The Mind vs. Body Malfunction
When you decide to become a professional coach or counselor, the first piece of advice you get is usually: PICK A NICHE! AND STICK TO IT!
My brain, bless its chaotic little heart, immediately went into help-everyone-mode. I wanted to be a life coach for procrastinating chefs, a trauma expert for people who trip over air, and a motivational speaker for houseplants. Basically, my thoughts were a toddler's art project—bright, passionate, and all over the map.
But then, I took a deep breath, grabbed a metaphorical shovel, and started digging into what truly fascinates me—what makes my brain go BING! with impact potential.
And honestly? It became crystal clear.
The Body Keeps the Score... and Writes a Dramatically Bad Script
I am absolutely, utterly obsessed with the physical fallout of trauma. And yes, before you roll your eyes and say, "I'm fine, my childhood was normal," let me just stop you. We all have trauma. It doesn't have to be a big-T cataclysmic event. It can be small-t, cumulative stress, chronic dismissal, or even just that one time in the third grade you couldn't find your mom in the grocery store. Your body remembers everything.
This fascination led me straight into the wonderfully complicated, wildly misunderstood world of Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), including its close cousin, Psychological Non-Epileptic Seizures (PNES), also called Functional Seizures.
What IS FND?
FND is a genuine neurological condition where the signals between your brain and body get their wires crossed. It’s like a computer with flawless hardware but terrible, glitchy software.
You get real, debilitating symptoms—weakness, tremors, sensory loss, speech problems, or, in the case of PNES, seizures—but there's no structural damage to your brain. It’s a literal disconnect, often triggered or sustained by stress and trauma, leading to significant impairment.
FND is estimated to affect roughly 250,000 to 500,000 people in the U.S. That makes it pretty darn common. Yet, it's treated like a rare unicorn disease that no one wants to touch.
My Unscripted Reality Show of Seizures and Shame
The system fails people with FND and PNES. Doctors, particularly neurologists, tend to skip the proper explanation of what FND and PNES is, how it’s caused, and what you can actually do about it. No resources. At least that was my experience, and what I often hear from clients.
For me, getting a PNES diagnosis was devastating. My seizures presented exactly as focal epilepsy, and two neurologists agreed, loading me up on three different anti-seizure meds that didn't eliminate my episodes. I was embarrassed, ashamed, and felt like an utter disappointment and burden on my family. In a desperate attempt for clarity, I pushed for a VEEG (Video Electroencephalogram), where I wore a cap with wires attached to my head, on camera, for five days.
I was emotional and relieved when the seizures were finally caught on video—until the diagnosis arrived not with a comforting phone call, but via a cold, impersonal note in a client portal: Non-Epileptic Seizures (PNES). Get a good therapist. Maybe try Brainspotting.
I was left spinning, diving deeper and deeper into online forums, feeling utterly alone, confused, and dismissed.
The Slow Recovery
In that spinning void, I did the only thing I could: I started working with an amazing therapist. She successfully used Brainspotting with me, and the results did absolute wonders. A year and a half later, the difference between where I was and where I am now is truly night and day. I was able to safely and at my own pace unravel years of trauma and, finally, start to understand the possible reasons my body "failed me."
But here is the kicker, and this is where I get intensely passionate: While that process brought profound healing, I have since discovered a system that I believe would have addressed my symptoms, triggers, and seizures faster. I'm talking months, not years. I had already lost a year just trying to understand what was happening to me; I don't want that for you.
Enter the game-changer: Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT).
The Most Compelling Truth I Discovered
The system failed to properly explain FND and PNES. The doctors offered no roadmap. But in that void, I found my mission, and more importantly, a powerful truth:
Your FND/PNES diagnosis is NOT a dead end. It’s a demand from your inner self that its time to heal.
What if your symptoms aren’t a punishment, but a loud, desperate shout from your body? What if that tremor, that seizure, that paralysis, is your nervous system's extreme way of saying, "HEY! We are overwhelmed! Stop, look, and listen to what we are holding!"
It’s Time to Re-Wire Your System, NOW.
And that is exactly why I am here today.
I’ve been down that rabbit hole. I’ve felt the embarrassment and the fear. And I’m here to tell you that this diagnosis is a giant, neon sign pointing toward change. My goal is to guide others—who feel devastated and lost— to enjoy life, to live life. Not be controlled by it.
The solution to FND/PNES is not just a pill; it's a multidisciplinary adventure, and I believe Rapid Transformational Therapy ( RTT) is a underrated addition to the work you may already be doing with your providers.
What we can do with RTT:
Explore the subconscious patterns, fears, and beliefs that may be influencing how you experience your symptoms, your body, and yourself.
Work with learned emotional and protective responses that may be keeping you feeling stuck, fearful, or disconnected from your body.
Create new internal patterns and perspectives that support greater confidence, safety, agency, and connection with yourself.
This is where the deeper work begins. Not by pretending your symptoms aren’t real—but by exploring the parts of your experience that may be within your power to understand and influence.
If you are living with FND, PNES, or physical symptoms that have left you feeling confused, dismissed, or disconnected from yourself, I want you to know two things:
Your experience is real. You deserve to be taken seriously.
Your diagnosis does not have to define your entire relationship with yourself or your future.
Past experiences, fears, beliefs, and patterns may have shaped parts of the story you carry today—but they do not have to write every chapter that comes next.
You are still the author.
Sometimes the next draft begins by getting curious about what your mind has learned, what your body has been through, and what you are ready to experience differently.
Ready to See if RTT Could Be Added to your care team?
RTT and hypnotherapy are complementary approaches and are not a substitute for medical, psychiatric, or licensed mental-health care when those services are appropriate.
My story:
Explained by Neurologist, Dr. Carolyn Taylor
Author - Samantha Mandell, RTT Practitioner
