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My friend is an attention-seeker who self harms. What could she be suffering from?

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My friend is an attention-seeker who self harms. What could she be suffering from?

The following is an actual conversation between an iCliniq user and a doctor that has been reviewed and published as a Premium Q&A.

Answered by

Dr. Aditya Gupta

Medically reviewed by

iCliniq medical review team

Published At May 7, 2018
Reviewed AtFebruary 7, 2024

Patient's Query

Hello doctor,

My query is relating to a friend that seems to have a mental health issue. She is 24 years old, 5 feet 10 inch, and is not currently on any medication. She was previously on medication for depression and anxiety. Her behavior is very concerning and tends to center around attention seeking. Usually, it is about she being a victim, and people coming to her aid. She does seem to have a compulsive lying issue about small and major things. Manipulation of people is also a regular trait. She tries to play people off against each other and cause friction between them. Some examples of the things she has done are as follows: She came to work regularly with injuries stating that her family members had abused her. This was her self-harming and no abuse had taken place. This went on for about six months until she got found. During this time, she would e-mail the HR manager at work pretending to be a protection officer, advising work on how to protect her. In reality, this was her sending the emails from a different e-mail account. She also created legal documents. These papers were all fake and she had sat at home, for hours on end, creating them. Other things she has done include, letting down her own car tires and ringing someone to come and help her, pulling her door off the hinges and ringing someone to help her fix it, having surgery when there was nothing wrong with her, pretending to be on holiday and sending people photos of landmarks, potential prostitution through escort service, trapping her partner into pregnancy by not taking the pill. This is to name but a few. I am just after some thoughts as to whether this sounds like there should be a diagnosis. The NHS has seen her twice, by a junior psychiatrist, and have not given her a diagnosis. Surely the behavior above needs some kind of diagnosis, as it is far from normal. There are no childhood factors that would have caused this behavior.

Answered by Dr. Aditya Gupta

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

From your description, the following differentials can be drawn: Emotionally unstable personality disorder, Narcissistic personality disorder and Histrionic personality disorder. But the exact diagnosis, if any, can only be made after a detailed evaluation by a psychiatrist in person. So, kindly motivate her for an in-person visit to a psychiatrist for the same. He will suggest psychological testing like Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI). Treatment options, if needed, include both medications and psychotherapy. Hope this solves your query. Feel free to ask, if you have any further queries. Thank you.

Same symptoms don't mean you have the same problem. Consult a doctor now!

Dr. Aditya Gupta
Dr. Aditya Gupta

Psychiatry

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