What Is Munchausen?
2. What Are the Symptoms of a Factitious Disorder?
There are two primary symptoms of a factitious disorder: lying and self-harm. A patient’s motivation for lying about health issues is to receive attention and treatment. Psychiatrists speculate that patients are attempting to fulfill a need for compassion and care. Most times, a patient’s childhood or life trauma leads to the compulsion and desire for the attention an illness receives, which leads to dire consequences and poor life choices.
While lying is not appropriate in medical settings, the patient’s willingness to self-harm is more alarming. Many Munchausen patients enter an ER presenting with real ailments and symptoms. They often go to extreme lengths to cause blood in their urine, chest pain, loss of blood flow to limbs and other issues that require further testing.
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