: Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome where did the term originate?

“Munchausen Syndrome, a disorder where people fabricate illness in themselves, and Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome were named after an 18th-century German dignitary named Baron von Munchausen. Baron von Munchausen was known for telling “outlandish stories,” (“Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome,” n.d., p. 1). The name was first used in 1951 by Dr. Richard Asher to describe self-induced illness. It is told that Asher came upon the name Baron Hieronymus Karl Friedrich Freiherr von Munchausen in fictional accounts of his stories published in 1785 (Schreier & Libow, 1993, p.6–7). Because of the correlation between Baron von Munchausen’s fictional stories and the exaggerated and made up symptoms of a person with this disorder, the terms Munchausen Syndrome or Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome were adopted as clinical terms describing the two main factitious disorders.”

Source

^^ What she said.

I think the difference between Munchausen Syndrome and Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome is that in Munchausen Syndrome people do something to make themselves ill, for whatever reason, their own mental pathology, to get attention, etc. and in Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome people do something to make another person ill, a parent making a child ill, a medical working making a patient ill so they can be seen as a hero when they save them, or some other family member making a relative ill. I have heard of cases of parents with Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome actually injecting their children with feces to make them sick or nearly suffocating them in hospitals.

@lillycoyote is correct.

@lillycoyote Yes, that is correct. Munchausen Syndrome is when people do it to themselves and by proxy is usually mothers doing it to their children (but could be either parent and it can be done to someone other than their child).

In Russia, every kid knew who Munchausen was – stories about him were popular with kids – just a side note.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir And the subject of a great Terry Gilliam movie: The Adventures of Baron Von Munchuasen

@lillycoyote yes!