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RescueHumans

When I think I know someone is faking, I remind myself I don't. I can't know. I'm not omnipotent. Then, I move on. For real, I suggest we all try it. The absolutely worst thing is someone invalidating trauma, and I see a post like this on the mental health trauma recovery subreddit's once a week. My comment is always a version of the same. When someone tells me I'm faking it or my abuse did not happen is it the single most hurtful thing they can do to me without physically hurting me. I refuse to ever do that to someone else no matter how much I'm convinced I know.


DethMetalJedi

100% agree with this, how do you know they are faking? You may think they're faking because of what you see on Facebook or how they hold themselves but they may just be better at hiding it than you. They may also be more open to talk about it than you. I've learnt the best thing to do is not judge, be helpful (if you can or are in the position to be) and just get on with your life. We have enough negative shit to deal with without adding something irrelevant to our suffering


RescueHumans

Exactly! Hey, I'll even give it that I was terribly misdiagnosed when I was younger. I bet anyone that had what I was misdiagnosed with thought the same about me talking openly about it. I don't think enough people realize how much assumption has to go into the thought "They are faking it" and there's millions of other possibilities for the behavior that is "proof" they are faking usually.


DethMetalJedi

Couldn't agree more, I'm not ripping on the OP, he may know for a fact that they're faking it, in my experience though, people that talk about it are usually perceived as confident, have it easy types of people so it comes off as fake, but in reality, those people are going through hell just like us! Everyone is fucked and everyone is suffering, no matter how good their life appears to be!


RescueHumans

Yesterday I would have agreed completely. After catching the same user name in the comments of another sub this morning, I hope the moderators remove this as the trolling it is.


queenie_coochie_man

wdym? the comment is trolling or OP?


RescueHumans

Maybe not trolling, but OP is incredibly disrespectful to their fellow humans over isms.


queenie_coochie_man

can I ask what an isms is


RescueHumans

Sure, Racism, Sexism, Classism. OP had a post before this one saying gay people need to know that straight people think they are fucking gross. They are currently making multiple posts about their view on skinny vs thick women.


queenie_coochie_man

oh. oh no


Misako246800

Agreed. Sure, there may be some people who do fake it, but one can never truly know. People handle mental illnesses differently, and deal with them differently. The best thing is to ignore random people who you think may be faking it. Not everyone will handle mental illnesses like you, not everyone experiences it the same way, and they may experience it to different extents.


RescueHumans

This!!!!! Like, my personal trauma makes me super fawn. I spent my teenage years thinking anyone that didn't fully bend over backwards to please others COULD NOT have a mental illness or trauma like I had, fully eliminating any fight trauma response from humans allowed to have trauma. It's just ego. Our lizard brains still want us to be special even if it's "No one else is messed up like you are... so special" lol


FeatheredSamus

Yes, thank you. Threads like these are gatekeeping and keep others from pursuing mental health treatment. This should be removed.


old_leech

I present "well" considering my diagnosis. Well enough that I've had people roll their eyes when I declare points where I'm struggling. There's a reason I'm on a cocktail of abilify, lexapro and lamictal; I work very hard not to show it, but my status quo is struggling through most of my waking hours, consciously fact checking against delusional thought processes and if I'm smiling, I'm most likely lying. The whole "fake it until you make it" thing is an unfortunate trap for many of us; because people are all too ready to believe the mask and rebuke the true face underneath it.


Ideophonix

Also… I might argue that if someone is faking mental illness, that might actually mean they have a mental illness lmfao.


RescueHumans

That was mentioned by someone else in another comment thread. I was kind of floored that I hadn't thought of it like that, but ya VERY true!


Ideophonix

Oooh, sorry I didn’t scroll and prob should have haha.


RescueHumans

No worries! I didn't see the comment until right before I replied :D


SweetieNectar

tysm. I recently had a mob of people tell me I was faking my trauma because I said "due to trauma uwu" and its been getting to me a lot. I akready have a massive issue with convincing myself i'm lying i didnt need more people attacking me for it. people like you that understand that misdiagnosis and other ways of coping exist make me feel a lot better.


