Table 1 Differential diagnosis and basic characteristics of the factitious disorders and the functional, dissociative, somatoform or bodily distress disorders [11]
From: Clinical impact and misdiagnosis of functional ophthalmological symptoms: a case report
Description | Self-harm | Symptoms Production | Motivation and willingness to change | Objective findings | Comorbidity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Factitious disorder | Intentional production of symptoms to assume the sick role Can become life-threatening and take on the character of addiction | Significant; often requiring urgent medical intervention | Deliberate | Unconscious; external incentives are lacking or clearly in the background Low to ambivalent willingness to change | Abnormal, sometimes discrepant | Significant physical and psychological comorbidity |
Functional, dissociative, somatoform or bodily distress disorders | Actual suffering and distress due to insufficiently identifiable symptoms Also present outside the examination situation Important areas of life are consistently impaired | None or mild | Not deliberate | Unconscious; external incentives are lacking or clearly in the background Predominantly high willingness to change | Mostly normal | Significant mental and possible physical comorbidity |