"How To Tell if Someone Is Faking Mental Illness"

What is your opinion on this?

Honestly, I don't believe people "fake" mental illness.
If someone "fakes" mental illness, that in and of itself is a mental illness.

I would NEVER in my life call someone out for "faking" mental illness not unless it was obvious or they were causing stigma by doing so.

There are many people out there who struggle with mental illness by themselves because they are scared of people who call others out for lying. These are real people with real problems, but they keep it to themselves for fear of being called fake.

I have been on the receiving end of having been called fake before and my issues are definitely 100% real. It hurts a lot and makes you lose trust in those who claim you can trust them. Trust NO ONE. But even if I felt like someone was saying something that was exaggerated I would never tell them so, for fear of them being honest with me and being vulnerable with me and then me, saying something like, "You're lying" or even calling them out for any reason would push them over the edge.

My last hospital stay was triggered by people calling me fake and telling me that my issues were not real or worth discussing. I don't wish that on ANYONE and I have the hardest time understanding why other people who have mental illness would do something like that to someone that they claim they understand.

Do you have an opinion on people "faking" mental illness?

I think people in workplaces will fake being depressed to get special treatment because they might have coworkers with real depression and they see them getting special treatment and leniency causing them to have to do extra work or pick up the slack for their mentally ill coworker.

I think if you're "faking" mental illness then you probably have one, just maybe not the one you're faking.

I've had a hard time with my family believing that I have PTSD. They refuse to believe it because they a) refuse to believe anything bad ever happened to me and b) refuse to acknowledge the violent history of our family. So I understand not being believed.

When I was self-harming and suicidal, I was treated like a delinquent and like a criminal - I was just doing it for attention and misbehaving...nothing was really wrong with me.

It's terrible not to be believed.

I don't know why anyone would fake a mental illness. Telling people you have an MI doesn't get you support or sympathy. It means people inch away from you because they hope it's not catching.

Seesaw

I think the most important thing is never, ever accusing someone of faking a mental illness. I have times where I wonder if I'm mentally ill or I'm just faking it really well without knowing it. I know that sounds crazy. I would be really hurt if someone called me a faker when I already doubt myself.

I have more of a problem with someone insinuating that someone else is faking or tries to call them out in front of others instead of speaking with them privately. I have felt called out before in front of many others and that lead me to questioning myself and having some real problems for two days with my illnesses and ultimately made me want to leave from the place where it happened. If anyone ever thinks that someone is faking anything like that and feel that they must say something then, the best way to do it is one on one in private. Anyone who can't be discreet about such a thing has no tact.

I once dated a man who claimed to have flashbacks and PTSD from being a macv-sog special forces sniper disguised as a photographer. His 'service' was all made up. Eventually I found newspaper photographs he had taken regularly during the time he was supposedly in Vietnam and showed them to him on an internet archive. He claimed that was another person in the same town with the same name but he never admitted faking flashbacks to places he never was.

So yes it is possible to fake mental illness.

I'm sorry that you were hurt, Kori..

Malingering?

Oh, yes, absolutely. And malingering is more common to mental disorders rather than physical, I believe. If I say that I speak to the unicorns in my garden, who is to say that I do not? But physical maladies have become more simple to detect.

I admit that I have been suspicious of other’s self-diagnosed mental disorders. “I don’t need a shrink to tell me that I’m...” depressed. Bipolar. Usually a victim of.

It is probably very common.

In my life, my physical illness have always been the part that no one believes in. Even doctors think I look too healthy and they often scrap lab results as being erroneous. Here you don't get any good attention for being mentally ill, the clinics are terrible and abusive and no one but your closest friends will give a crap. If I was working I would never ever mention having any issues at all, mental or physical. I don't want to become a target.

I don’t think people will “fake” a mental illness, but some people definitely fake their diagnoses.

