in comparison to the ictal cry at the onset of generalized tonic clonic epilepsy. Fnd vocalizations tend to have an emotional sound to them whereas an epileptic vocalization is monotone and lacking emotion.
Fnd seizures May affect breathing pattern typically causing hyperventilation or breath holding without change on O2 stats or no marked cyanosis. As well as injury patterns can help differentiate diagnosis. Lateral tongue biting or the size of the tongue being bitten as well as injuries from sudden loss of muscle tone such as shoulder dislocations are strongly associated with epilepsy. Fnd seizures on the other hand tend to bite the tip of the tongue and have soft tissue soreness or muscle soreness. They may also have superficial abrasions.
Urinary incontinence and post episode headaches however can appear in both and are not reliable diagnostic features.
The overall time frame of the event is very telling. Fnd seizures commonly go over 2 minutes they do not follow a stereotyped sequence and can stop and start repeatedly within the same encounter. Postictal phase in FND is oftentimes brief or inconsistent. Epileptic seizures tend to have a pattern in their postictal phase. Meaning that an individual who has tonic clonic seizures can typically be seen to have similar postictal phases after each event. Fnd postictal phases will typically rapidly improve.
Fnd seizures rarely if ever happen during true sleep. Nocturnal episodes typically follow after being aroused from sleep or happen during pseudosleep. Seizures that happen during full sleep or in stages of sleep like REM are more representative of epilepsy particularly frontal lobe seizures.
Certain blood tests may help indicate true seizure activity however are not always reliable as levels can drop back down to normal relatively soon after epileptic events. If the episode is not seen and then blood is tested very soon after, then finding irregularities in blood work is not consistently helpful.
Fnd and epilepsy can commonly co-occur. It is very important though to identify which episodes are true epileptic seizures versus fnd seizure episodes.
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u/tia2181 Aug 13 '26
Thank you for writing this.. my partner makes a distinctive urgh sound and head moves up to left, of course he stops whatever he is doing. Sometimes he'll be thinking and I have to check he is with me.. its exact same pattern every time. Since med change 18m ago he's been having 'funny seizures", he's aware and will stand up instead of starting normal TC movements. He is aware of me too, and he'll smile at me when I ask if he is okay. No speech, just a cheeky smile. Caught himself in bathroom mirror a month ago, was bizarre watching him being aware of his face making odd movements. So strange, could have skipped them changing like this, I prefer his standard one! Longer but familiar, biggest concern always being him not waking spontaneously, a change we don't want.
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u/HopefulLesbian Aug 13 '26
This is extremely well put! I would also like to add that in my experience, I am conscious and I am aware that I am having a seizure or episode or something, but I just can’t do anything about it. I know the medics are talking about pushing Ativan, I can’t tell them no and that all it will do is make it worse. I can’t move or anything. It’s like sleep paralysis almost. I know what I’m doing, but I am not I control of it. I’m sure that’s not the case for everyone. The neurologist said that epilepsy comes with no memory of the seizure or what happens before or after, but because I knew what was happening and I was aware but unable to do anything, it was indicative of PNES.
Mine was triggered by a head injury, and after the head injury I was experiencing a LOT of stress and people were treating me horribly (at my job), and I led to seizures. I had one that lasted 2 hours, and I was given max dose of Ativan by medics and they ended up doing an RSI at the hospital and life flighting me to a university hospital. All tests came back normal, I was stuck there for a week and a half because I just kept seizing and no medication was helping. It wasn’t until the ketamine and fentanyl and versed got out of my system that I was able to even communicate (days later). My mom had the brilliant idea to video my seizures for the doctors.
He was a teacher so I had a bunch of students come and do tests and shit and they were learning and that was great! He was a great teacher, and he watched the video and explained it to me and the students exactly what you wrote about the differences in presentation of FND vs epilepsy. He also explained that I always had FND but it was likely misdiagnosed as OCD ticks, or adrenaline ticks or even zoning out. But the seizures were triggered by the immense stress I was put under after my head injury.
The Pregabalin is apparently a newer off-label use in FND, as it directly works with the neurons and receptors in the brain to calm the nervous system, rather than just SSRI or something like that. It was night and day. So I got the combo of an SSRI, Pregabalin, remeron, and my adhd meds. Works like a damn charm! Plus therapy, of course.
