system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What is Munchasen by Proxy, and how does it work?
gpt
Munchausen syndrome is the colloquial name for factitious disorder, where someone habitually lies about some kind of suffering (a disease, injury, trauma, etc.) to get sympathy and attention from others. Some may go as far as elaborately imitating the symptoms in order to fool medical doctors. It's often comorbid with cluster b personality disorders (borderline, narcissistic, etc.)

Munchausen by proxy is essentially making someone else pretend to suffer, usually a child or some other dependent, in order to get sympathy, e.g., a mother making people think her kid has cancer. It can sometimes turn into full-blown abuse in order to maintain symptoms.