I'm sorry you were told that you were faking your mental illness. I have never met a person with a fake mental illness

I am sorry people told you that. I have never met anyone to fake a mental illness. Also i think if a person did they have a issue tbh.

l never believed i craziness, but everyone say i am even my T again and again. say i afraid to admit because people will reject me. they tell me why so i just agree but still no believe or advertise in public

here i hope to find if truth or not

I think many people on this site have manipulated people for pity. several years ago they were banned, but kept coming back.

Malingering.

And I notice this on sites and you-tube especially. So many fake bipolars.

Ton of people fake being physically or mentally ill, people fake symptoms and diagnosis for variety of reasons: attention, getting out of responsibilities, preferential treatment, getting others taking care of them, getting out of having a job etc It’s nothing new. There will always be people like that. I’ve met a ton.

Some just do it because they think it’s cute or funny (oh I like to clean so I have OCD oh I get upset so I have PTSD). I find it deeply offensive to people who actually have true diagnosis and actual illness or disability.

Yes...and people getting "triggered" by everything, when they don't understand being triggered isn't just feeling an emotion. When you're triggered it's having a real episode that you can't control. It's not just feeling an emotion. Ug.

To answer your title, mental illnesses are a diagnosis, not something you have to call out in the open about. My point by saying this, is it has to be from a mental health professional. And with that - the question comes if that person seeks "Mental Health" treatment. If not, then you can assume they're faking it, or that it's not real until a mental health professional gives an answer

Except what a doctor tells a patient is none of our business. Hence why we shouldn't accuse people of faking.

But if we’re talking about someone faking a mental illness, then the person faking probably declared a mental illness

It's easy to fake mental illness, to exaggerate or completely make up symptoms, especially online.

Who are we to demand they show us a letter from their doctor confirming their diagnosis? It's none of our business.

Knowing if they seek treatment is enough

I am sorry about everyone who has a mental illness but is not believed. It is hard to admit for many and hurts when you are not believed or your concerns are dismissed as exaggerated. I know there are malingerers but we should still encourage the person to seek professional treatment when they make claims of being mentally ill. There could be an issue causing them to lie. Yes people lie about a variety of things but at work, if someone is claiming this and wants special treatment to compensate for their issues to the company or their supervisor then they should be expected to go get treatment and that should be considered the "proof". Many companies say if you miss workdays because you are sick (flu, pneumonia, etc.), they need to see a doctors letter or the absences are held against you having a negative effect on your work record but with the letter from the doctor there should be no negative effects (I know there can be despite the letter but there shouldn't be).

Despite being given some diagnosis (but not told what they were--I got incomplete treatment) in 2011--I did not really think I had a problem until I made an attempt so serious that they had to do two operations to save me. When we dismiss someone's claim that they are having problems we could be missing a golden window of opportunity where someone will get the help they need. We can't really know what is going on in people's minds. Many people who have mental illness are afraid to admit it. They are afraid to admit what they are really thinking if they know the thoughts might make people reject, be afraid, dismiss, or make fun of them. If they have been bullied or abused some are ashamed to talk about it. Sometimes people can keep a traumatizing incident to themselves for decades. Then when they finally go to a psychiatrist or therapist--it is essential that they are honest about their symptoms. Hopefully the person helping is competent/caring. It can take a long time to get to the bottom of things or there just isn't an answer but they need relief. So many people are out there suffering silently.

So you're saying people should be required to disclose MI to employers. Wrong. And i mean wrong as in legally wrong. The ADA covers this quite well. You cannot be forced to disclose your illness. If you need to request a reasonable accommodation, then yes you have to disclose an illness, but if you need time off for an MI, and it's extended time that requires a doctor's note a letter from your GP will suffice and it does not require a diagnosis listed on it.

I'm really surprised at the flat out discriminatory behavior y'all are suggesting here. No one should ever be forced to disclose their medical information. You know, if I need time off for a religious holiday, should I bring in a note from my clergy too?

Knowing if I seek treatment is none of your business either. You do not get to choose how, what, or by whom I seek any treatment.