Do you have a friend like this?

I have an acqauaintance who quite suddenly decided she has all the disorders I have and more: bipolar, anxiety, OCD, depression, and PTSD. It is clear she doesn't even know what the first and last are. What's more, she has also 'decided' that her son has autism and has pulled him from school. She can't possibly have gotten in to see a psychiatrist for a diagnosis overnight. I feel she is making a mockery of myself and these illnesses all in the name of getting attention. She has done the same with physical ailments too.

I've known people to do this, mainly because they want to try and understand

no.. it's what they say, I just want to try and understand- and i'm usually like how's pretending you have an illness making you understand?


I have also known someone to fake cancer and get loads of free stuff because of it

disgusting

I don't know anyone like this.

It sounds like Munchausens.

I'm having a similar situation with a friend, but to a lower degree. It can still be annoying/troubling.

I'm no one to judge but, perhaps some distance is in order? I don't think it'll help your well-being to keep getting this kind of negative attention.

In my case I find myself regretting telling my friend about my depression and all that it emcompasses...

I understand there can be coincidences, but with her it's been one after another after another to the point that I find myself skeptical and unwilling to share certain parts of my healing journey with her anymore. She was suddenly going through the same situation I was, even repeating some of the very same things I said or did, but what bothered me the most was that the few times I pointed out the coincidence/s (either to make talk about it, perhaps she truly was going through this, or because I was growing skeptical) she'd feign not remembering it at all and even claim to have thought/lived it herself. I gave her the benefit of doubt the first few times, but the more it has happened, the less I believe her...

During the last few weeks I have set some distance between us, and she has purposefully puts herself in certain threatening/troubling situations/relationships, and makes sure to let me know... when the attention she gets (at least from me) is not what she expected (e.g., advise instead of pity) she gets passive-aggressive/defensive. More than a few times she's made me feel worse about myself (e.g., making me feel like a bad friend for not being available to her whenever she wanted it as she wanted it, making insinuations that I'm depressed because I want to and should just snap out of it, etc.).

So I've limited our interaction for now, considering whether we can still be friends or if I should move on. She's younger than me, both of us are in a chnging moment. For now she knows I'm here if she needs help, especially now that I'm getting better/more resilient and have strength to offer decent support. Perhaps when I'm finally stable we can be close again, I'd Love to see her copying my health and passion rather than my ailments. Or perhaps not, perhaps we'll part our ways, and that'll be the healthier thing for both.

There are many people who read Wikipedia and self-diagnose.

There are also some who come here with questions and suspicions and are offered a "possibility" by PC members.

It's wrong IMHO. It minimizes my depression.

Probably a case of self-diagnosis.. sometimes I kind of do it, too (but then I realize it's wrong and I never spread it around..)

I've done this in the past. I've self diagnosed or outright lied about some of my diagnosis to seem "edgy" or "cool: in order to hide other diagnoses that I really had that would make me appear "weak" to people as a man such as depression, my reactive attachment disorder, and my borderline traits.

Before I took my extended break from PC in fact, I literally thought I was a narcissist because I read an article about vulnerable narcissism and I thought that I could relate to it so I used to be active on the NPD forums which was pathetic of me but I did also consider NPD to be more "manly" than borderline traits and depression.

Oh and about 3 years ago I thought I was a sociopath and told people how I was this badass ASPD and would lie about my hacking knowledge by threatening to ruin people's lives with my leet computer hacking skills and I would go making up crap about me having cousins in the Italian Mafia who could have people "taken out" to sleep with the fishies and other random lies all because I wanted to appear "tough" to people to protect myself from getting hurt.

People often self diagnose. And make up symptoms. For many reasons.

Often for attention. Often because they don't want to treat or admit what they really have, so instead they come up with stuff that they do not have. Or they are very anxious and believe all this. Or they have health OCD (obsessed about illnesses) etc

There is no way to know why this woman comes up with this stuff. If it's irritating, it is wise to stir away or at least ignore it.