Copy cat pain and illness? Advice please...

[Pegasi]

I would really like some advice please. I suffer with CFS/ME and often fall over or get very tired and constantly suffer with joint pain. The problem is my daughter (nearly 4 yrs old) has now decided to start copying my wobbly legs and fall over then say she can't get up!
I have discussed it briefly with my doctor but they seem to think it's just a phase.
She has never known me normal and I have had this all het life and before. She has only been doing this a couple of months.
Does anyone else have experience of this? Is this even normal?
I may be worried about nothing here and probably am but dont want this to develop!

[Al1son]

I think you're worrying about a perfectly natural process.

My guess is that she has just realised that everyone else's mum isn't the same as you and she is exploring your behaviour by copying it. Children learn about the world around them and the behaviour of others by imitating it in their play and I imagine that this is just a very deep form of play.

She needs to make sense of your tiredness and falls and this is how she's doing it.

My response would be to find times to play along but make it clear that you are pretending with her. Use those times to give her a bit more information about your condition and answer any questions honestly. Then when she needs to stop make it clear that playing time is over and you need her to get up and walk properly, etc.

HTH

[DeWe]

My brother used to suffer from competitive ailments. The headache you had was nothing to the one he'd got. He's now a doctor. I wonder about the conversations he might have with the patients sometimes. "My broken ankle's worse than yours..."

[CroissantNeuf]

I'm not sure what the answer is but just wanted to say that 6 yo DS picked up on DPs cluster headaches last summer (in case anyone doesn't know cluster headaches are intense, debilitating headaches. Beyond the intensity and pain of migraines)

DP was getting them every day or so for a few weeks and having to go to bed for hours at a time when they happened.

Over the following months DS would regularly,when asked to do something he didn't want to do, say "but I can't. My head hurts/I've got a headache" yet , to my knowledge DS has never had a headache.

I think its just all part of watching and noticing what goes on around them, processing it all in their heads, experimenting with things, testing boundaries and just trying things out.

[Pegasi]

Thank you for all your comments, feedback and support. It's nice to know it's not just me that is experiencing this and it appears quite normal.
I guess it will stop as quickly as it started.