3 ms·

While it's absolutely true that mental illness is being destigmatized, it's also true that large parts of this community are indeed "faking it", see /r/fakediso

While it's absolutely true that mental illness is being destigmatized, it's also true that large parts of this community are indeed "faking it", see /r/fakedisordercringe or search "fake disorder cringe" on YouTube. In totality this is probably just part of the pendulum swing, and as awareness of fake disorder cringe grows, and as mental illness actually becomes "just normal" we will also see this phenomenon slowly disappear. I just hope that all this doesn't lead to over-diagnosis of various mental disorders, because that would be a horrible outcome. We already see this with ADHD and autism, since those diagnoses are so fluid, and the nature of the "spectrum" is inherently fluid.

feet 4y ago
Faking a mental disorder is a mental disorder https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factitious_disorder https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factitious_disorder
- tidenly 4y ago
  Munchausen requires the person isn't doing it for some kind of personal gain in the DSM - which social media credit and clout could be classified as.
  - feet 4y ago
    > In either case, the perpetrator's motive is to perpetrate factitious disorders, either as a patient or by proxy as a caregiver, in order to attain (for themselves or for another) a patient's role. Malingering differs fundamentally from factitious disorders in that the malingerer simulates illness intending to obtain a material benefit or avoid an obligation or responsibility Personally, I would not consider clout in mental health communities to be 'material benefit'
Spivak 4y ago
You can’t use those places on the internet as evidence for anything en mass. Those “point and laugh” subreddits are just the internets eternal two minutes of hate. You would be insane for basing your opinion of back people based on, the now banned, /r/c*ntown. If your argument is “there exist people who purposely fake various disorders” then sure you’re absolutely right. You can find all breeds of crazy if you go looking for it. But what isn’t true at all is that the noticeable uptick in people realizing they have and being diagnosed with things like depression, adhd, anxiety is just the result of people faking it.
- codemonkey-zeta 4y ago
  I agree with you on everything you just said. My comment was directed at the parts of the parent's post that said: > This is such the wrong take And: > "Teens faking mental illness” is a folk tale older than social media. And I do not believe either of those statements captures the truth of the situation. Hysteria and group psychosis are also ancient phenomena, and not particularly well-understood, and so I think it's prideful and potentially harmful to preclude the current situation of mental illness, particularly when it manifests in hyper-connected online communities, from that possibility entirely. I know you didn't really imply this in your post, but I can see in this thread others taking issue with statements like the above. Those opinions don't make me an opponent of mental health awareness, quite the opposite really. I just think we ought to be cautious and suspect when evaluating the current state of affairs, and not let current progress blind us of the potential for greater harm down the road.
seba_dos1 4y ago
> We already see this with ADHD and autism Any source for that? With both being so often defined in terms of external behavior (usually from parents perspective), I find it hard to believe that ADHD and autism aren't severely under-diagnosed, especially with many people still not figuring out that their "quirks" and "problems" are completely typical autistic behaviors until well in their adulthood; and I know for sure that they're both still massively under-diagnosed in women.

feet 4y ago

Faking a mental disorder is a mental disorder https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factitious_disorder https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factitious_disorder

tidenly 4y ago
Munchausen requires the person isn't doing it for some kind of personal gain in the DSM - which social media credit and clout could be classified as.
- feet 4y ago
  > In either case, the perpetrator's motive is to perpetrate factitious disorders, either as a patient or by proxy as a caregiver, in order to attain (for themselves or for another) a patient's role. Malingering differs fundamentally from factitious disorders in that the malingerer simulates illness intending to obtain a material benefit or avoid an obligation or responsibility Personally, I would not consider clout in mental health communities to be 'material benefit'

Spivak 4y ago

You can’t use those places on the internet as evidence for anything en mass. Those “point and laugh” subreddits are just the internets eternal two minutes of hate. You would be insane for basing your opinion of back people based on, the now banned, /r/c*ntown. If your argument is “there exist people who purposely fake various disorders” then sure you’re absolutely right. You can find all breeds of crazy if you go looking for it. But what isn’t true at all is that the noticeable uptick in people realizing they have and being diagnosed with things like depression, adhd, anxiety is just the result of people faking it.

codemonkey-zeta 4y ago
I agree with you on everything you just said. My comment was directed at the parts of the parent's post that said: > This is such the wrong take And: > "Teens faking mental illness” is a folk tale older than social media. And I do not believe either of those statements captures the truth of the situation. Hysteria and group psychosis are also ancient phenomena, and not particularly well-understood, and so I think it's prideful and potentially harmful to preclude the current situation of mental illness, particularly when it manifests in hyper-connected online communities, from that possibility entirely. I know you didn't really imply this in your post, but I can see in this thread others taking issue with statements like the above. Those opinions don't make me an opponent of mental health awareness, quite the opposite really. I just think we ought to be cautious and suspect when evaluating the current state of affairs, and not let current progress blind us of the potential for greater harm down the road.

seba_dos1 4y ago

> We already see this with ADHD and autism Any source for that? With both being so often defined in terms of external behavior (usually from parents perspective), I find it hard to believe that ADHD and autism aren't severely under-diagnosed, especially with many people still not figuring out that their "quirks" and "problems" are completely typical autistic behaviors until well in their adulthood; and I know for sure that they're both still massively under-diagnosed in women.