One of my colleagues does this and she's getting on people's nerves. Last week her American cousin's husband died suddenly. Very tragic, obviously but my colleague barely knows her cousin and had only met the husband a couple of times. However, on Friday she wouldn't come to another colleague's retirement drinks because 'given her family bereavement it wouldn't really be appropriate and she didn't want to put a dampener on things'. I mean, FFS. Two colleagues have lost their fathers in recent months and she's making more of a fuss than they did.
Last year her mother had her credit card skimmed and this colleague went on as if the woman had been mugged at knife point, talking about how 'shaken up' the whole family were and 'you never really think it will happen to someone you know, do you'.
She took a day off work when her sister was having her appendics out (op in morning, home that afternoon) because she'd only be 'worrying and no use to anyone'.
AIBU to wonder how she will ever cope if she has something serious to cope with and also to feel that there are people in work with real worries and traumas and she should get over herself and stop being such a drama queen?
AIBU?
To find people who like making a three act tragedy out of everything v annoying
arabesque · 24/06/2013 13:38
Fellatio 
. Your testimony made me laugh; someone like me.
Oh no! I've brought the subject back to me!
Well, I think everyone likes relating things to their own life, and can have a tendency to respond to a story or news with something similar that's happened to them, but I agree there are some that just seem to take it to the next level. Also in some circumstances you'd just know to shut up (unless you genuinely think you could help) - bereavements, serious illness etc.
My best friend and I have a mutual acquaintance that's like this and BF is saying the onesidedness is becoming too much for her... which is saying something as she's godmother to one of the children.
Leos. They often seem to be Leos.
My ex mil
Whenever anyone was in hospital she'd never visit them (even family) because she doesn't like hospitals. Then when people die she goes to the funeral, all teary, and makes a huge fuss, even for people she hardly knew.
When my mum died very suddenly, I got her in tears telling me 'I'll be your mother now' 
This was literally an hour after I found out. I was still in shock.
My mother is turning in to one of these nightmares (I suspect it's my stepfather's influence, as he is both a malingering and a vampiric drama llama). She keeps phoning me up to tell me about the tragic life events of people I don't even know. At first I used to get worried when the phone call started 'I've got some bad news' but now I really don't expect it to be in any way relevant to me.
Even better than this she somehow manages to bask in the drama herself while still expressing judgement about those actually affected. For example, her friend's son has some kind of cancer so she can talk about he awful it all is while still making references to his lifestyle.
I just tune it out now.
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I had a close friend who fits this category. Every high profile disease would become hers. She had cancer (never treated), MS (never treated and mysteriously vanished), a brain tumour (ditto)
She would also pretend her small daughter had been diagnosed with things. In fact we bonded over discussions about a life threatening congenital problem that my child had two operations to correct. Whereas her daughter's went away all by itself and was never mentioned again.
She once claimed her NT three year old had Down Syndrome and spent the afternoon having hugs and sympathy from her friends while I sat back and watched in horror. The newly revealed DS was mentioned again...
My fave, and the one that really showed me how messed up she was, was when I had an incoherent, sobbing phone call from her asking me to come at once.
Her auntie had died after a short term illness. The family had, she told me between sobs, kept it from her because because they knew how badly she would take it. I felt terrible for her because she was very close to her aunt and, indeed, I had had coffee with the woman a couple of days before so was quite shocked myself. So I made tea, cleaned the house, walked the dog, picked up the kids.
The tears went on all day but little details began to niggle at me so I eventually, after a whole blinking day running around. carefully asked her if we were talking about Auntie X. Oh no, she said, it was Auntie Y.
I didn't know you had an Auntie Y, I said. That's because I haven't seen her since I was six, she replied. And now I never will, wail wail...
We aren't friends any more but her FB page always gives me a chuckle 
And, as someone said earlier, she was very proud of being a Leo. So make of that what you will.
I have had a few friends pull tricks like that curry. I must admit I do go for the slightly more passive aggressive 'so, no the dead dad? some other dad?' with a carefully cultivated facial expression which is just the right amount of quizzical/confused but nonchalant and casual, without a hint of cynicism or exasperation.
The thing is, these people are so thick skinned and self-absorbed that even if you did a full on at them they wouldn't notice.
curryeater that reminds me of a friend of mine who lived with a DL for a while.
My friend's grandmother, who she was really close to, died and my friend was very upset. DL flatmate sulked at the sympathy my friend got.
The following weekend, DL went into friend's room in tears and told her her grandmother had died. My friend comforted her, made her some lunch, talked with her etc.
The next day when DL had calmed down friend said "so ... will you be going to see your family then? When's the funeral?"
DL awkwardly said "oh, well I spoke to my dad, and it turns out she's not dead. She's sick, but she should be okay."
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Message withdrawn at poster's request.
I think the reason people fall for the drama llama's lies embellishments, is that the DLs are skilled conwomen/actresses. The sympathisers are sometimes genuine kind hearted people and others revel in the drama.
I have known only the subtle , skilled manipulative DLs and the latest was just recently and is a 69 year-old married MAN who revealed himself as a real patheticdrama queen. I thought for years he was a really nice chatty man
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