Munchausen Syndrome, a mental disorder where the patient seeks attention or sympathy through fictitious ailments. Coined by Dr. Richard Asher after a German nobleman named Karl Friedrich Hieronymus, Baron von Munchausen of the 1700’s. Baron von Munchausen was a military man who returned from war telling outrageous stories of his travels and adventures he endured during his time away from home. In 1951, Dr. Richard Asher applied the term Munchausen to patients who traveled from hospital to hospital seeking medical attention for fake, exaggerated or self-induced injuries. In this paper we are going to discuss, A: The symptoms of Munchausen syndrome. B: Munchausen syndrome by proxy. And C: The importance of quickly diagnosing Munchausen’s disease. …show more content…
Most often Munchausen’s by proxy is between mother and child, or caregiver and child. The perpetrators of this form of Munchausen’s receive the attention they crave by playing the hero role or ultra-caring parent while also assuming the sick or injured role by proxy. Munchausen’s by proxy is often undetected because it appears as a form of neglect or child abuse. Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy may sometimes be described as a mental disorder or simply as abusive behavior. In regards to either form of Munchausen’s syndrome, neither appear in the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” (“DSM-IV-TR”) under that name but are categorized under “Factitious disorder.” Because of the complexity in diagnosing Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy, doctors under suspicion sometimes attempt a “separation test.” In this test the doctor will observe the proxy victim in absence of the care giver. Quite often the symptoms will disappear. Care must be taken when conducting such tests because if the doctors assumptions are wrong, the seriousness of the child’s illness may have been compromised putting the child’s life further at
Humans who are being over diagnosed with disorders, causes the spending of too much money on drugs and medication that could be harmful and is not needed for them to take. The objective of this book is to let people become aware of what is going on around the world. The audience that this book aims towards is the public. The main objective of Dr. Frances is to alert the public, health care professionals and clinicians about the misinformed diagnosis of people and the misdirected treatment and medications that are prescribed to people who are “normal.” Everyday pains and suffering are being diagnosed as mental illnesses and disorders. Psychiatry has specified people with false labels. The first of many arguments is that people are very worried that when a new disorder is brought up, that they have this disorder or illness. Another argument in this book is the misdiagnosis between mental disorder and normality. Many people who experience completely normal grief could be mislabeled as having a psychiatric problem. The next argument is to separate the people who have diseases from normality. Allen Frances blames the internet and social networking for the over diagnosis of mental disorder. This book is also about the high percentage of people who are now diagnosed with a mental illness,
This behavior is abnormal. As in Freud’s Anna O. case (Barlow, Durand, 2012) my neighbor have hysterical symptoms. When normal people are sick, they usually have one or two complains regarding to an illness and once this illness diagnosed, treatment process starts. There is no need to go doctors to doctors. Therefore my neighbor is not seeking to become healthy again, instead he or she seeking to get attention.
Mental disorders have long been the Achilles heel of the medical world. With each case having some degree of uniqueness, physicians are often unable to fully treat these types of conditions with just a generalized medication or textbook treatment option. There are many competing theories as to how one falls ill to a mental disorder. Some claim that it occurs solely through chemical imbalances within a person’s brain, while others see it as a more wholistic problem that is the result of an endless possibility of differing factors. Through the characterization found within “Superstar” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” and the data shown in studies done by the Medical University of Lublin, it becomes evident that seemingly internal disorders, such as anorexia and hysteria, are caused, in reality, by the need for social control that develops in response to purely external factors such as daunting expectations or stressful lifestyle.
Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome is a very dangerous disorder. This disorder came about to identify a parent who intentionally causes harm to their child. This disorder was named after Baron von Munchausen who discovered it. Symptoms are hard to identify because many do not believe a parent could harm their own child. The main symptom is that the child only becomes sick or is harmed in the presence of their parent. The parent tries to maintain a relationship with the doctor of the child because this disorder is based on the parents need for attention from the doctor, other parents, and their child. MBPS is caused by a need for attention and sympathy of the parent for “helping” their child. The only treatment known for this disorder is extensive psychotherapy. Munchausen by Proxy is a very rare behavioral disorder. “This form of abuse claims the life of nine percent of children that fall victim to it.”
The issue of child neglect is one of the most current forms of child maltreatment especially in the United States. According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, child neglect is referred to as a kind of maltreatment which relates to the failure of a caregiver to offer the needed, age-appropriate care, despite the fact that the parent may be financially stable to do so (Conte 13). Neglect in many instances is described by an ongoing pattern that relates to lack of care and is observed by individuals in close contact with a child.
