In this Article

• Introduction
• Types of factitious disorders
• What are the symptoms of factitious disorders?
• What causes factitious disorders?
• How common are factitious disorders?
• How are factitious disorders diagnosed?
• How are factitious disorders treated?
• What is the outlook for people with factitious disorders?
• Can factitious disorders be prevented?
• Factitious Disorders Glossary
• Factitious Disorders Index

Types of Factitious Disorders

There are four main types of factitious disorders, including:

• Factitious disorder with mostly psychological symptoms: As the description implies, people with this disorder mimic behavior that is typical of a mental illness, such as schizophrenia. They may appear confused, make absurd statements and report hallucinations, the experience of sensing things that are not there; for example, hearing voices. Ganser syndrome, sometimes called prison psychosis, is a factitious disorder that was first observed in prisoners. People with Ganser syndrome have short-term episodes of bizarre behavior similar to that shown by people with serious mental illnesses.



• Factitious disorder with mostly physical symptoms: People with this disorder claim to have symptoms related to a physical illness, such as symptoms of chest pain, stomach problems or fever. This disorder is sometimes referred to as Munchausen syndrome, named for Baron von Munchausen, an 18th century German officer who was known for embellishing the stories of his life and experiences.



• Factitious disorder with both psychological and physical symptoms: People with this disorder produce symptoms of both physical and mental illness.



• Factitious disorder not otherwise specified: This type includes a disorder called factitious disorder by proxy (also called Munchausen syndrome by proxy). People with this disorder produce or fabricate symptoms of illness in another person under their care. It most often occurs in mothers (although it can occur in fathers) who intentionally harm their children in order to receive attention.

Suggested Reading by Our Doctors

• Depression - Read about depression causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and types, including manic depression (bipolar disorder), postpartum depression and clinical depression.
• Schizophrenia - Get information on schizophrenia symptoms (delusions, hallucinations), causes (genetics), diagnosis, treatment of schizophrenics (antipsychotic medications) and types (paranoid).
• Schizoaffective Disorder - Learn causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of schizoaffective disorder, a mental illness featuring schizophrenia and a mood disorder (depression, bipolar).

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