It turns out that indifference to symptoms is not a reliable
distinguishing factor, and it can be difficult to tell these
conditions apart. However, conversion symptoms are often
precipitated by stress, although the person is not aware of their
own inabilities. Malingerers may also have clear goals or benefits
behind their actions, while physical illness may be a significant
stressor to people who are truly ill.
People who live with a chronic illness have a greater risk of
developing anxiety and/or depression.
The difference is that while malingering is conscious and
willful, conversion disorder is subconscious and involuntary.
Malingering is deliberately feigning or exaggerating physical
or mental symptoms motivated by a desire for financial compensation
or avoiding work .
In conversion disorder, or hysteria, the mental or physical
symptom develops subconsciously in response to some stressful event
or situation, and the affected patient truly believes they have a
physical problem.
The Freudian theory suggests that a painful experiences is
consciously repressed as a way of managing the pain, but this
emotional charge is somehow “converted” into the neurological
symptoms.