Do People Fake PTSD?

[goingonhope]

It is still 'trendy' to have PTSD.

Now, if this is so; Which I trust that it could be, but had never before thought about; then please pardon my language here, but ...................Ok, I won't swear but, that is just plain so disturbing enough to me, ....that I'm not feeling very positive at the moment, ...rather disgusted instead.

 

[goingonhope]

From what I have read on this forum so far people who actually HAVE survived traumatic events seem to have many more super-powers than regular people..that is how you know. :D Okay that was half-joking. But seriously, PTSD survivors and survivors in general are strong people and strength like that is hard to hide

Hey growingpains, I like what you've said here. Some validation for many of us here, and not the crap we have to put up with from so much ignorance and pain surrounding actually suffering from and having this beastly thing.

If I recall, in my intro. here I basically said that I'd rather be me with Ptsd then quote normal to the point of ignorance.

Guess, I just learned something just now, right or wrong I equate avoidable ignorance at the expense to others, ...to weakness and it far too often can be, and sometimes a rather serious, trigger for me.

 

[goingonhope]

Sometimes I wish my attacker could experience for one moment the hell that I have gone through.

You know what's hardest for me to accept; It is the attacker that is perfectly calm and collected and either totally disassociated, deranged or evil but that attacks as calm as could be regardless of the begging and pleading No that goes on, or no matter how much of a fight one puts up.

Unfathomable to me!

.......They were perfectly calm, ....while often I was quite to the contrary! They were always the "supposed" sane ones, ....while I am suppose to be nuts for resisting such indifference and cruelty, and/or becoming terribly distraught, angry and fighting back.

 

[goingonhope]

IMO people who "fake" mental illness are ill, weather thay know it yet or not.

Is it really possible to fake mental illness without being somehow mentally ill? They absolutely must be, and so just about here is where I stop because I now know why this thread has me wound up so.

It was mentally ill people, of numerous types and conditions and natures and with deeply progressive, unidentified and/or both unmanaged mental illness that imposed this *'* thing upon me, even though I went to great lengths to dodge, duck and avoid what I could see coming.

It was as if my every effort, along with that forced self-reliance resulting from my sheer terror, and all that thought-out-failed-genius and hopes of mine at preventitive medicine and later escape were nearly all undermined. How absolutely frustrating, watching and just knowing what's coming at you and the ones you love and feeling and being so powerless and helpless.

 

[goingonhope]

You are absolutely correct, in that it is the "in thing" to have, hence why doctors, therapists and such just hand it out willy nilly now or throw the term round like its cool to have. There is so much misunderstanding on this that its no longer even funny.

I was just about to get out of this thread, ....haven't even read all posts preceding this one, but just accidentally found and read yours anthony as well as numerous others previous too. And, I must say. If what I quoted above is so, it makes me want to *'* puke whether right or wrong of me.

Also, We're counting on you to make no exceptions for Ptsd group simply because ..............,
best to stop now.

 

[useless]

Just as vets were dumped on after Vietnam I think they were coddled (that is too strong a word but all I can come up with right now) somewhat after Desert Storm. Perhaps society needed to make up for it's past transgressions. But there seemed to be a flurry of PTSD cases after Desert Storm. A war which had no where near the horror of Vietnam. I am not degrading vets as I am one myself. But this is what I saw. Since I had PTSD at the time I was very aware of this movement of diagnosis.

 

[useless]

Yes and I will tell you now... that there are no doubt members upon this forum who are faking PTSD. They have told themselves they have it... even though they don't or the trauma itself is being embellished to help the belief along.

PTSD is like back pain. Easy as pie to fake for your doctor.

 

[the racha]

As I lay here, highly symptomatic and exhausted, I can't believe so many people who lie or fake about having PTSD! I never knew that this was a problem. I did know that PTSD was becoming more widely diagnosed to recent war veterans, and I recall reading an article that follow-ups on the diagnosed population showed that only a fraction of them had PTSD. This is frustrating because (a) it muddies societal understanding and acceptance of PTSD, and (2) our vets should be receiving better care, so as not to be misdiagnosed so often.

Maddening! I met a friend when I was hospitalized who was misdiagnosed a million times over until a doctor finally gave her the correct diagnosis of PTSD and DID. I don't think it's a coincidence, or at least not one that I've found, that women are often dismissed or misdiagnosed, while there seems to be an eagerness to diagnose returning male vets. Women are a few times more likely to develop PTSD from sexual assault and abuse, but receive a fraction of the attention that combat vets do. I've tried to find (and failed at finding) articles about PTSD survivors of sexual abuse in the media but all I've found are articles about PTSD in men, in the military. If anyone knows how I can find some articles on female PTSD survivors, please PM me.

racha

 

[JimmyJames902]

I had no idea that PTSD is the current "chique illness." Heck, I had no idea that there was even such a thing as a "chique illness."

Isn't it a good thing that there is a growing awareness and understanding of PTSD among the general public ?? Just asking, so please don't bite my head off.

Switching tracks just a bit, when I watch a movie, I occasionally notice characters in the film with classic PTSD symptoms who clearly don't know what they are actually suffering from. Has anyone else made the same observation ?? Maybe it's just me projecting my own experiences onto others.

 

[anthony]

Also, We're counting on you to make no exceptions for Ptsd group simply because ..............,
best to stop now.

Hence why I vet the members of that group... but I can and am wrong at times...

James, it is absolutely a great thing that awareness is growing for the issue. The problem though is that with anything, people then abuse it. You have people now using it as an excuse in court, you have people self diagnosing all over the place. Just read intro threads, where near 30% of people who come to this forum have never been diagnosed, they just self diagnosed and have convinced themselves they have PTSD, because of awareness.

Awareness of anything usually comes with a double edged blade from my experience. With all good, comes lots of bad... which is the shame of it.

 

[JimmyJames902]

Thanks for your response, Anthony.

Come to think of it, I've had a few friends and acquaintances over the years who have heard parts of my story, then immediately say something like, "maybe I have PTSD too." That's when I pull out the list of the symptoms I have experienced, and they seem a bit surprized. There is a fundamental difference between a "normal" person who is experiencing a high-level of stress and those who wake up screaming at 3AM and pace around the house like a freightened animal in a cage for the next two hours.

James

 

[Jagged Angel]

I was discussing this issue with my partner the other day, and she was saying that it falls within the hypochondria/Münchhausen's spectrum, and that people fake illnesses like PTSD for the attention. The funny thing is that those of us who do actually have it tend to cover it up as much as possible to appear 'normal' so that we don't draw attention to ourselves. I recall one thread on this forum (have tried searching for it, but to no avail, so I can't provide a link) where every person who responded to it stated that they only tell people about their PTSD on a need to know basis, otherwise it was basically no one's business.

These people who fake it, however, seem to delight in telling all and sundry...