

Even after their falsehoods have been exposed, people who lie compulsively may have difficulty admitting the truth. They may even tell lies which damage their own reputations. People who lie compulsively often have no ulterior motive. They may lie repeatedly about important as well as unimportant matters. People in this category may be more comfortable telling lies than telling the truth. In this framework, compulsive lying is the habit of telling falsehoods uncontrollably. Yet there are professionals within the mental health community who classify the terms as subtly different conditions. Medical literature currently does not differentiate between these terms. The terms “compulsive lying” and “pathological lying” are often used interchangeably. In general, a pathological liar must recognize they are saying something untrue. Someone who has delusions or false memory syndrome is unlikely to qualify as a habitual liar. These falsehoods would not be considered compulsive because the lying is motivated by an outside threat.īefore determining that someone is lying compulsively, clinicians will generally rule out other possible causes. A child with abusive parents might lie compulsively to avoid harm.

A person who has the flu might tell co-workers the symptoms are in fact AIDS or some other serious illness. The lies are believable and may have truthful elements.Habitual lying often has the following traits: Yet pathological liars tend to lie more frequently regardless of context.
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