Münchausen syndrome is a psychiatric disorder that is distinguished by the patient causing or faking physical or psychological ailments for the sole purpose of being admitted to the hospital. A psychiatric consult nurse sees about one or two Münchausen cases a month (Interview with John Hauber, RN). Out of the entire United States population, only half to two percent of people have the disorder (medicinenet.com), but the number is probably higher than that because the statistic shown only represents the number of people diagnosed, and not everybody that has Münchausen is properly identified as having the disorder. (Interview with John Hauber, RN). The numbers are higher in certain subpopulations, such as people who have been diagnosed as having psychosis or fever of unknown source (medicinenet.com). It is also extremely difficult to get accurate statistics due to dishonesty and the tendency of patients to hop from one healthcare facility to the other (my.clevelandclinic.org).
Münchausen Syndrome has been described since at least Biblical times. An example of historical documentation would be that people during the medieval era have been recognized to scrape their skin off and put leeches in their mouths to cause bleeding (medicinenet.com). Münchausen syndrome was given its name in 1951 by Richard Asher (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), for Baron Karl Friedrich von Münchausen. Baron was born in Germany during the year 1720 and deceased in 1797. He was known to tell extravagant stories about the battles he fought against the Ottoman Empire while he was enlisted in the Russian military (ncbi.nlm.gov).
Many people mistake Münchausen syndrome and Münchausen syndrome by proxy as the same thing. While it is true that they are very similar, they are...
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...en medication to treat the underlying cause of Münchausen syndrome, which can be depression, anxiety, or other reasons. Such medications can include Prozac or Wellbutrin, and others.
Works Cited
“Munchausen Syndrome.” my.cleavlandclinic.org 27 December 2010. Cleveland Clinic. 21 Feb. 2014. http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/factitious_disorders/hic_munchausen_syndrome.aspx
“Todd S Elwyn – Factitious Disorder Imposed on Self.” emedicine.medscape.com. 2014. 10 March 2014. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/291304-overview
R, Olry. “History of a Strange Mental Disorder.” Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 08 Apr. 2014. http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/12422889/
Dryden-Edwards, Roxanne. "Munchausen Syndrome." MedicineNet.com. 01 08 2012. Web. 13 Apr 2014. http://www.medicinenet.com/munchausen_syndrome/article.htm
Interview with John Hauber, RN.
Interview with Anonymous.
Artingstall, Kathryn.. Practical Aspects of Munchausen by Proxy and Munchausen Syndrome Investigation.. FL: CRC Press, 1999. Print. (tags: none | edit tags)
For my research paper I chose the two mental illnesses of hypochondriasis and Munchausen by proxy. I chose these topics because I have an aunt related by marriage who is thought to have hypochondriasis and Munchausen by proxy because like hypochondriasis it can be used as a way to gain attention or sympathy from others. I will start off with hypochondriasis since it is the illness I have the most familiarity with.
Rita Mae Brown, an American writer, once said, “The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you” (Brown). Psychological and mental disorders are very common in the world, but it is commonly hidden by the public and a majority of the time, people are unclear if they have one or not. Sometimes these disorders are not just harmful to the individual person, but also to those surrounding the infected person. One particular syndrome in which the environment surrounding a person is at risk is Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a peculiar psychological disease that scientists and other medical professions are still trying to find the origins and explanations for this syndrome. Throughout the course of history, Munchausen has developed into a full-fledged disease and it still exists to this day.
Mental illness is more common than one would like to believe. In reality, one in five Americans will suffer from a mental disorder in any given year. Though that ratio is about equivalent to more than fifty-four million people, mental illness still remains a shameful and stigmatized topic (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.). The taboo of mental illness has an extensive and exhausting history, dating back to the beginning of American colonization. It has not been an easy road, to say the least.
Carl Landau had shown issues throughout an 8-year time frame. Current distressing symptoms have arisen to which halt a socially normative progression in varying forms. The varying symptoms have shown deviance, distress, dysfunction, and ultimately a danger to health, altogether coming to describe a disorder in all abnormal points (Comer, 4). The symptoms described have come as behavioral (i.e. hissing, excessive washing and showering), and have gone to such extremes such as isolating himself primarily in his room and hygiene to which has ranged from excessively hygienic to excessively unhygienic (i.e. excessive washing to no washing whatsoever). It was told that these acts had come due to habitually gaining negative thoughts associated with these tasks, the behaviors having had helped relieve the negative thoughts associated.