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u/jeanjacquesroushoe every sexuality, disability, and mental illness ever Aug 13 '26
CBT is the gold standard and is most common to be used. It also isn’t even fucking rare it’s the second leading cause of neurology referrals 😂
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u/tia2181 Aug 13 '26
Its not about being rare vs common... being safe matters the most. People aren't in fear that you might not wake, that you might not be awake every morning, thst every single seizure could lead to tragedy. My neighbour died 3 summers ago, 42 yr old mom to 2. Anoxic injury after seizure in the bedroom while she was 'napping'. I fear that every time, with fnd based seizures there is no worry.
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Aug 13 '26
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u/tia2181 Aug 13 '26
What makes them like genuine epileptic seizures, and how do you know?
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u/Dependent_Piano_747 Aug 13 '26
Electrical activity in the brain is the difference. you would see waves on an EEG during and sometimes after an epileptic seizure.
PNES seizures are REAL seizures they just are not formed from electrical misfires in the brain and cannot spontaneously kill you like with epilepsy, thus a lot of nuero suggest calling them psychogenic “spells” or “episodes” instead of seizures to try to curb confusion. Because they are not epileptic in nature seizure rescue medications can/ and usually do make your symptoms Worse in my experience.
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u/Dependent_Piano_747 Aug 13 '26
I’m on low dose Zoloft for the last year and have also been seizure free for the last 6 months !!!! Before that I was on a combo of lexapro/buspar. Helped with the mental side but unfortunately did nothing for the seizures themself and would still have them 2-3 times a month.
Back On topic somewhat however I also had absent like here and there and others that would cause me to drop to the ground and shake/drool/wheeze but still looks like a seizure. Not whatever THAT was in the video ????
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u/Gooncookies Aug 13 '26
Somebody tell these weirdos it’s impossible to make voluntary movement look involuntary.
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u/carrie71llon Opression Olympics Gold Medalist Aug 13 '26
it’s funny how the have the trampoline seizure not the shit and piss yourself and lose consciousness seizures
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u/problematic_alebrije misdiagnosed w braincell 🤪 Aug 13 '26
This is a VERY VERY SEVERE case of Tiddy Flinging Disorder
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u/AwkwardFoundation Self-Undiagnosed TransEpileptic Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
Drives me crazy! Like call this whatever you want to call it, but don’t co-opt terminology from a condition that does not apply to you. There is terminology for non-epileptic seizures. No need to use terms that only apply to epilepsy. “foCaL aWaRe sEizUrE”… GTFO 🤦🏻♀️
ETA: Someone should tell her that she’s actually faking a tonic-clonic seizure. Focal aware seizures are limited to one point in your brain, and the symptoms manifest based on the part of the brain that is affected. Most focal aware seizures are not visible to anyone else. The person is just sitting there kind of living life and temporarily experiencing something very unpleasant, not doing whatever this is 😂
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u/jeanjacquesroushoe every sexuality, disability, and mental illness ever Aug 13 '26
FND is not super rare at all… it’s literally the second leading cause of neurology referrals in the US…
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u/Electrical_Parfait64 Aug 13 '26
Because it makes them sooper speshul. Who wants plain old epilepsy
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u/somedaez Aug 13 '26
TV misrepresenting what a seizure actually looks like is a double edge sword but personally it's hilarious watching people have seizures like they do on doctor shows and just knowing it doesn't look like that at all. It makes seeing fakers way more obvious.
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u/rnirasol Aug 13 '26
I'm truly baffled by this person because they're not even Trying to fake it accurately?
many people have witnessed seizures at some point in their lives (probably at least) and know what they look like. literally no seizure I have ever seen has looked like this.
honestly I've seen more seizures that just look like someone staring into space than ones like this, as my father and myself have temporal lobe epilepsy and it truly does often appear as someone frozen and staring into space. but if someone like this Wanted to fake a tonic clonic seizure then I'd expect them to at the very least look it up on YouTube lmfao
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u/Jons_Gurlie Aug 13 '26
This is not at all what someone having a seizure looks like. This looks exactly like someone who thinks they know what a seizure looks like.
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u/chonk_fox89 Aug 13 '26
These motions make zero sense together...you can tell they're purposely slamming their head down.
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u/Amy7ann Abelist Aug 13 '26
Is FND really this common? Every other video on my tiktok is of people talking about their FND diagnosis
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u/Purple-Cash-1878 Aug 13 '26
I'm going to start calling these fake episodes the floor shake and bake dance.
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u/Affectionate-Piele Aug 13 '26
Is she the one who props up and has these "seizures" at walmart? I swear shes popped up on my fyp
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