It’s my understanding that functional illnesses or conditions are not necessarily due to stress. It can be from faulty wiring in our nerves or some chemical reaction that is difficult to pinpoint. I recall two different physiotherapists describe how pain gets processed in our bodies. That was when I first started to understand how the brain can cause pain in ways it’s difficult to understand. We always show compassion to my dad during his episodes. We used to call 911 a lot. He’s been taken to the hospital more than a few times. It took a while to learn how he can take meds and work his way through it. He still goes to ER but not as often.