Rosenberg, Donna Andrea (2003). Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy: medical diagnostic criteria. Child Abuse and Neglect, 27 p. 421-430.
At present, people with either Munchausen syndrome or Munchausen syndrome by proxy are seldom, if ever, treated with drugs. Standard methods of management and treatment include early recognition of the disorder and years of intensive counseling; many doctors believe that the disorders are not treatable, inferring from the nature of the disorders that giving the subject medical attention would in fact heighten the severity of their pathology. (2) Munchausen syndrome and Munchausen syndrome by proxy are rarely treated successfully.
With Mother’s Day around the corner, store shelves will be lined with cards honoring the care and nurturing mothers are known for. Children everywhere will be thanking their mothers for nursing them to health when they were sick, putting bandages on skinned knees and always keeping them safe. What if your mother was the one who made you sick? That’s the reality when a person has Munchausen by proxy. Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is a psychological disorder where a caregiver, usually a child’s mother, fabricates a child’s illness to gain attention. This paper will define Munchausen by Proxy, give a brief history, explain the controversial reasons on why it happens, and discuss some famous cases.
History shows that signs of mental illness and abnormal behavior have been documented as far back as the early Greeks however, it was not viewed the same as it is today. The mentally ill were previously referred to as mad, insane, lunatics, or maniacs. W.B. Maher and B.A. Maher (1985) note how many of the terms use had roots in old English words that meant emotionally deranged, hurt, unhealthy, or diseased. Although early explanations were not accurate, the characteristics of the mentally ill have remained the same and these characteristics are used to diagnose disorders to date. Cultural norms have always been used to assess and define abnormal behavior. Currently, we have a decent understanding of the correlates and influences of mental illness. Although we do not have complete knowledge, psychopathologists have better resources, technology, and overall research skills than those in ancient times.
Halgin, R. P., & Whitbourne, S. K. (2010). Abnormal psychology: clinical perspectives on psychological disorders (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Munchausen Syndrome by proxy is a mental disorder characterized by an individual, usually a mother or caretaker, who creates fictitious symptoms or causes real symptoms either physical or psychological in nature to make it appear as if a child is suffering from an illness. Over the years, there has been much controversy surrounding the definition and diagnosis of Munchausen Syndrome by proxy. Other controversy is directed towards whether it should be described as a disorder, illness or listed as a form of child abuse. This paper will discuss and outline the history of Munchausen Syndrome by proxy and define how it is often used by the many interdisciplinary fields it is often discussed. In addition, a contextual example of Munchausen
The scientific community discovered more diseases and adjusted the symptoms that fall under the diagnosis according to new medical discoveries. Some illnesses became completely obsolete such as drapetomania,(Wade, Tavris). David Rosenhan a professor of psychology believed that labels such as “paranoid schizophrenia” tainted patients with the stigma of mental illness. Such labels cause other people to treat them in prejudiced and even harmful ways. To reduce this stigma, Rosenhan argued that mental health professionals should avoid global diagnostic labels, such as “major depression,” in favor of objective behavioral descriptions, like “looks sad”. Rosenhan conducted an experiment where eight mentally healthy individuals presented themselves to mental hospitals. They all pretended to have mild anxiety and requested admission based on hallucinations and hearing voices that repeated the words “empty” and “hollow”. Once these “pseudopatients” were admitted to the hospital, they stopped faking all symptoms of a mental disorder. They wanted to see whether the hospital staff would discover their absence of illness and release them. They were released after about 19 days with the same diagnosis but just reclassified as in remission since they no longer presented any symptoms. Rosenhan interpreted these findings to mean that mental health professionals can not distinguish normality from abnormality. The people who were
(Consequences of Inaction): Claiming that this is usual and that surgical intervention is ideal is to collaborate with this dysphoria that one may
During childhood, the person may have experienced a serious illness. A parent or relative that has also had this disorder can influence a child making them believe that they have something wrong with them. If I experienced this as a parent, I definitely wouldn’t want my child to deal with this sort of issue in life. What kind of example is this going to the doctor all the time?
Psychosomatic Medicine, 60, 697. Schwartz, B. (2007). The 'Secondary' of the 'Se There Must Be An Alternative. Psychological Inquiry, 18, 48-51.