Family fallout

[IcyBlueLeader]

I’m one of three siblings. My youngest sister has suffered from health anxiety for a number of years. She’s feels she’s had a stroke and has blamed it on my other sibling after a falling out they had. Says she was so upset, she had a stroke. Usually, I help her through all her illnesses, with an empathetic ear. This one I draw the line at. It’s caused a lot of upset within the family obviously. The family is split - some agreeing with her stroke diagnosis and her accusation of blame. Some aghast that she would say such an awful thing. I’m in the latter group and really have had enough of her victim mentality. I’ve gone no contact with her - mentally drained - am I right?

Well HAS she had a stroke or not? Presumably she’s seen a medic?

Well did she have stroke?

Has she actually had a stroke?8

What's her medical diagnosis? I assume that she has seen a doctor or been to hospital. What do they say?

Nothing conclusive shows in MRI, or blood tests

Sounds like she needs psychiatric and mental health care, she doesn't sound mentally healthy. Time for your family to stop pandering to her nonsense and get some proper care for her.

What do the doctors say then? She might have done, but they aren't sure or she is very unlikely to have had? What symptoms has she got? Presumably something is wrong for the doctors to do an MRI or blood tests.

What a manipulation fest

She clearly needs psychiatric care. But it’s not your responsibility to make sure she gets it. You can tell her she needs help, but it’s on her to find help.

Surely a stroke woukd show up in tests? Does she feel she didnt have the correct tests or there was some mistake? Advise her to see her GP and ask about the tests?

Hello - I think we share the same sister! Although mine doesn't officially have hypochondriasis, she is definitely a hypochondriac... if that makes sense?! Queen of the self-diagnosis, even when the medical diagnosis is abundantly clear that she doesn't have x, y and z. I really sympathise as it is exhausting and the irony being that she blames our family members for her multiple ailments... and yet is so spectacularly unaware that she can't see that her behaviour is making other people unwell - namely my elderly parents. So I truly empathise, I do, and the only way I deal with it is to essentially hold her at arm's length - the last time I spoke to her was Christmas Day 2023... and the next time I speak to her will be the 25th of this month! It's all I can bear because she is so unbearable and I spent much of my twenties helping and supporting her to absolutely no avail and to my own detriment. I adopt a 'not my circus, not my monkeys' approach and my life is better without her being a central part of it.

If she sought medical attention at the time of the stroke then surely they would have been able to tell. They always could with my gran when she had one.

id say to others that you’ve had enough of her blaming others and manipulating folks with her alleged and numerous health conditions and that her behaviour is unacceptable.

You are right, that's an awful thing to say. Stress doesn't cause strokes but it can make them more likely. However her biggest source of stress is her health anxiety, that will be doing far more damage than an argument with a sibling.
Also, if there's no conclusive evidence of a stroke then she probably hasn't had one.