COURSE · PART 4 · MODULE 14
Relationships, Identity, and Grief
FND can change roles, plans, relationships and how a person sees themselves. These losses are real. There is no required way to grieve or rebuild.
In this module
- Make room for grief without treating it as the cause of FND.
- Talk about intimacy, help and boundaries with consent and without blame.
- Include supporter wellbeing without making the ill person responsible for everyone.
Qualitative research reports loss, stigma, relationship strain, isolation, hope and purpose, but small samples cannot define what every person should feel. [1][2]
Pages
- Grief, Identity, Purpose, and Social Isolation — name what changed while keeping the whole person in view.
- Relationships, Intimacy, and Boundaries — make needs, choice and consent speakable.
- Supporter Wellbeing and Shared Boundaries — protect both people without turning love into clinical supervision.
Inside each page: Person with FND · Supporters · Clinicians · Research
Research and Sources
| Citation | Full citation |
|---|---|
| [1] | Szasz A, Korner A, McLean L. Qualitative systematic review on the lived experience of functional neurological disorder. BMJ Neurology Open. 2025;7(1):e000694. FND-CIT-0080. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjno-2024-000694 |
| [2] | Gatherer C, Garip G. “Look for Glimmers Instead of Triggers”: An Exploration Into the Lived Experiences of Functional Neurological Disorder Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Psychological Reports. Published online June 15, 2025. FND-CIT-0086. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941251351234 |
This overview still needs review by people with FND, partners, family members, counsellors and relationship or sexual-health specialists.
Plain-language draft and research package prepared: September 8, 2026 · Clinical review pending