Munchausen syndrome (also known as factitious disorder) is a rare type of mental disorder in which a person fakes illness. The person may lie about symptoms, make themselves appear sick, or make themselves purposely unwell.
Though the presentation of Munchausen disorder can vary widely, some of the most common presentations include chest pain, abdominal pain, vomiting and/or diarrhea, anemia, hypoglycemia, infections, seizures, weakness, headaches, vision loss, skin wounds, and arthralgias.
Factitious disorder imposed on another (previously called Munchausen syndrome by proxy) is when someone falsely claims that another person has physical or psychological signs or symptoms of illness, or causes injury or disease in another person with the intention of deceiving others.
Munchausen syndrome may be caused by parental neglect and abandonment, or other childhood trauma. As a result of this trauma, a person may have unresolved issues with their parents that cause them to fake illness.
How Australian forensic paediatricians spot this insidious form of child abuse. Fabricated or induced illness in a child – aka Munchausen syndrome by proxy – could be more common than currently perceived, clinicians warn in the first Australian guide designed to identify the syndrome.
Someone suffering from MSP will act as though the person under his or her care is sick. They often will falsify medical information. They may lie to medical professionals about the health or condition of the person in their care. They do this to gain sympathy or for attention.
Munchausen syndrome is pretending you have an illness. By proxy is pretending your dependent has an illness.
Treatment of Munchausen syndrome
Treatment aims to manage rather than cure the condition, but is rarely successful. Recovery tends to be slow or non-existent. Treatment options may include: Medications to treat associated mental health illnesses such as depression or anxiety.
People who malinger pretend to be ill to gain some sort of benefit, such as avoiding military duty or trying to obtain compensation. People with Munchausen's syndrome know they're making their symptoms up and can be highly manipulative, but their behaviour brings them no obvious benefit.
Their victims can be anyone in their care—including children, elderly adults, disabled people, and pets. Mothers are most likely to receive a Munchausen syndrome by proxy diagnosis. However, fathers can also suffer from the disorder. As a result, Munchausen by proxy is considered one of the forms of child abuse.
tampering with test results – for example, heating a thermometer to suggest a fever or adding blood to a urine sample. self-infliction – for example, cutting or burning themselves, poisoning themselves with drugs, or eating food contaminated with bacteria.
By common usage, the term “Munchausen syndrome” has tended to be used much more for men than for women. Published reports suggest that two thirds of patients with Munchausen syndrome are male, whereas in the more common non-Munchausen forms of factitious physical disorders, females outnumber males by three to one.
Psychiatrists and psychologists use specially designed interview and assessment tools to evaluate a person for Munchausen syndrome. The doctor bases their diagnosis on the exclusion of actual physical or mental illness and their observation of the patient's attitude and behavior.
Perhaps one of the most insidious and most dangerous of all the behavior a narcissist can exhibit is Munchausen by proxy syndrome. This crime includes the narcissist causing or making up illnesses and injuries in their children. They do this to appear as the victim and hero in other people's eyes (Vaknin, 2015).
Munchausen by proxy abuse often affects the child for their whole life, and in some cases, can become life-threatening. Munchausen, by proxy, can cause health problems, including mental health disorders, malnutrition, infections, seizures, and much more.
Munchausen syndrome is not genetic or hereditary, so if the disorder runs in a family it is not due to genes, but may more likely be due to the upbringing or the environment a child has experienced.
Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a mental illness and a form of child abuse. The caretaker of a child, most often a mother, either makes up fake symptoms or causes real symptoms to make it look like the child is sick.
Mental disorders are the result of both genetic and environmental factors. There is no single genetic switch that when flipped causes a mental disorder. Consequently, it is difficult for doctors to determine a person's risk of inheriting a mental disorder or passing on the disorder to their children.
Munchausen syndrome is a factitious disorder. Patients sometimes inflict injury on themselves in order to assume a sick role. The authors report a patient with Munchausen syndrome suffered from brain abscess, reopened wound and intraventricular hemorrhage.
Like Munchausen syndrome, hypochondria can be a difficult psychological disorder challenging to diagnose, as there are often no physical symptoms present to support the individual's concerns. However, unlike Munchausen syndrome, hypochondria is not characterized by intentional deception or exaggeration of symptoms.
Personality disorders and pathological lying
Pathological lying or lying compulsively can also be a symptom of antisocial personality disorder or narcissistic personality disorder. People with these personality disorders may lie to gain sympathy or social status, or to preserve a false sense of self.
Anosognosia, also called "lack of insight," is a symptom of severe mental illness experienced by some that impairs a person's ability to understand and perceive his or her illness. It is the single largest reason why people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder refuse medications or do not seek treatment.
The Devastating True Story Of Gypsy Blanchard
The murder of American woman Dee Dee Blanchard in 2015, is one of the most famous cases of Munchausen syndrome by proxy ever, and a new documentary Gypsy's Revenge revisits the murder, the familial abuse and all the people involved, three years after the crime took place.
Primarily uncomplicated cries for help are differentiated from two major subtypes (the Active Inducer and the Doctor Addict) which define the spectrum of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Primary differences involve the form of deception, age of the victim, and maternal affect.