Munchausen syndrome is a psychiatric factitious disorder wherein those

affected feign disease , illness, or psychological trauma to draw attention ,

sympathy , or reassurance to themselves. It is also sometimes known as
hospital addiction syndrome, thick chart syndrome, or hospital
hopper syndrome. True Munchausen syndrome fits within the subclass of
factitious disorder with predominantly physical signs and symptoms, but
they also have a history of recurrent hospitalization , travelling, and
dramatic, untrue, and extremely improbable tales of their past
experiences.[1] There is discussion to reclassify them as somatoform
disorders in the DSM-5 as it is unclear whether or not people are
conscious of drawing attention to themselves.[2] In the current
iteration, the term "somatoform disorder" (as used in the DSM-IV-TR and
other literature) is no longer in use; that particular section of the
DSM-5 has been renamed "Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders".
Officially, Munchausen syndrome has been renamed "Factitious Disorder",
with specificity either as "Imposed on Self" or "Imposed on Another"
(formerly "by Proxy").
Munchausen syndrome is related to Munchausen syndrome by proxy
(MSbP/MSP), which refers to the abuse of another person, typically a
child, in order to seek attention or sympathy for the abuser. It is an
obsessive want to create symptoms for the victim in order to obtain
repeated medication or even operations.