Table of contents:
- What is that malingering?
- Why would anyone experience malingering or pretending to be sick?
- What are the characteristics and signs of a perpetrator malingering?
- Are there any special tests to detect thieves or malingering?
- What should be done if you find a patient suspected of being simply malingering?
- 1. Leave it for a few moments
- 2. Perform a physical test
- 3. Questions and answers
- 4. Psychological evaluation
Perhaps you know people who play sick in order to walk away from their promises or responsibilities. It could be that your friend or acquaintance has the "malingering" syndrome which in the medical world is called malingering. Curious if he actually has malingering or not? Try to check here the characteristics of a thief or pretending to be sick.
What is that malingering?
Malingering is a behavior disorder that causes the perpetrator to admit to being sick even though he is actually in good health, or to act as if the illness is more severe than it really is, with the aim of obtaining personal gain. Experts do not include it as a mental illness, because they are malingering or experiencing it malingering instead motivated by the circumstances of the surrounding environment.
Why would anyone experience malingering or pretending to be sick?
Experts say that this syndrome is associated with antisocial personality disorders and personality history of the sufferer. Unlike the Munchausen syndrome, which occurs due to wanting to get more attention from other people, actually malingering this occurs due to several things such as:
- Trying to avoid being punished in certain criminal cases
- The desire to use illegal drugs or abuse drugs
- Was in military activity, faking his health in order to get relief
- Want to get job benefits, so make a false claim
What are the characteristics and signs of a perpetrator malingering?
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder 5th edition (DSM-5), malingering can be detected if it has the following features and signs:
- Are in a medicolegal condition. Medicolegal is a medical science related to law. In this case people with malingering will "relapse" if you are in certain legal cases.
- Tend not to be cooperative, and violate various regulations. People who have malingering, not only faking their health status but often breaking the rules and not cooperating when asked to cooperate. This is what happens when he is examined by a doctor, he will be irritable and evasive.
- Complain of excessive symptoms. The person with the malingering will exaggerate his symptoms and say that he has a serious illness.
- Having antisocial personality disorder, namely behavior disorders that do not respect the prevailing laws and social norms.
Are there any special tests to detect thieves or malingering?
In fact, there is no specific physical examination to detect this syndrome except for medical tests that can show evidence that the patient is not sick. Meanwhile, usually the experts will check it with a mental examination which is done by asking various questions to the suspected person malingering. People who experience malingering will exhibit the following symptoms when a mental examination is performed:
- Irritable and dodgy when asked about his health or disease.
- Do not hesitate to send suicide threats.
- When asked, they are evasive and tend to give convoluted answers.
Of the various questions that are asked continuously, usually the perpetrator will give inconsistent answers and this can then indicate that he is just pretending.
What should be done if you find a patient suspected of being simply malingering?
1. Leave it for a few moments
Long-term observation can help expose the pretense, because the offender usually has a hard time maintaining this malingering state for long periods of time.
2. Perform a physical test
Doer malingering also usually do not have enough knowledge about the symptoms of a disease that he is "experiencing", so that when done a physical exam, he will have difficulty imitating the reactions that should occur in his body.
3. Questions and answers
Conducting a question-and-answer session or consultation, in which medical personnel ask a number of repeated questions over a long period of time, will overwhelm the perpetrator because they have to "compose" answers in lightning time. As a result, you will find answers that are contradicting or inconsistent with each other.
4. Psychological evaluation
Psychological evaluation is also recommended to detect thieves. The psychologist has a scientific and objective clinical interview guide, to find out if a patient is giving an honest answer, or if he is exaggerating his true condition.
