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Factitious Disorder - Factitious Disorder Symptom, Cause, Treatment
Patients with factitious disorders produce or exaggerate the symptoms of a physical or mental illness by a variety of methods, including contaminating urine samples with blood, taking hallucinogens, injecting themselves with bacteria to produce infections, and other similar behaviors. A Factitious Disorder is one in which a person fakes physical or psychological symptoms to become a patient. Mental illness describes abnormal cognitive or emotional patterns related to how a person thinks, feels, acts, and/or relates to others and his or her surroundings. Factitious disorders are mental disorders in which a person acts as if he or she has a physical or mental illness when, in fact, he or she has consciously created his or her symptoms.
Symptoms of Factitious Disorder
Symptoms of Factitious Disorder In adults or adolescents. Reasons for suspecting factitious disorder include:
- The individual's history is vague and inconsistent; or the individual has a long medical record with many admissions at different hospitals in different cities.
- The patient has an unusual knowledge of medical terminology or describes the illness as if they are reciting a textbook description of it.
- The patient is employed in a medical or hospital-related occupation.
- Pseudologia fantastica, a Latin phrase for "uncontrollable lying," is a condition in which the individual provides fantastic descriptions of events that never took place.
- The patient visits emergency rooms at times such as holidays or late Friday afternoons when experienced staff are not usually present and obtaining old medical records is difficult.
- The patient has few visitors even though he or she claims to be an important person.
- The patient is unusually accepting of surgery or uncomfortable diagnostic procedures.
- The patient's behavior is controlling, attention-seeking, hostile, or disruptive.
- The symptoms are present only when the patient thinks he or she is being watched.
- The patient is abusing substances, particularly prescription pain-killers or tranquilizers.
- The course of the "illness" fluctuates, or complications develop with unusual speed.
- The patient has multiple surgical scars, a so-called "gridiron abdomen," or evidence of self-inflicted wounds or injuries.
Causes of Factitious Disorder
There are several Causes of Factitious Disorder. Some Causes are includes
- Patients with FD are trying to re-enact unresolved childhood issues with parents.
- They have underlying problems with masochism.
- They need to be the center of attention and feel important.
- They need to receive care and nurturance.
- They are bothered by feelings of vulnerability.
- Deceiving a physician allows them to feel superior to an authority figure.
- The presence of other mental or physical disorders in childhood that resulted in the patient's getting considerable medical attention.
- A history of significant past relationships with doctors, or of grudges against them.
- Present diagnosis of borderline, narcissistic, or antisocial personality disorder.
Treatment of Factitious Disorder
In the case of factitious disorder by proxy, the main goal is to ensure the safety and protection of any real or potential victims. The first goal of treatment is to modify the person's behavior and reduce his or her misuse or overuse of medical resources.
- The primary treatment for factitious disorders is psychotherapy (a type of counseling).
- Treatment of factitious disorders is usually limited to prompt recognition of the condition and the refusal to give unnecessary medications or to perform unneeded procedures.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy(CBT) for somatization disorder focuses on changing negative patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behavior that contribute to somatic symptoms.
- ome clinicians have tried psychotherapeutic treatment for factitious disorder patients, and there are anecdotal reports that antidepressant or antipsychotic medications are helpful in certain cases.
- Antidepressant medications may help to alleviate symptoms of somatization disorder.
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