Emily Chan
Imagine faking an illness so well that even doctors are convinced. That is the essence of factitious disorder, which is also known as Munchausen syndrome. It’s all about fabricating symptoms or even tampering with medical tests to appear ill, injured, or impaired.
People with factitious disorder are not trying to invent medical problems for money or other perks, like getting out of work or winning a lawsuit. The gain is believed to be for primarily psychological reasons.
It is classified as a mental illness. People with this puzzling and complex condition are aware that they are causing their own symptoms or sicknesses, but they may not understand why they are behaving in this way or recognize that they have a problem.
Factitious disorder is hard to identify and difficult to treat. People with the disorder will go to great lengths to hide their deception and to receive care and attention.
Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of factitious disorder may include vague/inconsistent symptoms, conditions that worsen for no apparent reason, conditions that don’t respond to standard treatments, seeking treatments from several doctors or hospitals, and an eagerness to undergo testing and surgical operations.
In addition, they may argue with medical staff, be reluctant to let doctors talk to family/friends and have evidence of surgical scars on their bodies.
Types of Factitious Disorder
There are two types of factitious disorder. One of them is factitious disorder imposed on the self. It involves making up medical histories, exaggerating existing symptoms, faking symptoms altogether, tampering with medical tests, and inflicting self-harm.
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