Pathological liars don’t have anything to gain from their lies. The most common signs of compulsive lying include: You may believe them for a while, but they eventually reveal themselves in time. Identifying someone as a pathological liar can be difficult, especially if you’ve only just met them. For example, a pathological liar may tell you that they’ve earned an important award or degree, but a quick fact check will immediately expose them. What makes pathological lies stand out is that they are easy to verify. If their lies are justified (i.e., they want to cover up their mistakes or have something to gain from them), they are normal lies. If a person lies frequently, that may not necessarily mean that they are a pathological liar. Studies have also found that pathological liars find it harder to hold down a job and maintain long-term relationships because their lies are eventually discovered. People with more white matter have great verbal fluency and thought processing, but they also exhibit problems with empathy and emotions. Compulsive lying isn’t found as a standalone diagnosis in the ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders, but it has been associated with Munchausen syndrome (also known as factitious disorder), a mental disorder where the patient lies about being injured or ill.Ĭompulsive lying can also be a symptom in personality disorders such as narcissistic personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and borderline personality disorder, which can lead to challenges with interpersonal relationships.Īccording to a study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, pathological liars show a 22-26% increase in prefrontal white matter, which is why they could be prone to compulsive lying. Causes of compulsive lying: is it a symptom or a condition?īecause little research has been done on compulsive lying, scientists don’t know if it’s a symptom or a standalone condition. #Pathological liar signs movieFor example, a pathological liar can tell others that they’re related to a famous person, that they were in a life-threatening accident, or tell grandiose stories that challenge the wildest movie scripts. They can make up intricate stories about their past, which can be extremely frustrating for friends, family, and co-workers because they don’t know when to trust them. Meanwhile, pathological liars lie compulsively and for no apparent reason. Under normal circumstances, people who lie do so because they have a motivation, something to be gained from it. Also known as pseudologia fantastica or mythomania, compulsive lying can point to a more severe mental health condition and refers to the habit of deceiving others even though no benefit can be drawn from it. Or, when the hairdresser asks you if you like your new haircut, you half-heartedly answer yes, despite the fact that it’s not at all what you had in mind.Ĭompulsive lying is different. These are the so-called “white lies” – lies that we don’t enjoy telling, but that are often necessary to avoid an embarrassing situation or to hurt someone’s feelings.įor example, when your friend offers you a meal they cooked themselves, you might tell them it’s delicious even though you didn’t really love it. And yet, the average person tells between one to two lies per day and hears between 10 and 200 lies, most of which are harmless. Growing up, we are taught that we should not tell lies and that honesty is an admirable trait in a human being.
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