Community Munchausen's by Internet (Malingerers, Munchies, Spoonies, etc) - Feigning Illnesses for Attention

Totally agree - and the friends that they do manage to rope in never last. I think this is partly due to the fact that many if not most munchies have a personality disorder like BPD or NPD. They always need to keep the focus on them and come up with an endless procession of illnesses, exacerbations, and setbacks to keep up the charade. Who would willingly involve themselves in that? The friends that they may have who knew them before they munched out, or who stay around because of pity, all eventually leave.

Emily/@hope4allwhobreathe had a rotating cast of people who would show up on her IG, but now it's mostly just her, her boyfriend who's somehow stayed with her for 5 years (maybe because he knows if he dumps her she'll go off the deep end?), and her parents/grandparents.
 
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summerandtempest said:
As we find ourselves in a Munchie Renaissance, it seems the time is right to share with you all the munchie madness of Emily Martell, or @hope4allwhobreathe.

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Emily is a college student, makeup aficionado, ballerina, and former ana-chan who claims to be diagnosed with multiple mental illnesses: #anxiety, #ocd, #ptsd, #depression, and certainly - although she doesn’t always tag it/admit it, #bpd. She also claims to have gastroparesis and IBS, although she frequently posts pictures and comments about coffee and alcohol, two things which are known to be harsh on the GI tract. She follows a bunch of other munchies on IG, and their service dog accounts, including MollyOllyOstomy and our very own Kelly Ronahan. She’s liked a bunch of ostomy pics and I think she may be gunning for one.

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Something that continues to astound me is how these munchies shamelessly get pictures of themselves lying in hospital beds, with their IV poles, undergoing procedures, etc. Who takes these?!‽

Two years ago, Emily got a psychiatric service dog, Scout. She made a GoFuckMe in order to get Scout because insurance wouldn’t pay $10k for a dog. The page is down now but I don’t think she met even half of her goal and I’d bet money that Mommy and Daddy paid for it.

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What Scout does for her and why she needs a service dog is unclear. She’s said that Scout provides deep pressure therapy during panic attacks and flashbacks (which is somewhat legit, although on its own I wouldn’t think would qualify someone for a service dog), as well as getting medication and reminding her to take medication. As an able bodied person who can set an alarm on her phone, I’m not sure why she needs a dog to do those things for her.
She also has an account for her service dog @Scouttheservicedog. Her main is private but the dog account is public.

She also likes to post crying pictures and sadposts that are clearly aiming to get people’s sympathy.

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These bitches get service dogs because they are the only creatures that can stand them and give them unquestioning attention. They want all humans to act as “service dogs” too.

I do get a kick out of all the thanking they do of never seen “friends and supporters”... Like SGG/ Jake Alley their online existence is their only social outlet.
 
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MirnaMinkoff said:
Did your family start getting suspicious after awhile or did they always believe you were sick? Did they ever confront you? Did doctors ever have a “word” with them? If they were suspicious did they start refusing to take you to the ER or go along with the medical drama?

I always wonder about the family of these IG munchies. Obviously you have some like Morgan where Mom is MBP but I wonder about AJ or Aubs family and/or spouses. While portrayed by the munchie as supportive, I wonder if behind the scenes they start to question stuff. I think putting posting about them publicly is one way the munchie manipulates them. They show them all the compliments and comments from others about them being such supportive angels. It adds public pressure to the situation to play along and not question.

I think the most common situation would be it dividing families, with some believing the munchie and others not. So then you have the supporters thinking the non-believers are so awful, and the non-believers tearing their hair out watching loved ones being manipulated. It would be quite toxic and I think the munchie would do all they could to alienate the non-believers from the family.
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One stay at Children’s when I was around 14 or 15 the doctor talked to my parents separately and said they thought my issues were psychosomatic. They supported me getting a psychiatrist and I was put on anti-anxiety meds, which did help the true anxiety I had. Munchausens wasn’t really well known or talked about back then, so I just went along with it until I left for college. That’s when it really blew up. I went to college a few hours away from my parents and even though they paid my medical insurance they didn’t pay too much attention to it. I had my own car, income, apartment. I think the entire time they thought everything was somatic, which is very different from Munchausens.

