What do I tell people?

Telling people that you have epilepsy is difficult although many people have heard of epilepsy and know something about it.

Telling people about non-epileptic attacks can be much harder. Most people have not heard of non-epileptic attacks, and it can be difficult to explain what they are. People may think that if you don’t have epilepsy that your attacks are not real. If you have a good understanding of your diagnosis it will be easier to explain to others.

Here are some things you can say:

“I have been diagnosed with non-epileptic attack disorder.”

“I have attacks that I cannot control. They are like epileptic attacks but they are not caused by the same things that cause epilepsy.”

“Even though they are not epileptic, my attacks can still be distressing for me.” Or “Non-epileptic attacks have been shown to be just as disabling as epilepsy and are very distressing”.

“They can be linked to stress.”

“I have a condition similar to epilepsy, which means I have seizures.”

It may be useful to discuss this website with your friends, family and work colleagues so that they know about your attacks and can support you.

Find out more about what you can do to help yourself