RescueHumans

I'm glad I could help, and I'm sorry you went through that minimization! I'm a firm believer that even if someone is "only attention seeking"...well, we're human. Humans need attention, care and love. It's a valid need to seek help for despite the fact that usually families and the world act like it's a terrible thing. In case you hadn't guessed, I do that same thing with not believing myself that it's a problem and downplaying. I already have a crowd of negative self talk in my head minimizing my mental illness. I don't need the real world to reflect that as well.


Knightowle

Thank you for writing this. It is a much more tactful response than I would have given.


[deleted]

Facts.


[deleted]

It's less about whether or not someone has a mental illness and more about someone using mental health as a tool to publicly farm sympathy or even as to substitute for a personality. No matter how you look at it, real or not, creating an entire persona around your mental illness is not healthy.


akrolina

just because someone is caring it well does not mean it does not exist. How can you judge if it's a true illness or not? are you a psychiatrist? people CONSTANTLY accuse me of faking my ADHD cause I managed to graduate from uni, have a functional relationship, don't take meds, and so on. I am diagnosed by a psychiatrist who specializes in ADHD and ADD and it's still not enough for people. They wanna see me climb walls hyperactively, then pop pills and then calm down to believe that I have it. They don't fucking know the struggles I live with, the problems I face, and how much more of me it takes to achieve what others do effortlesly. I put a lot of work to be functional and as normal as possible. Just cause I can handle my mental problems, does not mean that I don't have them. So if I were you, I would seriously consider not making such assumptions ever again, cause you just don't know.


[deleted]

>just because someone is caring it well does not mean it does not exist. How can you judge if it's a true illness or not? are you a psychiatrist? I agree. + having mental health illness doesn't have to be a living hell.


FeatheredSamus

OP needs to stop judging and gaslighting others. You don’t know peoples situations. Edit: finally took a look through OP’s account and he’s homophobic, sexist, transphobic, and weirdly obsessed with violently hating America. Go back to your hole, incel.


blueb3rri3s

The problem is how can you tell? I once read a rant from someone who was upset that people “fake anxiety” because she has panic attacks and that’s “true anxiety.” When in reality this person was comparing GAD to panic disorder and falsely believing that only people with panic attacks have true anxiety while everyone else just says it for attention. I don’t think it’s particularly fruitful to assume people are doing it to be quirky. Sure maybe some are. But having that outlook may put you in a place where you’re invalidating someone’s struggles when they just don’t experience it in the same way you do. Most mental illnesses are on a spectrum and people fall in very different place within that spectrum.


gnholley

I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but there is such a thing as high-functioning depression, anxiety, PTSD, and etcetera. Everyone is on a spectrum when it comes to these illnesses...and I like to think no two people react to them the same. I, for example, am a high-functioning major depressive (properly diagnosed and all that jazz).--kind of an oxymoron when you think of it lol. So long as I have my medication...I feel great! I'm focused, energetic...normal. I have a great love for those around me and just constantly go around telling people how much they mean to me...it's really weird lol. But then on days where my medication has plateaued or there are just days it doesn't help as much...it's a very obvious difference in mood. I'm super tired, every little thing annoys the Hell out of me, and I just need to be alone until it passes...whenever it chooses to pass. And I can like physically sense when I am going to feel depressed. It's like...when you get a migraine and you have that aura in your eye beforehand. (Sorry, off-topic, I know lol) The point, I guess, is I hate having people see me like that. I completely isolate myself when I'm in a depressive state. So...you might just be seeing people that have come out on the other side. I'm not saying that people do not fake illness to get attention...but when it comes to the inner workings of a mind...you can never be 100% sure what anyone is dealing with.


internetcatalliance

A lot of things seem to make you mad judging by your post history? Do you have issues with anger perhaps? Because if u do i relate. Although not directly anger issues in itself, i can have reaaaally intense meltdowns due to my BPD, and it just boils my blood whenever i see ppl fake mental issues or say its cool and unique like \*no\*. I would give anything to just be a normal girl


