Ganser Syndrome

"Ganser syndrome is a factitious disorder, a mental condition in which a person acts as if he or she has a mental or physical illness when in truth, he or she has caused or made up the symptoms." People with this disorder act this way because of an inner need to be seen injured or ill. These people even undergo painful and risky tests and operations in order to obtain sympathy and special attention that is usually given to people who are truly ill. This disorder is very rare, although it is more common in men than in women, and often occurs in late teens and early adulthood.

This disorder is believed to be a reaction to extreme stress. People with Ganser syndrome also have a personality disorder particularly antisocial personality disorder or histrionic personality disorder. People with this condition have short-term episodes of odd behaviour that is similar to those with serious mental illnesses. The individual may appear confused and may also report hallucinations. A standard symptom of this condition is vorbeireden, which is, when the person gives baloney answers to simple questions. Additionally, a person may also report physical problems such as an inability to move a part of the body, called "hysterical paralysis".

A possible complication of this disorder includes loss of memory of events that occurred during episodes of the syndrome. Some individuals may suffer a period of depression following a Ganser syndrome episode.

Ganser syndrome generally subsides once the stress that triggered the episode is settled. A proper evaluation is needed to rule out any possible physical problems such as stroke or head injury as the cause of the symptoms before considering a diagnosis of Ganser syndrome.