Looking for Empathy in All the Wrong Places: Bizarre Cases of Factitious Disorder

art byZdzis ław BeksińskiFactitious disorder is a rare psychiatric condition where an individual deliberately induces or fabricates an ailment because of a desire to fulfill the role of a sick person. This differs from garden varietymalingering, where an individual feigns illness for secondary gain (drug seeking, financial gain, avoidance of work, etc.). The primary goal in factitious disorder is to garner attention and sympathy from caregivers and medical staff.The psychiatric handbookDSM-5 identifiestwo types of factitious disorder:Factitious Disorder Imposed on Self (formerly known asMunchausen syndrome when the feigned symptoms were physical, rather than psychological). Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another: When an individual falsifies illness in another, whether that be a child, pet or older adult (formerly known asMunchausen syndrome by proxy).Since the desire to elicit empathy is one of the main objectives in this disorder, it is odd indeed when the “patient” feigns a frightening or repellent condition. A recent report byFischer et al. (2016) discussed a particularly flagrant example: the case of a middle-aged man who falsely claimed to be a sexually sadistic serial killer to impress his psychotherapist. Not surprisingly, his ruse was a complete failure.Thecase report noted that Mr. S had been a loner his entire life: ... He described having anxiety growing up, mainly in social situations. ... Mr. S had a history of alcohol abuse starting in his mid-t...
Source: The Neurocritic - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Source Type: blogs