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Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizures: A Guide
You’ve just been told that those seizures you’ve been having for months or years and that have been making a mess of your life aren’t actually due to epilepsy and that instead they are caused by psychological stress. Maybe you’re discharged from the hospital by your neurologist with a name and a number of a mental health professional who can start treating you, but too often you leave the hospital with nothing other than the name of your disorder: psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. When you search for information and professional help, it’s terribly hard to find. This book is directed at patients, loved ones and mental health professionals and is an invaluable resource that explains the elements that make up PNES, provides the necessary tools to begin achieving real changes in behavior, thoughts and emotions, and guidelines to live a life that is healthy, safe and good in quality. Psychogenic non-Epileptic Seizures: A Guide will equip you with essential knowledge about this condition and provide you with tools that will help you take charge of your PNES.
- GenresMedicalPsychology
196 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 24, 2014
84 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 10, 2021
This book was extremely useful for my work. I finally feel I have knowledge enough to be able to diagnose and help patients, and although there still is so much to learn I now have researched tools in my kit.
January 25, 2022
Coming from a patient with PNES perspective, I think these are fine psychological suggestions for anyone with general mental illness - but I honestly have to agree with other patient reviewers who call this book insulting as it doesn’t at all discuss the neurological side of PNES, and focuses primarily on the value of psychological talk therapy as a PNES “cure”. It does validate that PNES is a real illness, but that’s the only beneficial part this book offers about PNES specifically, and the rest is basic mental health. I think this book would’ve been much better if it intended to be about basic mental health suggestions as a whole and left PNES out of it, or if it had better taken the time to discuss the neurological elements of PNES and how to approach them.
September 12, 2023
An under discussed topic in mental health research spheres today. Thank goodness for authors willing to take on the unknown and try to shoot at a moving target.
July 20, 2020
What an absolute waste of time and money. I could have read this level of introduction for free online. Not much research cited, no new suggestions, and the author seems convinced that everyone with non epileptic seizures will get better if they just have enough talk therapy and refuse to accept the label of "disability." Frankly, this was insulting.
December 4, 2020
Was diagnosed with non-epileptic seizures 6 years ago and was urged by doctors to read this book. I found none of it relatable. It made me feel more isolated and less understood by the medical community.
February 27, 2024
I was honestly disappointed in this book. It basically stated that with talk therapy, you can be completely cured of PNES also known as Non-Epileptic Attack Disorder (NEAD). But having fibromyalgia, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, (I have all three of these) or other pain disorders is commonly associated with NEAD, and, unfortunately, those conditions can't be treated with just talk therapy. Implying that is almost insulting. For those that have deeply-rooted trauma and PNES, this book can be very helpful, and I highly recommend, but for those of us who have PNES/NEAD but don't have intense trauma, I feel like this book just doesn't apply.
August 28, 2020
This. Book. If you wonder, if you fear, if you seize, if you get little help, if you wish you could help another, if you want to understand another, this is the book.
You may think, what could be the good of such a small book?
Its size should not fool us. The author distills information and applicable exercises (many) so that wordiness need not hide lack of information.
She knows it. She says it.
And she shares so many outside sources that the book expands like an accordian if you want to keep digging.
But even if you just need a nugget or ten, this book is gold.
You may think, what could be the good of such a small book?
Its size should not fool us. The author distills information and applicable exercises (many) so that wordiness need not hide lack of information.
She knows it. She says it.
And she shares so many outside sources that the book expands like an accordian if you want to keep digging.
But even if you just need a nugget or ten, this book is gold.
October 10, 2017
As a person currently suffering from pnes, i knew most of this already, but it was good for a refresher course, and i did pick up a few things that i did not know. i am glad to see how far medicine has advanced in its treatment of pnes. i don't expect to be ever "cured" but i do hope to have a somewhat normal life, someday.
July 16, 2019
A good introduction to this complex and challenging problem. Clearly written for individuals suffering from PNES, not just clinicians, Myers' book nevertheless provides an excellent overview to therapists and other treatment providers who haven't been trained specifically in conversion disorders but who encounter them in their clients.
December 27, 2017
Wow
There is so much information in this book! It is a life raft for those struggling with PNES, you are not alone. Someone finally explains what is going on in the brain and why. What conditions can be attributed to this strange and unheard of condition.
There is so much information in this book! It is a life raft for those struggling with PNES, you are not alone. Someone finally explains what is going on in the brain and why. What conditions can be attributed to this strange and unheard of condition.
November 28, 2023
Very useful
I loved it! The book was very educational about PNES. It has a lot of good suggestions ( i,e. Tracking Seizures, therapy management). I would highly recommend to medical professionals as well as patients.
I loved it! The book was very educational about PNES. It has a lot of good suggestions ( i,e. Tracking Seizures, therapy management). I would highly recommend to medical professionals as well as patients.
March 21, 2025
Thought it was going to be boring but it was quite interesting and informative. The only thing was that it felt like I was reading a textbook and some information got repeated multiple times. Overall easy read, would recommend it for people who want to learn about this type of condition
August 26, 2017
This book has been extremely helpful to giving me and my family hope as I battle with this condition
December 4, 2018
Essential reading for anyone close to someone with PNES. Informative and leads to a deeper understanding of their condition.
December 13, 2018
Why
The book was more on ways to help you control this problem and ways that will help you deal with it
The book was more on ways to help you control this problem and ways that will help you deal with it
January 1, 2021
Was good in a “you are not alone” kind of way, not at educational as I would have liked.
December 23, 2021
Not relevant to our situation. Written too clinically. Hard to really get into.
