A young woman from Staffordshire has revealed how she went to sleep with a migraine and woke up speaking with a completely different, permanent regional accent.
The Life-Changing Nap
Verity Went, a 28-year-old from Penkridge, decided to rest on October 4, 2023, hoping to sleep off a painful migraine. This symptom was linked to a pre-existing condition called Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), which she had been diagnosed with a year earlier. FND causes medically unexplained symptoms that appear to stem from the nervous system without an underlying physical disease.
"After a couple of hours I woke up and my speech was slurred, which I'm occasionally used to," Verity explained. "But after five minutes it came back – and was Geordie." The transformation was instant and shocking. The familiar cadence of her original accent was gone, replaced by the distinctive tones of Newcastle.
Diagnosis and Acceptance
Alarmed, Verity went straight to her doctors. Given her history with FND, they quickly ruled out a stroke. She was eventually diagnosed with the extremely rare Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS), a condition often linked to brain injury or neurological issues that alters speech patterns.
"I was terrified," she admitted. "I just felt I had completely lost myself and didn't know who I was anymore." The psychological impact was profound, forcing her to grapple with a fundamental change in her identity.
Yet, with time, acceptance grew. Verity even travelled to Newcastle to test her new accent with locals, who didn't question its authenticity. "No one could tell the difference between me and a real Geordie – it was surreal," she said.
A New Permanent Voice
Now, more than two years on, Verity has fully embraced her change. Her accent remains unchanged and has even permeated her subconscious. "I also sleep talk and my boyfriend says it's also in my new accent," she noted, adding that her inner monologue and dreams feature the Geordie lilt.
"My friends and family are so used to it now, and everyone says they believe this is the real me," Verity stated. While working with an FND specialist to understand her condition further, she has no desire for her old voice to return. "The change itself is so stressful and it took so long to find who I am – I don't want to go through that again."
For Verity Went, the voice that emerged from a migraine nap is not a medical curiosity but her true self.
