Sunday, August 4, 2013

Information On Treatment For Munchausen Syndrome

By Lela Perkins


People are considered afflicted with Munchausen syndrome when they tend to manifest psychological disorders accompanied by illness or trauma. It is an artificial psychiatric condition wherein affected people fake their own disease to get attention, sympathy from people around them and reassuring themselves often. It is sometimes called "hospital addiction, thick chart or hospital hopper syndrome". There is treatment for Munchausen syndrome, a condition often indicated with repeated hospitalization due to some illnesses. It is also seen in people who tend to go on travel.

Usually, a person suffering from this disorder would try hard to get the attention of the doctor. They would fake symptoms so that they are examined, treated and cared for by the doctor. One distinct feature about them is that they have knowledge on medicine which they will use against the doctor. Surprisingly, they would even sometimes fake some symptoms that may demand costly investigations and hospitalization for a number of days. Sometimes they can even have surgery. These people would do anything to become patients.

They can go extra miles such as taking medication unnecessarily so that they have side effects. They can even cut themselves to have injury. They can even pretend to have shortness of breath just so that they are attended to. It is amazing that none of the people suffering from this disorder would agree they are faking it. Even so, there is help for them. There is treatment they can turn to.

What causes the syndrome is unknown. However, there seems to be some risk factors associated to it. Some of these include: poor self confidence; experiencing prolonged illness during childhood and suffering from a personality disorder.

People who have not been diagnosed at the early stage of this ailment may post severe sickness because of non-satisfaction of the disease the patient is trying to find answers to. This often happens to people who are medically knowledgeable. They tend to aggravate the main sickness and thus adding symptoms that can be of negative result and could be a reason for another hospital or clinic visit.

Others will do anything to have a medical problem for real. It is unfortunate that sometimes this may mean serious medical problems. However, where the problem is physical, this should be treated fast. Counseling is important for people with this disorder. The sessions will help them change their mental thinking. It will also address the cause of the disorder and if there are any issues they have not dealt with, they will be helped. For instance, problems of childhood will be adequately addressed and self esteem revived. This is known as behavior therapy.

Anxiety, depression and personality disorder are most common problems seen in people with Munchausen. In cases like these, the patient is given special medications like antidepressants to avoid other mental disorders.

The disorder brings a feeling of incompleteness. This would make the sufferer to miss out on relationships. As such, they should be encouraged to widen out and socialize. They can join clubs or other social organizations for this purpose.

Finally, it is important to keep in mind that people with this disorder can get serious self injuries. Therefore, it is important to recommend treatment for Munchausen syndrome to any patient soon enough. A psychiatric hospital is the best place to refer such people.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment