Factitious Disorder

Factitious Disorder

Those who had a history of mental illnesses during childhood, had problems with authority, or currently have a borderline personality disorder are highly susceptible to factitious disorder. The meaning of the word factitious - contrived - explains what happens. Basically, a person will fake a mental or physical illness, but not for any easily observable benefit - i.e. an insurance scam. More women than men are affected by this disorder. It also tends to affect people who had many hospital visits in late adolescence. The exact causes aren't known, but there are many different theories. Whichever is correct, the good news is that there are many treatment options available for factitious disorder, even online therapy.

Causes of Factitious Disorders

The exact cause of these types of disorders is not known, but they are thought to center around both biological and psychological factors. There are some indicators that children who were abused or neglected may have a higher chance of having problems with factitious disorder.

Types of Factitious Disorders

There are generally four categories of factitious disorders.

• Factitious disorder with mostly psychological symptoms
• Factitious disorder with mostly physical symptoms
• Factitious disorder with both psychological and physical symptoms
• Unspecified factitious disorder - This also includes Munchausen syndrome by proxy, which causes a person to see illness in another person.

Symptoms of Factitious Disorder

The exact patterns of factitious disorder are sometimes difficult to notice, but many medical professionals have come to know the basic symptoms of factitious disorder as they have seen people with the disorder in the course of their work. Patients who visit on holidays or other days that experienced staff are more likely to be absent may be showing signs of factitious disorder, especially if this happens frequently. There are various other physical and psychological symptoms that may appear, but these should give you an idea if a diagnosis for factitious disorder should be sought.

Dangers of Factitious Disorder

Outside of the person diagnosed with factitious disorder, there are many others affected by this disorder. For one, there is a large waste of time and money. When someone who is not really sick wastes the resources of doctors and nurses who are already overworked, it can tax the whole health care system. There are other dangers as well, including the possibility of other mental disorders appearing if factitious disorder is left unchecked.

Treatment for Factitious Disorder

While it may not seem a serious problem to some, factitious disorder should be treated if there is a diagnosis. Here at GoMentor.com, you can find trained therapists that know the proper behavioral therapy that will be the most successful depending on the specifics. Online therapy can help with all the facets of factitious disorder.

Definition of Factitious Disorder

Factitious disorder is when a person fakes or otherwise falsifies symptoms of illness (mental or physical health) so that they can assume the role of a sick person.

Symptoms of / Reasons for Factitious Disorder

• Long medical history at multiple hospitals
• Knowledge and use of obscure medical jargon
• Patient usually has few visitors
• Patient is very accepting of surgery and other bad news
• Substance abuse - especially pain medications - is present