Secondary disease gain - a taboo with therapeutic relevance

Secondary disease gain

There are few terms in therapeutic work that are as sensitive as this one: secondary disease gain. It quickly sounds like manipulation, like "pretending to be ill", like drama. And yet the concept is neither derogatory nor malicious - but a psychodynamic phenomenon that helps us to better understand chronic processes.

Secondary illness gain means:
A person experiences certain benefits through their illness - consciously or unconsciously - that are not directly related to the actual symptom. It is therefore not about faking illness, but about experiencing positive side effects in a difficult condition.