Emotional sickness has been a mind boggling point since the development of its known presence. While the meaning of dysfunctional behavior has developed, and been re-imagined for quite a long time, it can be best marked as a mutable, or a regularly changing thought that for all intents and purposes changes the result for treatment. (DeYoung 259) In early developments, up until about the nineteenth century, having an emotional instability was rejected as a man being under an obscure stupor which could bring about those being secured away mental homes forever. The other more radical conclusion had a tendency to be individuals who were rationally unwell were controlled by some kind of wicked compel and the best way to evacuate this underhanded drive was by expulsion or conceivable murder. While human blunder and
Munchausen syndrome and MSBP are included in the DSM-III R category of factitious disorders and therefore are elusive syndromes that are difficult to diagnose and recognize (2). "Because symptoms in factitious disorders are not connected with obvious gain, the absence of external gain suggests that factitious disorders like Munchausen syndrome serve some psychological need, but do so by maladaptive methods (2)." The syndrome is not recognized by the American Medical Association or the American Psychiatric Association (10). Lack of official recognition from the medical community has created an air of confusion around MSBP. Munchausen syndrome is decidedly a psychiatric disorder involving the patient assuming a role, but the reason for skepticism concerning MSBP is that is clearly a form of child abuse, as
Child abuse and neglect is a significant problem in the United States that should demand direct attention. There are approximately three million child abuse reports made each year, and these reports involve more than six million children. Out of four to five children that die daily, 70 percent are under three years of age. There are 90 percent of cases involving of children who know who know their perpetrator. The main factors of child abuse are physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. In many cases involving sexual abuse, there is usually not any medical evidence to be shown, and there are usually not any witness due to the sexual acts taking place in private places. That is why it is considered the “hidden” form of abuse. Neglect is a type of maltreatment related to the failure to provide needed, age-appropriate care.
Munchausen syndrome is a serious mental disorder in which someone with a deep need for attention pretends to be sick or gets sick or injured on purpose. People with Munchausen syndrome may make up symptoms, push for risky operations, or try to rig laboratory test results to try to win sympathy and concern.Typically, the cause is a need for attention and sympathy from doctors, nurses, and other professionals. Some experts believe that it isn't just the
Six year old Eric is continuously brought to a local clinic by his mother Monica for treatment of abdominal cramps or according to the mother, appendicitis. Eric is the only son and lives with his mother. With each appointment, Eric symptoms become more progressive, resulting in his hospitalization. As his length of stay increases, Eric’s doctor, Dr. Spencer begins to suspect that something is wrong and suspects Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy, however, none of the other hospital staff members believes Dr. Spencer. As Eric remains hospitalized, his hospital roommate, Ben, begins to develop similar symptoms Eric has been presenting. Dr. Spencer would like to monitor Eric’s mother without her knowledge, but the
Multiple personality Disorder, (MPD) was first recognized in the 1700’s but was not understood so therefore was soon forgotten. Many cases showed up during the years, but was overlooked, or misdiagnosed as either schizophrenia or psychosis. Many in the medical profession did not believe that a person could have more than one personality in a body, unknowingly, even after the 1950’s. In 1993, records show that three to five thousand people were being treated for MPD, compared to the hundred cases reported ten years earlier. The disease is commonly found in adults who were abused mentally, physically, emotionally, and or sexually as children, between birth to eight years of age. The child uses a process called disassociation to separate himself/herself from the abusive situation. This is when the child makes up a personality to take control of the mind and body. During abuse, usually there is a personality for every emotion and feeling when the abuse is taking place. Symptoms of the disease include: amnesia, hallucinations, depression, and suicidal thoughts, and tendencies, and there can be anywhere from two to over a hundred different personalities. Usually each personality will fall into one of the following categories: host, core, child, teenager, artistic, adult, animals, intimate members, self-helpers, persecutor, rescuer and helper. The child is usually under the age of twelve, with according behaviors,
To begin, I chose this article because when I read the title of the article I did not know what Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP) was. Therefore, I decided to read this article so that I would know what MSBP meant and how it is relevant to social work. I think that the author did a great job simply explaining what MSBP is and the components associated to it. I like that they broke the article into different sections so that it was easier to read and so that you could only read about a certain subtopic if you wanted to. The one thing I did not like about the article was that they did not give a detailed scenario of MSBP. They explained what it is and what it kind of looks like. But I did not
Everyone seeks the approval or ratification of other individuals, whether it is a doctor seeking the approval of peers, or individuals complying with the wishes of their doctors, as a means of pleasing them. Ratification can be dangerous as individuals give power to those from which they seek ratification. This can lead to relying on deception in the pursuit of ratification, as well as others completely complying with those they deem as “experts,” in pursuit of the doctors’ ratification. The article “The Ignored Lessons of Anne Frank,” written by Bruno Bettelheim, A Holocaust survivor and former professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, provides evidence that supports experts abusing power in pursuit of ratification. Likewise,
The most common mental illnesses of parents, but psychologically very nasty child or infant, can not stand the baby's birth and the presence of the severe mistreatment baby. Some adults, psychologically vulnerable to the baby, not the baby as a baby, for the baby moves are considered or construed as an adult's actions, and contests to go treat. Sometimes, the parents of the baby, who suffers from mental abuse problems, because of delusions or other psychotic symptoms and behavior, and abuse of the baby's incomprehensible
At the same time, one of the more interesting sources of MBI behavior results from a form of role-playing that is commonly known as pseudologia fantastica, which refers to when an individual plays out a series of dramatic by telling lies or stories that exasperate the truth of their given situation in order to fulfill some kind of personal fantasy. The concept comes from an idea that some individuals receive pleasure from acting out imaginary roles through their Internet persona. According to Friedman (2016), most objectifications of pseudologia fantastica in MBI involve situations where “dramatic lies” are “told by patients about their achievements, social connections, exploits, and so on” (p. 226). This probably because the offender believes