Is it normal to lie about mental illness in online communities?

It's attention seeking behaviour, and unfortunately, it seems to be becoming more common.

According to the NIH the prevelence of AMI (any mental illness) among adults in the U.S is 18.9% and 25.9% for people between the ages of 18-25.

Approximately 1 in 5 U.S adults suffer from some form of mental illness. 46.6 million people in 2017.

Additionally according to the CDC 1 in 4 women will report being raped by the time they are 44. (Not necessarily to law enforcement)

It's difficult, if not impossible, to find numbers that are completely accurate since many who suffer from mental illness never seek help.

It doesn't shock me that those who do have mental illness utilize the internet for the majority of their social communication, which may inflate numbers even more.

Also, those that don't have a mental illness aren't likely to say anything about it, while those that do have one may mention it, making the prevelence seem even higher. Regardless, if 1 in 4 people state something as true, that number is going to seem extremely high. Even accounting for people with mental illness, who never say anything about it, the number is still alarmingly high.

Some will be vocal, yes some people will lie, while many will be silent.

You're welcome to your pet peeve, but I suspect that the majority of those claiming mental illness, are probably telling the truth.

Some may state people lie for attention and some people might do so, but attention gained by admitting mental health issues is overwhelmingly negative, and not the attention most people would want.

Unfortunately that's really common, yes. I think it's mainly misinformation about the disorders they claim to have rather than attention-seeking behaviour.

If you’re trying to help someone than lmao yeh it’s normal but if you’re just doing cos no one likes u then I think it’s weird

I was taped and so you must hate me