My siblings are all older then me and had been moved out to the house when I was still in HS, so it didn’t really affect them. What really affected my parents was when I would call them to say I was in the hospital. They would worry so much and drop everything and drive out. I never let them be present if a doctor came to talk to me because I was afraid my parents would be like, she never told us that or that’s not right. I feel sick over it to this day. I realize that I made them panic and worry and then kept them in the dark. I have so much anger towards myself for that. Once everything came out, my parents said they had suspected but could never be sure. We’ve done family counseling and now, years later, we’re very close and I’m lucky to have them. They still understandably get iffy when I truly get sick, but part of my agreement with my doctors is that I allow them to have access to my online portal so they can see test results and what not for themselves. I rarely get sick now and they haven’t felt the need to look at my portal in a few years, but they have complete access.

My Munchausens never got beyond the immediate family, and I’m thankful for that even though I put my parents through hell.
 
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BringBackForensicFiles said:
One stay at Children’s when I was around 14 or 15 the doctor talked to my parents separately and said they thought my issues were psychosomatic. They supported me getting a psychiatrist and I was put on anti-anxiety meds, which did help the true anxiety I had. Munchausens wasn’t really well known or talked about back then, so I just went along with it until I left for college. That’s when it really blew up. I went to college a few hours away from my parents and even though they paid my medical insurance they didn’t pay too much attention to it. I had my own car, income, apartment. I think the entire time they thought everything was somatic, which is very different from Munchausens.

My siblings are all older then me and had been moved out to the house when I was still in HS, so it didn’t really affect them. What really affected my parents was when I would call them to say I was in the hospital. They would worry so much and drop everything and drive out. I never let them be present if a doctor came to talk to me because I was afraid my parents would be like, she never told us that or that’s not right. I feel sick over it to this day. I realize that I made them panic and worry and then kept them in the dark. I have so much anger towards myself for that. Once everything came out, my parents said they had suspected but could never be sure. We’ve done family counseling and now, years later, we’re very close and I’m lucky to have them. They still understandably get iffy when I truly get sick, but part of my agreement with my doctors is that I allow them to have access to my online portal so they can see test results and what not for themselves. I rarely get sick now and they haven’t felt the need to look at my portal in a few years, but they have complete access.

My Munchausens never got beyond the immediate family, and I’m thankful for that even though I put my parents through hell.
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So in your opinion, what needs to happen for someone like Ginge to knock it off?
 
MirnaMinkoff said:
One thing that becomes clear with all these munchies is that they have no IRL friends. Some manage to rope in a spouse or parents, but other than that they are isolated and alone. Their endless quest for medical and SM attention alienates everyone.

Makes me wonder if their munching drove away all the friends or if lack of friends was already an issue and munching became a way to get attention in lieu of friendships.

The IGs and YT certainly show munchies as very lonely people. Even the famous AJ had to have a church send strangers to visit her, and she was so excited she did a YT about it.
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My pet theory is that this is because of the cross-over between anorexia and munchausens. Anorexics frequently self isolate to extremes (can’t go out with friends, they’ll be eating - and they might ask questions, can’t have that) and instead start socialising online with other anorexics e.g. in pro-Ana/recovery ambivalent spaces. The attention received and competitive sickness in these spaces lends itself naturally to the evolution of munchausen’s by internet.
 
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Burn Book said:
Wow. I wonder who is taking those dramatic hospital pictures of her.
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That's what I wonder for all these munchies. I have to wonder how they managed to get friends and family to think its totally normal to photograph them in the hospital bed.

If i asked my husband or family to snap a pic during a ct scan, they would definitely make fun of me
 
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summerandtempest said:
As we find ourselves in a Munchie Renaissance, it seems the time is right to share with you all the munchie madness of Emily Martell, or @hope4allwhobreathe.

View attachment 756097

Emily is a college student, makeup aficionado, ballerina, and former ana-chan who claims to be diagnosed with multiple mental illnesses: #anxiety, #ocd, #ptsd, #depression, and certainly - although she doesn’t always tag it/admit it, #bpd. She also claims to have gastroparesis and IBS, although she frequently posts pictures and comments about coffee and alcohol, two things which are known to be harsh on the GI tract. She follows a bunch of other munchies on IG, and their service dog accounts, including MollyOllyOstomy and our very own Kelly Ronahan. She’s liked a bunch of ostomy pics and I think she may be gunning for one.

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Something that continues to astound me is how these munchies shamelessly get pictures of themselves lying in hospital beds, with their IV poles, undergoing procedures, etc. Who takes these?!‽

Two years ago, Emily got a psychiatric service dog, Scout. She made a GoFuckMe in order to get Scout because insurance wouldn’t pay $10k for a dog. The page is down now but I don’t think she met even half of her goal and I’d bet money that Mommy and Daddy paid for it.

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What Scout does for her and why she needs a service dog is unclear. She’s said that Scout provides deep pressure therapy during panic attacks and flashbacks (which is somewhat legit, although on its own I wouldn’t think would qualify someone for a service dog), as well as getting medication and reminding her to take medication. As an able bodied person who can set an alarm on her phone, I’m not sure why she needs a dog to do those things for her.
She also has an account for her service dog @Scouttheservicedog. Her main is private but the dog account is public.

She also likes to post crying pictures and sadposts that are clearly aiming to get people’s sympathy.

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if you're legit crying, you look gross, not this crocodile tears and half hearted attempt at a frown but still trying to look cute face
tasty murder burger said:
Why do all these Munchies talk about God so much? It's really unnerving. Either that or they're total new aged white girls.
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it's for the sympathy angle from religious people, doubt they really believe
sure to reel in lots of followers who will comment 'praying for you!!' on every post
 
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MetalParakeet said:
That's what I wonder for all these munchies. I have to wonder how they managed to get friends and family to think its totally normal to photograph them in the hospital bed.

If i asked my husband or family to snap a pic during a ct scan, they would definitely make fun of me
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I've seen people take photos for major procedures like a heart or lung or bone marrow transplant, or a prosthetic fitting for an amputee, etc. they're actual milestones. people want to remember that and use the issues to understand it. I see a lot of photos taken by cancer patients too, raising awareness or what have you.

it's just that to a munchie, getting a ct/bag of saline/ingrown hair removal is Big Deal Doctor Time. so they cajole family into it. It's a red flag for sure.

they're usually npd or bpd, or aspd if they're malingering. all of the cluster is there for sure, they manipulate staff if they can too and like to cause friction between medical crews working with them.
 
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Underestimated Nutria said:
Am I confused or isn't chronically dani supposed to be like 20 years old? This picture shows a 45 - 50 year old woman?
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She's in her early 30's. I believe she was 31 or 33 when she was being discussed on lolcow, which was only a year ago or so. I've never seen a woman age so hard. (Though I think it was @KateFarmsShill who also explained that Dani just never showers, and it's amazing what buildups of grease and grime can do to a face.)
 
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TwoFiftyTwoPM said:
She's in her early 30's. I believe she was 31 or 33 when she was being discussed on lolcow, which was only a year ago or so. I've never seen a woman age so hard. (Though I think it was @KateFarmsShill who also explained that Dani just never showers, and it's amazing what buildups of grease and grime can do to a face.)
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She's 33.

She rarely showers (every 3-4 days at best), does no skincare beyond the occasional mask when she's bored, smokes or at least smoked heavily, and spends a lot of time in the sun without sunscreen. Her apartment has a balcony and she tends to sit out there for prolonged periods in the summer. She also used to drink quite a lot of alcohol. The fact that she habitually raises her eyebrows while talking, creating those forehead creases doesn't help. The anorexia and purging probably didn't do her any favors either.

I'm not a skincare expert but doesn't dehydration also age you? Because in pursuing her tube and continuing to pursue her port she is intentionally dehydrating the shit out of herself.

Her sister also has unfortunate facial features and a forehead that goes on for miles, but looks her age (and is doing something worthwhile with her life).

edit: she's also addicted to caffiene and sucks down sugar free energy drinks all day, then whines that she can never sleep and goes for days without a quality sleep cycle.
 
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Top 10 Causes of Premature Aging

Getting older is simply part of living. However, you might have things in your life that are actually causing your body’s aging process to speed up
www.betterhealthsolutions.org

Top ten causes of aging. I think Dani meets 9/10. Dehydration or drinking caffeinated and sugary drinks instead of water, smoking, too much sun, low BMI, bad diet (no diet), not getting enough sleep, not exercising, depression (she does a few mental health #s), stress (aren't we all though?)

I don't think she has ptsd but otherwise it's no wonder she looks far older than she is. Also, maybe she's looking for a tube infection, bad hygiene is a fastpass to that without going the usual feces on tube route 🤷‍♀️
 
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