My mother has a boatload of illnesses, with Munchausen's Syndrome and Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy being two of them. For those who don't know, Munchausen's Syndrome is when the injuries, illnesses, or shortcomings happens to the person with the illness, and Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy is when it happens to family members, friends, and even pets in some cases. So far, I've never formally heard about a case where both of these were present in the same person. Being that she refuses to even see a therapist (unless, of course, it's to tell them about what I do), the diagnoses are all self-diagnoses made from the little I know about mental health, and even though I know something's wrong, I can only guess what it truly is. Because she refuses to get help of any kind, it's possible I'll never know where the bottom is.
As for the Dr. Phil thing, Munchausen's and MBP have both been on there several times. The case with the mother and the daughter is actually known off of his show, as well. The mother was Dee Dee Blanchard, and the daughter was Gypsy Rose Blanchard. After nearly two decades of physical and mental abuse, including being forced to pretend she was terminally ill and physically and mentally disabled, Gypsy Rose, along with her boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn, killed Dee Dee and left the state. After being found, the public initially believed that someone killed Dee Dee and kidnapped Gypsy Rose, which led to outrage and caused millions to worry about Gypsy Rose's safety. However, after they were arrested, it came out that Dee Dee had been abusing Gypsy Rose for decades, and that they killed her to get Gypsy Rose free. Gypsy Rose is now serving 10 years in prison (and likely to be released in the next few years) and Nicholas Godejohn is awaiting trial for murder, but there's a good chance he'll take a plea deal or be found mentally incompetent.
I live with a mother very similar to Dee Dee, so I have a pretty good idea what Gypsy Rose was going through. For me, the person who lives with Munchausen's or MBP isn't the person who has it, it's the people who are forced to deal with that person. By that definition, I'm the one living with MBP, not my mother. Just yesterday, my mother ditched me at a store an hour from my house, then called the police five minutes after she left, and after deciding to remain anonymous, claimed she was concerned about me and needed them to check on me. She got her attention (a hallmark of MBP), and I had to deal with the aftermath. This type of stuff happens everyday, and it's not going to stop soon. Even though she's the one with MBP, I'm the one who lives with it.
By the way, is it weird that I have a huge crush on Gypsy Rose?