February 28, 2014
In the sciences of medicine and psychology, there are myriad subjects for practitioners to turn their focus to. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that something is going to get lost in the shuffle, and Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures (PNES) appears to have drawn the short end of the stick in that game. This is not because PNES is a trivial matter; on the contrary, author Dr. Lorna Myers, explains that while the seizures endemic to the sufferers are not related to epilepsy, they do stem from heightened emotional distress (anxiety, anger, frustration), and almost always indicate some form of trauma in their past.
This may be the key reason so little is known in the medical community about PNES, and patients are shuffled between psychiatrists and neurologists who each don’t know how best to treat them once it’s discovered that epilepsy is not the problem, and that the same medication won’t work.
With more than ten years worth of experience in this very neglected field, Dr. Myers has something unique to offer the science community, and the need for a book like hers was simple to confirm after only a quick Google search – while she does not stand alone, Dr. Myers continues to stand out in her approach. Instead of simply focusing on the condition, Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures: A Guide is a book for the people. For those suffering from PNES, their family and friends, their doctors, and everyone else who’s been touched by it.
The author never speaks in the voice of a didactic college professor, but with the spirit of a life coach. Her knowledge is undeniable, and I don’t think anyone who reads the book, even if they have PNES, will walk away without having learned something new. Going a step beyond the information, Dr. Myers guides her readers through the speed bumps they might encounter in their daily lives. I particularly enjoyed her sections dealing with dating, the workplace, and children. It was here that her experience really shone, highlighting all the time she’d spent with her patients, helping them to navigate their daily lives, and now sharing the positive results with her readers.
Dr. Myers book is invaluable. For sufferers of PNES, it not only provides knowledge, but it acts as a roadmap for self-management and a way to gain independence and control. Dr. Myers gives her readers as many tools as she can in order to help them succeed, including information on associated conditions, medications, and even covers supplements and alternative treatments some of her patients have tried. This last information, offered with neither support nor condemnation, also comes with further words of advice on who shouldn’t take them, in order to avoid a negative reaction.
I believe that Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures: A Guide will be a valuable tool for neurologists, psychologists, and all others in those fields, who find themselves in need of a better understanding of the condition. Having read quite a few psychology texts, I can say without a doubt which book I would turn to for advice, and recommend, as well. Were I a publisher, I would pick this book up immediately. ~ Kimberlee Hicks, Hollywood Book Review
This may be the key reason so little is known in the medical community about PNES, and patients are shuffled between psychiatrists and neurologists who each don’t know how best to treat them once it’s discovered that epilepsy is not the problem, and that the same medication won’t work.
With more than ten years worth of experience in this very neglected field, Dr. Myers has something unique to offer the science community, and the need for a book like hers was simple to confirm after only a quick Google search – while she does not stand alone, Dr. Myers continues to stand out in her approach. Instead of simply focusing on the condition, Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures: A Guide is a book for the people. For those suffering from PNES, their family and friends, their doctors, and everyone else who’s been touched by it.
The author never speaks in the voice of a didactic college professor, but with the spirit of a life coach. Her knowledge is undeniable, and I don’t think anyone who reads the book, even if they have PNES, will walk away without having learned something new. Going a step beyond the information, Dr. Myers guides her readers through the speed bumps they might encounter in their daily lives. I particularly enjoyed her sections dealing with dating, the workplace, and children. It was here that her experience really shone, highlighting all the time she’d spent with her patients, helping them to navigate their daily lives, and now sharing the positive results with her readers.
Dr. Myers book is invaluable. For sufferers of PNES, it not only provides knowledge, but it acts as a roadmap for self-management and a way to gain independence and control. Dr. Myers gives her readers as many tools as she can in order to help them succeed, including information on associated conditions, medications, and even covers supplements and alternative treatments some of her patients have tried. This last information, offered with neither support nor condemnation, also comes with further words of advice on who shouldn’t take them, in order to avoid a negative reaction.
I believe that Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures: A Guide will be a valuable tool for neurologists, psychologists, and all others in those fields, who find themselves in need of a better understanding of the condition. Having read quite a few psychology texts, I can say without a doubt which book I would turn to for advice, and recommend, as well. Were I a publisher, I would pick this book up immediately. ~ Kimberlee Hicks, Hollywood Book Review
April 5, 2014
This was much needed for me. The more information I can glean on this topic, the better to cope with the recent changes to my partner Mark's life.
I got a fair amount of info out of it but did find that a lot of the chapters weren't relevant to our own plight.
I wouldn't rely on this alone, I think the more books I can read on the subject, the better. Plus I did feel that as a reader in the UK, this book was perhaps better suited to the American readers.
I got a fair amount of info out of it but did find that a lot of the chapters weren't relevant to our own plight.
I wouldn't rely on this alone, I think the more books I can read on the subject, the better. Plus I did feel that as a reader in the UK, this book was perhaps better suited to the American readers.
September 30, 2014
A MUST HAVE for anyone who has PNES, loves someone with PNES, or works in the medical field. Dr. Myers does an amazing job of clearing up myths and providing helpful information for patients, caregivers, and professionals. If I could give six stars, I would.
November 15, 2018
Recommend
I have ones I have sought the help that this book provided and I recommend to anyone who needs it
I have ones I have sought the help that this book provided and I recommend to anyone who needs it
April 9, 2017
It's a great book for anyone who just got diagnosed with PNES as well as for their friends and relatives. If you have PNES, you probably know, how hard it is to find a trustworthy information about the condition.
Some chapters of the book I personally found either useless or sketchy (like on alternative treatments), but there are also very well grounded and useful parts, that (hopefully) will make it easier for a reader to accept the diagnosis, make sense of it and explain it to others.
Some chapters of the book I personally found either useless or sketchy (like on alternative treatments), but there are also very well grounded and useful parts, that (hopefully) will make it easier for a reader to accept the diagnosis, make sense of it and explain it to others.
May 3, 2017
Super informative for those who are dealing with this health issue as well as family members
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews