How many exaggerate illness online?

I have noticed a person online called Jonny Benjamin. This is a person with schizo-affective disorder.
However I noticed 2 things, he has renamed it schizo-effective disorder: which means quite a different thing. But also that he has wrote a book etc. However although I applaud his efforts the two conditions are different. Scizoaffective disorder does not equal schizophrenia.

I then wondered how many people exaggerater their medical problems online? I can imagine that some celebrities may be accused of doing so. But wonder if others may think it as a better career move for getting into the media, because of what celebritied say.

How many people exaggerate illness online?

reply to post by werewolf99


Does this issue burn you to the core or something? Why is it that big of a deal to you? Just askin

I know this is a tiny thing, but I don't like exaggeration on the net.lol
It makes people achievements look false, or their lives. I know it is a small point but it gets on my nerves. Plus I think it is a big mistake. One exaggeration or lie no matter how small and it makes things look all false. When people do this with medical conditions, it is like if it was done about a race: it will affect many people.

werewolf99
I know this is a tiny thing, but I don't like exaggeration on the net.

Whew... OK. Sorry this response took so long. Had to move my portable iron-lung closer to the keyboard and my 6 prosthetic limbs are a bit sticky today.

reply to post by werewolf99


I doubt that any who do exaggerate their illnesses are likely to respond to your question. I will say that most of the people that I know online who are chronically ill generally don't advertise the fact much. Part of the reason is that the internet is the one place where a disability isn't always obvious and, in fact, most would be "invisible" (though mental illness tends to be kind of obvious over time). Sometimes a problem being invisible is nice.

Maybe the 'affective-effective' writer was just a lousy speller. Heck, I've had diabetics tell me, 'I've got the sugar, y'know' and their understanding of what can be a vicious disease stops right there.

You maybe have realized it, but many people on forums such as these are seriously ill; they may be bedridden or nearly so and that's why they've got so much time on their hands.

werewolf99
I know this is a tiny thing, but I don't like exaggeration on the net.lol

Ahh don't fret, everyone hardly exaggerates on the internet. It's as rare as hens teeth.

I think the last time someone did it was back in 1980. And they were laughed off AOL, the best internet provider ever, arrested and I think sentenced to life. It's just that rare.

Nup. Take me for example, I suffer severe hypercondriachitus. If anything ever seems out of order to me, I am the first to tell you about it.. no exaggeration!

Maybe also, he is changing the word on purpose to remove some stigma from the disorder.

He's not affected by his affliction. He is Effective with it.

Some people with bipolar claim that it is the reason they are famous. Stephen Fry for one. It is them, their mania is their core wealth of entertainment. Without it, they'd be flat.

They suffer the negatives because the high is so outstanding. I cannot comprehend it, when I get low, I want to jump in front of trains... but then, I don't reach a dizzying height that provides me with endless hours of rambling incoherent nonsense that never seems to end and man thank christ for that as I'd hate to be a poor suffering victim of someone incapable of knowign when to shut up or even form a paragraph properly, let alone write using sentence structure and grammar? what the hell who needs that as long as you know what is being said, man those people, always changing from one thought to the I need a coffee.

I believe a lot of people exaggerate illness (among other things) online for attention. As to the illness part, I coined a term for this over a decade ago in Lycos chat...where there was a woman who was always sicker than any sick person there. If someone named and illness she had it and in a very extreme and dramatic way. I called her a cybermunch (*copyright) after munchausen by proxy.

reply to post by ~Lucidity


The problem with thinking that many do this is that that presumes that every person who does not report an illness is without an illness. For example, I have several friends with psoriasis that it took a very long time (years in some cases) of knowing them online before they admitted to having psoriasis. It would seem to me that, most of the time, people are pretending that their grass is greener than playing at being a "cybermunch". Munchausen, btw, is considered to be a rare mental illness. While that lady, based on your description, is likely to be a good candidate, presuming that anyone that says they have an ailment is simply exaggerating it for attention is pretty narrow sighted.

I have a good friend whose son has trisome 18 and he's not lying. I recently had a friend who shared and talked at length about his daughter who had cancer. He wasn't lying either. They share their struggles every day. I take this subject very seriously because of those two friends. How are people like you ever supposed to learn what it's like to be someone who is ill if you just think they are all doing it for attention? Or would you prefer every sick person on the planet to be silent or only remain in some online leper colony?

reply to post by WhiteAlice


Of course there are real people out there with real illnesses. There are also many who are not ill at all. In most cases you will never know. And, yes, I'm well aware of what Munchhausen's is.

What I would prefer is that no one be sick. You seem to have some sort of attitude here, and it's sort of giving me the creeps. Do me a favor and next time, don't choose my post to reply to, put words into my mouth about, and rant, mkay? Thank you.

I don't know about exagerrating an illness online...

However, I will tell you that I once took an arrow to the knee, and it really really hurts.

reply to post by ~Lucidity


Never said that you didn't know what Munchausen was (obviously you do as you coined the term "cybermunch" off of it) but observing that it was very rare and recollect that I rather agreed with your assessment of that lady. I've seen that type, too.

If you're getting a vibe from me, then maybe it's because I'm very sick and am generally very reluctant to discuss what precisely is wrong. I think I've only done so once on this forum and it was so that another descendent from an atomic veteran could compare medical issues within his own family. Most I'll generally mention is that I was a goof that fell down the stairs and messed herself up but I do it jokingly. However, it is far from the truth and I never report what precisely is going wrong. I tend to keep it light. There are people that have known me for years online that have no freaking idea just how sick I can get or some of the scary things that go on. It's because I choose not to frame our relationship in terms of my being disabled. If it gets too heavy for me, then it'd be the same for another. People who are sick also see online relationships as being an escape from the reality of sickness but sometimes, they have to vent out of fear, frustration, depression, and etc. If people assumed that anyone speaking of an illness online was making it up for attention, what a freaking cold world this would be.

Additionally, I've witnessed how some so-called friends will react to complaints about medical issues. My friend with the Trisome 18 child vents his fear on a daily basis and he's had people respond in a cruel manner, stating that he's a "downer" or that he needs attention. Sound familiar? He's venting to keep himself sane. He has a kid that could die any day and by god, he needs support. Same with the other friend and when his child passed away, we were all ready online to support him as best as we could.

if you don't like people responding from their heart to you, then maybe you shouldn't open your mouth about things that you have very little life experience with outside of interactions online. If I see something disturbing, I will respond. You never know who is on the other side of the monitor. Who are you to judge?

reply to post by werewolf99


I can't imagine they exagerate mental illness, if anything they would minimise the issue so as to gain the respect of mods and posters.

One of the insults here I see thrown around by people I will not mention is mental illness and retardation as they say.

If i had a mental illness I would not braodcast it here, this is not the right environment to be confiding those sorts of things IMO. It will not turn out good for the poster at all.

I have no doubt plenty of people exaggerate in this area, just as many people would exaggerate in any other. Take a look at how many on disability actually have no disabling issues. There will be people who constantly "one up" everyone in every area the human psyche can travel. There will be people who constantly try to bolster their own perspective by tearing down the perspectives of others. Its just how a lot of people choose to be.

That said, for someone with illnesses, one of the best things I ever did was start communicating them online as part of my "story." After all, what we are all doing is sharing our side of the story with others, and people with severe illnesses can never deny that those illnesses change who we are.

What I have always looked for is one thing; does the individual try to inspire others to learn and grow? That rule has worked for me across the board. It gets down to the heart of the issue, even in a literal sense, and from there it is pretty consistent to know what to expect in any other facet of their life. And, its not enough for an individual to just say they are trying to do "X," it will be evident in their actions.

People say more with their actions than they ever can with words alone. Look to what they do, and how they do it, and that will tell you more about them than what they are saying.

Pity doesnt really do anything for anyone though. While it may lead to things such as charity and largess, it isnt useful itself. Charity only does any good when those who receive it use it to make the world a better place (which can be done in so very many ways).

reply to post by Serdgiam


Great post. Pity is a four letter word, you know? I totally agree. I used to be an extreme workaholic before I got slapped into submission by chronic illness and put on chemo. I was go go go before that. I worked 90 hours a week, Monday-Sat, 9 am to 1 am, and worked even through lunch. Used to go to the same place where they knew that I'd pay a great tip if I was given a big table so that I could spread out all the books filled with computer print outs. Then came the day that life slapped me in the face. It was tough. Was told that I had to make so many changes including dropping my work week down to manageable levels or else my employer would receive a notice to drop me down to a mere 20 hours a week. No more 3 inch heels. That one stung, too (I bought Keds with a reclining Bugs Bunny on the side to wear to my appointments--doc was NOT impressed, lol). No babies (broke that rule X2, still suffer the consequences but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I chose it and own that responsibility to damaging myself.). No more sunlight, tomatoes, potatoes (I will be buried with a pile of french fries--they won't even take those from me from my cold dead hands), alfalfa sprouts, and more. Three words--"chronic, progressive and incurable" and a wheelchair within 10 years were my future according to my doctor.

What I learned? Life is short. To cherish my time, my loved ones, my days of good health. When things get bad, I know it'll pass and I will feel better even if it takes 6 months. At the 10 year mark, I celebrated my not being nearly as bad as it would seem by climbing a butte. I felt like crap afterwards but it was so worth it. I hope that "wheelchair" doctor felt the big middle finger I stuck up into the sky once I reached the top. I felt like such a bad a$$. lol There are days where things go terribly wrong and I get so scared. Words can't even express what it's like to be lying there, so incredibly weak, brain disrupting like mad so that your speech is coming out like gibberish and just watching your kids rough house. My god I love them. In that moment, I realized that, even if I died right then and there, they made my life perfect. I'd be content.

There are so many things that I would love to express to people that I learned from my experiences. Instead, I keep people online at arm's length. Most have no clue and when I do talk, most of my friends who have complained have done so with the complaint that I don't take anything seriously. They get mad at me for it. If I was serious, then they'd just focus on what was wrong and all the negativity. Pass. Biggest thing I've learned from being chronically ill? You absolutely have to laugh. I take each experience as a learning experience. I learn about the way the body works and I learn a little about life and what's important. Not such a bad deal.

The person Jonny Benjamin is not on here: he is a person on youtube etc.: it is the fact that he uses it to further his career. This would be ok if he was not exaggerating: schizo-affective disorder is not schizophrenia. I happen to think that exaggerating this is effectively a con. It may seem a good thing and not bad, but any such lie puts the image of this condition in the hands of a liar. It is the same thing as far as I am concerned if someone claimed to need a walking stick and really did not. It all comes down to being ethical.

People who sell books or miracle cure treatments or whatever ... maybe.
People who go to support-group sites (like I do with Sjogrens) ... I doubt it.

reply to post by WhiteAlice


I enjoy your writing style and ask if you have considered doing a newsletter or blog. Just from that 1 post, it seems to me people out there could benefit from your perspective & experience. Whether specific to illness or not.