What Is Munchausen Syndrome, a Type of Attention-Getting Disease?

You may have a mild cold or the flu, but you exaggerated the situation a little so that the people around you would be more interested in you or the boss would allow it more easily. Maybe, almost everyone has done it. Well, what about the frequent rushes to the hospital or attracting people’s attention by producing false symptoms when there is no real disease and even better than normal?

Munchausen syndrome, a psychological disorder that you can define as a kind of attention-seeking disease, points exactly to this situation. People with Munchausen syndrome exaggerate this condition so much that they end up tiring hospitals and paramedics. Let’s take a closer look at what Munchausen syndrome is and how it got its name.

What is Munchausen syndrome?

Munchausen syndrome is when a person firstly gets sick from his environment and then from official institutions such as hospitals, or claims to have symptoms of the disease even when he is not sick. Munchausen syndrome is defined by experts as a psychological disorder.

Much more than a coy or sweet patient for attention, people with Munchausen syndrome re-create the condition over and over when they don’t get enough attention, and some even inflict physical harm on themselves in order to be credible.

The name Munchausen syndrome was first used in 1951 by Richard Alan John Asher. In this way, the evaluation of a group of patients who wandered from hospital to hospital and tried to gain attention by telling imaginary symptoms was made in this way. Munchausen syndrome, which is defined as a pathological form of lying, can also be called a challenge to medicine by some experts.

Example of Munchausen syndrome:

A case of Munchausen syndrome recorded at Alberta Children’s Hospital illustrates how serious this condition is. A 12-year-old girl comes to the hospital. He’s had a stomachache, vomiting, and blood coming out of his mouth for two months, he said. Analyzes are made on the subject immediately.

According to the results of the analysis, no problem can be detected in the patient and it is decided to be observed. A nurse looking at this room during the service notices that the patient is bleeding by inserting his finger into his nose, this blood is accumulating and making it look as if it came from his mouth.

When this situation is explained to the patient, the little girl completely denies it. Talking to her family reveals that she is an outcast at school, does not have many friends, and often fights with her mother. So he’s even willing to inflict physical pain on himself to get some attention.

Even more dangerous is Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome:

Munchausen syndrome is somewhat acceptable. After all, it is self-harm and requires psychological intervention. But Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome is much more than that, and even more terrifying. Because this is the disease of parents trying to attract attention through their children.

We’re not talking about pimply parents. We are talking about parents who go from hospital to hospital pretending their child is sick, or who claim to be sick by physically harming their child, even though there are no symptoms. It is known that some of the parents with this syndrome even kill their children.

Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome, which was first reported in 1977, is definitely considered as child abuse. Health workers have a great responsibility in this regard. Even when such a case is suspected, it should be reported immediately because if left untreated, it can lead to the death of the child.

Where does the name Munchausen syndrome come from?

Munchausen syndrome is named after an imaginary braggart character. The German nobleman Baron Munchausen gave his name to this syndrome in the book Baron Münchausen’s Magnificent Travels and Struggles in Russia, written by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe and published in 1785.

Baron Munchausen, who participated in the 1735 – 1739 Ottoman – Russian – Austrian War, told these stories so eloquently that after a while the people doubted this situation. As a result, all of these stories turned out to be undiluted lies, and the name Munchausen began to be used in many lying cases, especially in this syndrome.

We answered questions such as what is Munchausen syndrome, which is defined as a kind of attention-seeking disease, and where did its name come from, and we talked about what you need to know about the subject. You can share your thoughts about Munchausen syndrome in the comments.