A panic attack is no joke, and it’s mean to insult someone about a mental health issue; however, what if you suspect that person is faking a mental health issue for attention?

That’s the issue in today’s story where one girl breaks up with her boyfriend because she doesn’t think he really suffers from anxiety even though he has lots of panic attacks at school.

She ends up admitting why she broke up with him during a family dinner, and now her dad is mad at her.

Let’s see why she thinks he’s faking panic attacks…

AITA for telling Dad in front of everyone that I don’t want to date family friend’s son because I think he’s manipulating me with his anxiety

I am on the spectrum so it’s hard for me to tell.

My older sister is diagnosed with anxiety. I know anxiety can come in different forms but I believe (& my sister as well) that someone is using their “anxiety” to manipulate me.

I am a girl. Guy named Trey is the son of Dad’s friend. Sometimes he’d come around and we became friends, then he asked me out and we dated for a month.

We go to the same school, this is the first year we had classes together. He makes it well known that he has anxiety to me and everyone around us. We have 4 classes together – in 2 we sit at the same table.

OP describes what it looks like when Trey has anxiety.

Here’s the issue – I suspect that Trey is faking his anxiety or using it as manipulation.

In the two classes where we sit close, he always suddenly starts breathing really heavily and working up a worried expression, burying his face in his hands and shaky breath. It lasts for like 20 seconds, then repeats about 20 mins later.

I know to be polite and ask if he’s okay, but it just feels very off.

OP thinks Trey just wants empathy.

From knowing my sister she seems genuinely scared in panic attacks.

Trey doesn’t seem scared he just seems… calmer immediately after someone gives him empathy? Sometimes I even see a smirk.

Or he’ll suddenly go into an “anxiety attack”, saying “it feels like the world is caving in” over and over and then… *RUN* over to adjacent tables to put his head on their desks and get their sympathy.

Kinda distracting imo but he doesn’t leave until someone asks him if he’s alright.

OP thinks Trey’s behavior isn’t consistent with what someone having a panic attack would do.

It just is kinda off like usually in anxiety attacks you’d be just trying to get through it so I’d find it hard to immediately think about running to adjacent tables and making it known.

I thought most people don’t want others to know when these panic attacks happen.

He keeps doing it more and more, it’s like a daily occurrence by now. He only started after we began dating.

In the two classes we aren’t sitting close, he will never have a single anxiety attack. He’ll be loudly talking to friends. It just is kinda off because his behavior isn’t ever consistent.

OP broke up with Trey.

Anyways he doesn’t do this anxiety stuff in front of Dad or when we all are together.

Guy seems charismatic elsewise, kind and polite.

But yeah after a month I felt like he was fishing for attention and sympathy from others so I broke up with him – politely ofc. I just made some excuse that I wasn’t ready.

Needed time to phrase it correctly to Dad so I kept the news to myself.

Trey confronted OP about the breakup at a family dinner.

Well our families had dinner together last weekend and in front of everyone Trey asked me why I broke up with him.

Huge shock for everyone.

He started accusing me of seeing someone else as the reason since I was “giving him less attention at school” and I didn’t handle this very well but I was embarrassed and mad and impulsively said that it was because he was a dramatic person and manipulating others with his “anxiety.”

Dead silence, awkward drive home. Dad is mad at me, other family is mad at me too. AITA for having this opinion, and AITA for my actions?

OP could be wrong about Trey’s anxiety attacks, or she might be right. Either way, it would’ve been better to be honest with Trey about why she was breaking up with him instead of having a confrontation at a family dinner.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story…

This reader pointed out that the ex proved he wanted attention.

Beware of drama queens.

Perhaps it’s better to give a generic breakup reason.

This person suggests sharing what she wrote with her dad.

Another reader warns OP to stay away from the ex.

Hopefully if she explains the situation to her dad he’ll understand.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.