Somatic · Functional Neurological
FND Pacing & Distraction Worksheet
Activity baseline, energy budget, and attention-shift techniques
Functional neurological disorder (FND) responds to pacing and attention-shifting, not pushing or avoiding. Find a baseline you can repeat on a bad day, build gradually, and practise distraction techniques that quiet functional movement and sensory symptoms.
Find my baseline
Baseline = the amount of activity I can do on an average day and still feel steady the next day. Not my best day. Not my worst day.
Activity I want to pace (walking, screens, cooking, work…)
Comfortable amount on an average day (minutes, reps, distance)
What 'too much' looks like the next day for me
Baseline I will start with (a little less than comfortable)
7-day pacing log
Day
Planned dose
Actual
How I felt the next morning
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Distraction techniques
FND symptoms tend to ease when attention shifts away from the body. Try one and circle what helped.
External attention
Look outward — describe the room aloud, count colours, name objects. FND symptoms ease when attention leaves the body.
Rhythm
Walk to a beat, tap a rhythm, count steps. Rhythmic input reorganises motor output.
Dual task
Add a second light task — humming, naming animals, simple maths — while moving.
Reverse-engineer
Notice a movement that works automatically (reaching for a cup). Use the same automatic mode for the symptomatic one.
Symptom load this week
nonemost
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Confidence in pacing
nonemost
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
One structural change for next week
Not 'try harder'. Something about the plan, the dose, or the environment.