Can you be addicted to sympathy?

Answer 1

Actually you can. A typical manifestation is Munchhausen's Syndrome. In more typical terminology, that is someone known as a hypochondriac. They see the world as an unfriendly place, and they see doctors and hospitals as a refuge. So they either make up symptoms, exaggerate symptoms, or even deliberately make themselves sick. Then they can get their "fix" of doctors and nurses fussing over them, and friends checking on them.

Also related are those who are addicted to giving sympathy or rescuing others. It can be simple co-dependency where someone is addicted to caring for people who don't care for themselves such as addicts. That is why co-addiction is another term used, since addicts often have people in their lives who enable their addictions or gain a sense of power from their addictions. Or it can be a very bad manifestation called Munchhausen's Syndrome by Proxy. That is someone who will often make others sick or put them near death to get to rescue them. A hospital might get a new nurse in the pediatric wing, and all of a sudden, cases of respiratory distress and deaths spike. When the nurse is starting to get questioned, they leave, and then the suspicious cases in the hospital drop. Like those with hypochondria, those with Munchhausen's by Proxy really only want attention. Sure, sick children will get sympathy, but it is all about the "caretaker" with this disorder.