‘NOT THERE’
Writer: Gavin Inglis
Illustration: Fin Cramb
Client: NHS Lothian
Not There is a graphic story about Functional Neurological Disorder (FND). The work was created by Language and Cognition Fellow Gavin Inglis in partnership with Edinburgh artist Fin Cramb as part of the Beyond Walls Art and Therapeutic Design (ATD) programme for the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Edinburgh.
Not There is the story of Stef, a young woman suffering from dissociative attacks. These begin as a horrible sensation that she is trapped — not quite there — and quickly lead to blackouts. Dissociative attacks are one of the more common FNDs.
FNDs are caused by a problem with the functioning of the nervous system, not damage, so they don’t show up on an MRI scan. Patients sometimes suffer from not being believed; they are made to feel that it is “all in their head” or that they are somehow faking the symptoms. This can even exacerbate the condition.
Gavin said, “As part of the fellowship at DCN, I wanted to create something that could help patients. Recognising and understanding a Functional Neurological Disorder is an essential part of treatment. Given that FNDs are misunderstood even by some neurologists, this seemed like an opportunity to produce a story which could be both informative and therapeutic.”
The story went through a long development process with input from NHS staff in diverse roles. Professor Jon Stone consulted throughout the project, from script to final tweaks, and contributed the introduction.
Not There can be read with any PDF viewer, or with specialist comic book reader software.
Please download a low resolution PDF version (7mb) here or a higher resolution PDF version (15mb) here.
An excellent resource for further information about Functional Neurological Disorders is Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) : a patient's guide.