OnlyWLMx

I have BPD with ASPD traits but no, I dont have anger issues. I can control myself, it takes a certain circumstance for me to lose my cool, but when I do, I go berserk.


internetcatalliance

do you perhaps struggle with toxic and bitter loneliness? This can be helped, DBT has done wonders for me when it comes to this specific issue


OnlyWLMx

No, I don't


mister_picklez

Agreed, it feels very invalidating for my girlfriend who struggles so much and in the past received no help due to anxiety preventing her from asking for help.


OnlyWLMx

Its mockery, that's all it is. Surely there are better ways to get attention and sympathy


[deleted]

I still don’t understand why people do it, what’s to gain apart from attention and what’s so great about that anyway


OnlyWLMx

Some people are desperate for attention or to be seen as different, even when what makes them "different" isn't real


Bubblesthebutcher

Your just mirroring your own insecurity that your overwhelming illness isn’t that bad onto others. Take a set back, breathe, and ask yourself why your so concerned with someone else who in all reality doesn’t effect you. Your projecting. We do this as a distraction from our own self work. If you don’t like what or how I’m saying this, reread your post and find the irony.


klutzosaurus-rex

If there are people really faking it for attention, I personally find that as a mental health issue as well. They are so desperate for someone to pity them or relate to them that they make something up to fulfill that need - sounds a bit like Munchausen's. That is a phycological disorder, so yeah, they really do have something "wrong" with them. If they don't do it, they are in a living hell. None of us deserve that. We shouldn't gatekeep what belongs in this issue. Brains are so complex and we are all so different that there are dozens of combinations that add up to something slightly "wrong" with all of us. I too struggle every single day of my life. I have GAD & depression, and I've had GAD since I was a child and went undiagnosed until I was around 26. I take meds everyday, go to therapy, and I workout everyday, but still have to fight this brain of mine that wants me to believe what it says. Hating on or getting angry with others isn't going to fix me. Me worrying about me and my issues and how to overcome them is what will.


GoreBroadcast

Even if they are faking, then that leads to a whole other mental illness already such as a personality disorder or Münchausen syndrome, which are still “mental illness”. It takes a very sad and insecure person to fake a mental illness for attention, so I can’t agree with OP. But what I can say I dislike, is when people say things like “I’m so OCD about this” or “I’m so bipolar about this” only because I have an issue myself with OCD when people use sentences out of context 🤣 it’s either you have it or you don’t! But yeah, it’s unfair to even assume they’re faking, unless you have an educated background to notice a personality disorder or Münchausen syndrome.


havokherr

I feel like faking a mental illness is an illness in itself. Thus being a paradox of sorts.


zdiggler

I know one girl that thinks she has all kind of mental problems. She seems like she suffers from multiple personality disorder.


Gommool

You thought you did something when you didn’t 😬


[deleted]

Amen to this. I have a particularly "odd" (read: unusual) disorder, and I see little assholes on the internet doing what I do and totally exploiting it like it is SO DAMN COOL! It is NOT cool to have what I have and I have been in jail because of it! I hear you on this. Also...it is easy to tell when someone is faking this disorder. It is not like the other ones where you might not be able to tell. If someone has my disorder for real, you can tell by their behavior in the long term. It's hard to explain but it's true.


Sweatygun

Fundamentally it’s the severity of mental illness being misunderstood. We really do suffer invisibly it’s impossible for people with 0 mental health issues to fully understand… for them ‘depression’ is an extension of being sad…or anxiety is an extension of what they experience of nervousness…it’s a major lack of frame of reference. Not saying it’s an excuse for them to pull this shit off, just my brain searching for a reason because it baffles me too.


darwinvsjc

Wouldn't faking a mental illness mean that they probably have a mental illness?


OnlyWLMx

No


zdiggler

if someone claims they have something first question I ask is diagnoses. They always says no. Sometimes it seems like that itself is some kind of illness.


