AIBU to wonder whether some disability content rewards staying visibly unwell?

No I don’t believe my friend qualifies for any benefits or if she does they are minimal (partners earnings) She has complained about this in the past but I don’t think it’s about the money for her , it’s about the constant need for recognition that she’s got a serious disability. I just think she’s in a place where social media is enabling her to continue the narrative that she’s very ill.

Monetising content in a way that replicates an actual salary is nigh on impossible.

I don't know her at all and I can't really comment. If she doesn't qualify for UC though, she'd be vastly better off in work than claiming benefits, even on minimum wage. People have their own priorities though I suppose.

I cant post what I'd like to or my comment would be deleted, but my god what a disgusting bigoted attitude. Hang your head in shame

There is lots of discourse about FND on this thread. The thing with FND is, there is a psychiatric component.

There is no obvious disease affecting the body, yet you get symptoms affecting your functioning. The research suggests a background of stress/ACES etc are significantly more common in people who have FND.

CBT is a suggested treatment.

I work in mental health services. You would be surprised just what physical symptoms mental health can produce. Psychosomatic symptoms are a thing. That does not mean what you are experiencing is not real, but there is still a psychological component. The same goes for things like fibromyalgia. Things like non-epileptic seizures are a thing within mental health!

It is naiive to think these illnesses are solely physical because the are not.

Also, from a psychological perspective, people absolutely do get stuck in learned helplessness and the sick role.

I cannot comment on random tik tok uses etc, but these are genuine things that happen. Believe it or not, there are people who unconsciously do not want their health to improve because it serves a function psychologically.

That being said, these people are still absolutely deserving of care and support.

No it isnt. My best friend has this and it came out of nowhere and ruined her life.

Same for one of my friends too.
To set the scene.. she used to be very vocal about how a lot of mental health issues were "made up" (she was a paramedic, so thought she knew better too). She got diagnosed with PTSD, then fibromyalgia, and then FND. She now gets about in a scooter. Has been eating a lot of humble pie.

My DSis was diagnosed with FND after a week in hospital because,one day she got out of bed,wobbled and toppled backwards-every time she tried to get out of bed she was literally thrown backwards again-:she had no control over her body.
one day fine and next day disabled-for no apparent reason.It was terrifying to watch -we all assumed it was a brain tumour.There is one FND charity but that’s it.Its underfunded but there are quite a few sufferers too.I must admit I’d never even heard of it before.
Surely it is a really good idea to show the impact of FND as so few people have knowledge of it,none of my friends had heard of it and we are all in our 50/60’s.
i think it’s great for these women to put themselves out there and it would maybe make my sister feel not so alone.

I agree. My Nan was a schizophrenic, a revolving door MH patient, but she did have huge trauma in her life. She also had FND. In her 70s after years of medication, ECT and hospital stays she finally gained access to specialist psychotherapy. Not your average counselling or CBT. Hours of specialised therapy each week. She made huge gains with her mental health and she spent the last 10 years of her life in relative mental peace. At one point she even came off lifelong psych meds. The most fascinating thing was seeing her remove herself from the wheelchair and become recovered from FND. She spent the final ten years being the most active and mobile she had been in a long time.

I never said it should be looked at entirely through a medical lens. I explicitly said that there can be psychological factors involved. Maybe we mean something different by the word "psychosomatic"?

If you mean "entirely caused by psychological factors", then I would disagree. If you mean that psychological factors can be a contributing factor (or even are often a factor), then I would agree.

There is no evidence to say that FND is caused by psychological factors. That too is an outdated view of FND. Psychological factors can play a role for some people, but that isn't the same as saying they are the cause. That is why now we say "functional seizures" and no longer "psychogenic seizures" or "conversion disorder". Those are outdated terms relating to outdated views.

There can also be physical and sensory triggers. Drop attacks, for example, can be triggered by sensory or physiological input, such as someone putting food in their mouth or holding an ice cube. (I have seen this happening.) Expectation itself can also have physiological effects through changes in neural signalling and activity at a cellular level. The brain's expectations can influence how sensory information is processed and how the body responds to it.