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Is my son a hypochondriac?

2 replies

Pinkcountrybumpkin · 29/07/2024 07:19

odd one here. My very happy, loving 7 year old son, always says he has whatever anyone else has, regarding pain and health. I have recently had sciatica, obviously very painful and has limited what I am able to do, since having this he’s told me he’s got a bad back/ neck several times and in the throes of a particularly bad spasm I let rip at him and said ‘it’s not stopping you doing anything you want to do, then I don’t want to know about it!!’ If anyone has belly ache he will double over and say his stomach hurts, ( his older sister was on her period, so that was one she and I laughed at) my younger daughter had been teething, I’ll say to her ‘are your teeth sore?’, and he will straight away pipe up that he has toothache. It’s constant. He doesn’t generally lie, and has lots of attention and secure home, it’s just this hypochondria that is driving us mad. He does seem to lack any empathy for anyone hurt/ ill, how would you tackle this? I feel like we need to nip it in the bud because the older he gets the more genuinely ill/ disabled people he will meet and I would hope he would at least acknowledge whatever temporary malady he suddenly has is not comparable!

OP posts:
Deserthog · 29/07/2024 07:24

Tell him about the boy who cried wolf ?

More seriously though it sounds like he’s wanting attention. Have you asked him about it away from the situation ?

NowImNotDoingIt · 29/07/2024 08:32

Sounds like he is wanting attention and sympathy. Not necessarily lying, but associating any twinge or wobbly tooth with whatever you guys have.

Have you ever offered him medicine/said you're taking him to a doctor? How does he react?

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