Hi all. A person I work with is always complaining of one illness or another. I mean, I know that that she really has some health problems, but I think she is imagining most of her conditions. What is even worse, she gets away with it every time… Anyway, I would like to know if there is a way to know if a person is malingering?
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Well, many symptoms of any illness are due to the emotional state of the person but, in most cases, the emotional component is small. In some individuals, however, the emotional component plays a major role. There are two terms that describe physical conditions that occur as the consequence of the person's emotional state: malingering and psychosomatic illness. Malingering, the condition you think your coworker has, describes a worker who complains of back pain in the hope of receiving disability payments or relocation to a more favorable job. On the other hand, a psychosomatic illness is similar to malingering, but there is an important distinction: the symptoms of an individual with a psychosomatic illness occur because of the emotional disorder but without the individual's awareness that the emotions are producing the physical symptoms and with no intent to deceive or to achieve personal gain. So, as you can see, I really can't answer your question without knowing much more about your coworker and her situation.
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