Long term effects of childhood trauma and abuse: Narrative on functional neurological disorder

• Published in: Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association 2024-06, Vol.74 (6), p.1130-14
• Main Authors: Ilyas, Uzma, Khanum, Aliza, Fatima, Kalsoom
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child; Child abuse; Child Abuse - psychology; Conversion (Psychoanalysis); Conversion Disorder - psychology; Functional neurological disorder; Health aspects; Humans; Nervous System Diseases - psychology; Pakistan - epidemiology; Pediatric research; Psychic trauma in children; Psychological aspects; Psychological trauma; Risk Factors; Social aspects
• ISSN: 0030-9982
• DOI: 10.47391/JPMA.10083

Functional neurological disorder is a condition in which a person experiences physical symptoms that cannot be fully explained by a medical condition. In Pakistan, domestic violence as well as emotional, physical and sexual abuse in children are prevalent. Despite legal and social support for victims, stigmatisation regarding seeking psychological help complicates the challenge. Some of the research culminated that patients with neurological disorder reported high level of sexual abuse and trauma. The symptomatology of functional neurological disorder is being ignored in Asian countries due to indigenous factors like poverty, lack of information on reporting abuse, poor law-enforcement and victim blaming. Functional neurological disorder can be manifested in various ways in the human body, such as blindness, paralysis, dystonia, swallowing difficulties, difficulty walking, motor symptoms affecting limbs, voice production, problems in sensory functions, problems in cognitive function, psychogenic non-epileptic seizures and even dementia, whereas differential diagnosis is established after screening for organicity. The common risk factors of functional neurological disorder may include psychosocial stressors, family history of functional neurological disorder, and significant life changes. It is critical to understand the disorder in reference to predisposing risk factors, cultural context, comorbidities and gender specification to diagnose and treat functional neurological disorder in time so that better intervention protocols could be devised to treat it efficiently.