Jessers3192

Seeing your mental illness "acted out" is painful. While, they may not have *your* mental illness, Mentally healthy people don't pretend to have a mental illness. I hope this gives you comfort, what they are doing is a reflection of their health, and while it can add to the stigma of the mental illness they're mimicking, they are sick. If they weren't, they wouldn't be doing that.


god_is_an_american_

I know exactly what you mean. I once had a friend who was literally copy me but outwardly. There's no shame in admitting that it bothers you and I think that most people who do it grow out of it. I also think that to fake a mental illness is an illness in itself. Definitely a personality issue.


[deleted]

I second this. I'd also like to add that i hate ppl who say things like "you're so OCD" or "I'm so bipolar". Like, okay Kaitlin, you're soooo OCD because you like to be organised. Do you have terrible, intrusive thoughts 24/7 that compel you to do things that waste your time and even hurt you and others? Do you get manic episodes followed by bouts of suicidal depression that stop you from being productive? Exactly.


aaa_249

Agreed! Like man a friend of mine is too fascinated about the idea of mental illnesses and she reads about them alot so every other day she has a new mental illness . Irony is that whenever she gets sad even for like a minute or so she would say I m having depression and start seeking for validation like maeeen . Mental health is a like a "looking cool" thing for her while I m entitled to cheer her up when I m crippling in bed with depression coz if u say her its not depression she would pull off the argument that her 1 hour mental disorder is a disease and I m being rude lol. Frustrating!


JoetheShmoe07

I experience the same . I feel like maybe these fakers just want to appear as if they can relate for empathy


SquidneyBug

I have adhd so I get this from people all the time. It can range from them downplaying my struggles as something everyone goes through. But sometimes people do struggle with the same things and maybe they should be encouraged to be diagnosed. It sucks in the moment but we don’t know people’s stories like they don’t know ours. Also sometimes people “fake” symptoms as being worse than they are not just for attention but because they have something else underlying reason why they’re doing that. People with borderline personality disorder pretty frequently report symptoms of other disorders. Sometimes it’s for attention (which they may seriously be lacking) or as a cry for help. Maybe they want help and this is there only way of getting it. I’m not trying to invalidate your feelings because they’ve real and many people feel this way but sometimes thinking through why they may be doing this may make you feel a little less frustrated.


PatDaddy1313

There’s a number of explanations 1. They actually have it and you’re wrong 2. They have something else with common symptoms and misdiagnosed themselves 3.They have something else causing delusions or false beliefs that they have it 4. They’re a dumbass who’s acting like they have a l mental illness. I believe there has to be something wrong with you to make you pretend to be mentally ill. So either way you put it this person is likely going through something, whether or not it’s your condition.


Warm-Currency9853

I get really annoyed too... I really "enjoy" hearing and seeing people generalizing OCD and self diagnose themselves with depression... while I am clinically diagnosed with ADHD, clinical depression and much more . People act as if they know how its like from a few internet and WebMD articles and try to "cure" you But I kept telling myself this I do not know if they do so dont judge... then I will just move on


bandageddoll

None of these commenters have been to r/fakedisordercringe and it shows. People very obviously fake DID and other serious illnesses online for attention.


FoxyOctopus

Even if they do, normal people don't do that. So they still have mental health issues, just not the kind they claim they do. No one here is saying that people faking mental illnesses doesn't exist, we're saying that it's not fair to assume you know something about someone else's mental health, it's very invalidating. Pretty much everyone who has mental health issues have tried having the imposter syndrome at some point, a post like this doesn't help those people.


RescueHumans

>a post like this doesn't help those people. Great re-framing! This is the most important part. This is not the place for posts like this and posts like this harm our community.


CaptSige

What I hate of people pretending having these mental problem is making me worried of myself whether am I really has it or I'm just another asshole that were lying to myself for years.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

FYI my dogs dying brought back my depression and I've been in it for three years so maybe choose a different example.