Dysautonomia Awareness Month takes places in October. Dysautonomia International began the global Dysautonomia Awareness Month campaign in 2012 and each year it has grown in the number of participants and activities around the world.

Dysautonomia Awareness Month educates the public about the autonomic nervous system, and the way it affects people with dysautonomia. The autonomic nervous system consists of two parts: the sympathetic and parasympathetic components. Dysautonomia is essentially a disorder of the autonomic nervous system. The sympathetic or parasympathetic components of the nervous system fail in the disease.

Dysautonomia is an umbrella term used to describe various medical conditions that cause a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system controls the “automatic” functions of the body that we do not consciously think about, such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, dilation and constriction of the pupils of the eye, kidney function, and temperature control. People living with various forms of dysautonomia, also known as autonomic nervous system disorders, have trouble regulating these systems, which can result in light-headedness, fainting, unstable blood pressure, abnormal heart rates, and malnutrition.