Indeed, this can be a stumbling block to psychotherapy.ĭo you know a pathological liar? Are you one? Are you married to one? Is your child showing symptoms? Of course, part of the problem with talk therapy is that the patient needs to tell the truth. For those who know they have a problem, as in the man who wrote the email above, psychotherapy is best, at least at this point.

Pathological lying is not really understood by mental health professionals and that is part of the reason why there is no clear treatment that is best for this type of patient. How can a pathological liar be trusted to tell the truth if his lies are contradictory, self incriminating and perpetual, even in court? Many of these people cannot tell the difference between their lies and reality. That is why, if they are forced into court, lawyers do not want to put them on the stand. It is also suggested that the lies are so disorganized that people see them as senseless. Some judges have ruled that, in the absence of any other psychological condition, the liar is to be held legally responsible. This raises questions about the liar’s ability to control the behavior and, therefore, the extent that he can be held responsible in a court of law. It has been debated that this is an impulse disorder because the lies occur spontaneously and are unplanned.

They are not sociopaths and lose everything as a result of their behavior. When they become aware of a lie they told, they do experience guilt feelings. They come from all professions and businesses so that deprivation is not a motivating factor. PLs are often extremely successful people. It has been suggested that there is something compulsive about the behavior but that has not been proven. The PL is not psychotic, depressed or anxious. It does not seem connected to any other psychiatric condition. There remains a lot of mystery about the PL. As he weaves more and more lies they become ever more complicated so that ruination and discovery are inevitable. Sooner or later he get caught in his lies. Herein is the essence of the pathological liar. It’s a fantastic untruth that is so fantastical that it makes no sense. One psychologist suggested that the pathological liar was so uncomfortable with his real life that he constructed a mythological wonderful life for himself. There is no purpose to the lies and the pathological liar is sometimes unaware of the fact that he is telling lies. However, the pathological liar and the lies he tells are entirely different. In all of these cases people know they are lying and have a conscious intent or purpose in being untruthful.

A lie of omission is the withholding of information, perhaps to protect someone or to deceive someone by withholding information. A lie of commission is a deliberate lie intended to mislead. There are lies of commission and omission. There are the “little white lies” that are harmless in nature, partially true and done to bolster another person. There are those who are criminal and lie with criminal intent, such as committing fraud or ripping someone off from his money. That term is not meant to be judgemental or demeaning.

There is a specific type of liar called a pathological liar (PL).

Pathological lying treatment