For example, a person may lie to avoid social embarrassment. While some people lie more frequently than others, it is not typically a sign of a mental health condition.
Pathological lying is different. It may be a sign of an underlying mental health condition, such as a personality disorder.
In this article, we discuss pathological lying in more detail, including how to recognize it and how to cope with this behavior in others.
Lying refers to making a false statement to deceive others intentionally, often for some form of personal gain. Nonpathological lying is commonplace and not a sign of any disorder. A person who pathologically lies will lie compulsively and without any clear benefit to themselves. There have been some attempts to outline the differences between a pathological and a nonpathological lie, but more research is necessary to make appropriate distinctions.
A key feature of a pathological lie is that it has no obvious motivation. It is usually possible to determine why someone has told a lie — such as to benefit themselves or avoid an embarrassing or stressful social situation — but pathological lying occurs for no clear reason and does not seem to benefit the individual.
It is unclear whether a person who pathologically lies is aware of their deceit or is capable of thinking rationally about their lies. Pathological lying can make socializing difficult and lead to significant interpersonal problems with loved ones and colleagues. It is unclear whether pathological lying is a symptom of another condition or a condition itself. For instance, compulsive lying is a feature of several other conditions, such as factitious disorder and personality disorders.
This condition is most common in mothers, who feign illness in their child and lie to a doctor about it. BPD is a condition that makes it difficult for a person to regulate their emotions. People with BPD may experience severe mood swings, feel greater instability and insecurity, and not have a stable sense of self. The hallmarks of NPD are fantasies of immense importance and the need for admiration and special treatment.
Researchers argue that while pathological lying may, in theory, occur in people with APD, those with this condition often lie for personal gain or pleasure. A person with BPD or NPD may lie to distort reality into something that fits with the emotions that they are feeling, rather than the facts. A case study of one person showing signs of pathological lying found that their behavior patterns were similar to those that can occur with frontotemporal dementia.
Alexithymia is a difficulty recognizing emotions, and is sometimes seen along with depression, autism, or brain injury, among other conditions. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, Ph. What is it Comparing lies Identification Coping Fascination Diagnosis Treatment Summary Pathological lying Pathological lying, also known as mythomania and pseudologia fantastica, is the chronic behavior of compulsive or habitual lying.
Defining a pathological liar. Pathological lies vs. Identifying a pathological liar in your life. How to cope with a pathological liar. Why do pathological liars fascinate people. Diagnosing a pathological liar. Treating pathological lying. Read this next.
Conduct Disorder. What Are Rope Worms? We all lie, but some people take it to extremes, destroying careers and relationships in the process. Admit it: From time to time, you lie — at least a little. Your best friend asks what you think of her new haircut. It's awful, but you tell her it looks great. Feldman, who wrote The Liar in Your Life.
But when lying gets out of control it can wreak havoc in your personal and professional lives — potentially destroying relationships and careers. Out-of-control lying is known as compulsive or pathological lying. Definitions are fluid, experts say. Compulsive liars have a need to embellish and exaggerate, says Paul Ekman, PhD , a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California in San Francisco and the author of Telling Lies , among other books.
When you ask a compulsive liar for an opinion on an important issue, says Dr. By the age of three or four, we all start to lie. At this point in our brain's development, we learn that we have an incredibly versatile and powerful tool at our disposal — our language — and we can use it to actually play with reality and affect the outcome of what's happening.
Sooner or later we learn that lying is "bad," and we shouldn't really do it. But if Jim Carey's "Liar Liar" taught us anything, it's that this just isn't feasible.
We all have to lie sometimes. But some people are pathological liars, meaning they can't stop spreading misinformation about themselves and others. The psychological reasons for why some people are this way is a bit of a mystery, but in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, pathological lying is a disorder in its own right, as well as a symptom of personality disorders like psychopathy and narcissism.
When you don't care about other people, lies don't seem to matter. A lack of empathy essentially means a lack of conscience, which is a hard concept to grasp for a lot of people. But they don't fit. In fact, they may not even realise they are lying half the time, because they're not conscious of it.
Orloff said they actually believe they are telling the truth a lot of the time. It's not so much about the fact itself, she said, as it is about wanting to have power over somebody. This is extremely dangerous for highly sensitive people, because they attract narcissists.
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