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A person’s mental health should always be taken seriously, and there have been changes within our society, workplaces, and healthcare facilities to address this. But what happens if a person takes advantage of these new systems not because they need them, but rather for their own gain?
Malingering is the term that refers to the act of lying about or exaggerating one’s health symptoms —in this case, mental— for external gain, often to the detriment of others. Though it shouldn’t be mistaken with somatic symptom disorder, in which a person is hyperfocused on the possibility they have a mental illness, nor factitious disorder, where people present someone else or themselves as ill. The main difference lies in the fact that for both somatic symptoms and factitious disorder, the person will continue to claim they are ill even in the absence of any incentives.
Be it excuses from work or school, getting prescribed drugs, or avoiding punishment or responsibility, there are a multitude of reasons why a person may exaggerate their condition. And after a person has obtained their incentive, they usually cease complaining. Malingering can rob others of the critical care, treatment, and resources that they need, as they all are put into a person who’s only taking treatment to go along with the story they’ve created.
But it is important to note that people who malinger might have an antisocial personality disorder or another underlying condition causing them to fabricate or exaggerate symptoms. So while malingering is a major problem in mental health, before you point a finger at someone for malingering, make sure to eliminate all other conditions that could cause a person to unknowingly exaggerate their conditions.
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