In a candid revelation, Willa Ford shared her own struggle with non-epileptic psychogenic seizures, a condition that nearly silenced her music career forever. The early 2000s pop star, now 45 and best known for songs like “I Wanna Be Bad,” initially kept her battle free from fear and stigma.
Her decision to speak out stems from her transformative realization that vulnerability can inspire others facing similar invisible illnesses.
Onset of fatal seizures
Willa Ford first suffered psychogenic epileptic seizures, or PNES, in December 2023. PNES, which the National Institutes of Health defines as seizures likely caused by psychological factors, has significantly disrupted her life. She was unable to work or drive during the worst attacks, leaving her feeling isolated.
“I didn’t want to tell people because I think it’s scary [them],” Willa Ford told People magazine.
“Like, ‘Oh, she’ll have one on stage.’
Nature of PNES
Willa Ford describes her seizures as a brain dissociation avoiding physical injury. “My brain shuts down, so it doesn’t actually hurt my brain,” she explained. “It’s better than seizures, to be honest. My body is shaking, or I’m freezing, but I’m holding on.
I can talk to you [and] I do math, unless my mouth is doing weird things. She stresses that PNES varies from one individual to another and stems from trauma, in her case linked to a previous event in the music industry.
“What I will say is that it has nothing to do with my brand [Atlantic Records]Or my colleagues in the company or a product or anything. It wasn’t anyone I worked with. It’s a story that’s out of this world and doesn’t even seem real.
Wake-up call and diagnosis
The seizures became a wake-up call. “The seizures are what made me decide I wasn’t done with life,” Willa Ford told People magazine.
Learning about the roots of her trauma prompted her to return to songwriting, her only creative outlet at the time. “When Ford learned that her seizures were caused by past music-related trauma, she focused on writing songs. ‘This is all I can do,’ she said. That process fueled her new album, turning pain into art.”Today, attacks occur about once a month and are managed with therapy, anti-anxiety medications, and rescue therapy. Willa Ford initially viewed her condition as rare but now sees its significance on a broader scale. Her interior design work has supported her, even leading to a Flip It Like Disick collaboration with Scott Disick. By processing repressed traumas associated with music, as explored with neuroscientists, she reclaimed her voice, both literally and artistically.
