The professional term for a person who believes his own lies is a pathological liar. This is someone who is hailed as a liar-in-chief, aka a supreme liar.
They are quite skilled at lying and will make up entire stories full of lies based on the one initial lie.
People like this have convinced themselves that they are telling the truth. Once you discover the secrets of the pathological liar, head for the hills.
Nothing but trouble is ahead for a person that stays in such a bad relationship.
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Are only men pathological liars?
No, that would be a false statement. Plenty of ladies are also proven to be pathological liars. This type of person can be any gender.
They can also be of any age, any ethnic background, or any personal lifestyle preferences. Liars are not exclusive to any one type of person.
Is pathological lying a mental illness?
Even though some people seem obsessed with lying and do so all the time, it is NOT considered a form of mental illness. The exception comes in with the pathological liar.
In their case, it could be a personality malfunction. As such, it is some degree of mental illness.
Most of the time this person has concurrent mental health conditions to go along with it.
This information comes courtesy of industry professionals such as psychologists.
What is bad about a pathological liar?
The action of lying refers to the individual making a statement that is totally false. It is typically done on purpose in order to deceive one or more other people.
There may be personal motives at stake. Perhaps the liar has something to gain if the recipient of the statements believes him. Ultimately, it can cause significant harm.
What is the difference between a pathological liar and a compulsive liar?
We have been telling you what a pathological liar is. A liar that is compulsive about lying does so because it is a habit.
This is not considered a mental illness according to field experts. One thing is certain, a regular person cannot trust either one of the types of liars.
Can you date a pathological liar?
Technically, yes you can; however, there are inherent problems with such a union. You will never know when they are telling the truth.
You cannot put your trust in this person. The actions of any pathological liar are deliberately designed to deceive other folks.
If you find out this person has been lying to you repeatedly, break things off right away.
Does a pathological liar really believe he is telling the truth?
Most of the time, yes, he does. He cannot help himself. His mental defects make him think all the lies are truthful facts.
If someone calls him out about them, he will become furious. If there are more parts to his mental illness, he could turn physically violent.
This is why you ought to be careful and end the relationship. You don’t want to bear the brunt of that violence. Leave at once.
Why is it important to know these things?
As we just stated, in some cases lying can lead to violence. At the very least, do you truly want to be a life partner to somebody who never tells the truth?
One of the most important aspects of a marriage is trust. You cannot get this if your spouse is constantly lying. It is also mentally harmful to any children you may have.
They will grow up just like their parents. Do you want that? Get rid of this person!
What are some signs that someone is a pathological liar?
There are, in fact, many signs. Some will be obvious to you while others you may never have thought of before. Here is a partial list of them.
- Being too specific with his statements
- Inconsistencies in his conversations
- Your friendly neighborhood fact-checkers catch him in several lies
- Their statements are too vague and too generalized
- Inability to adhere to plans
- He repeatedly cancels his plans
- He gets defensive when anybody questions his statements
- His stories consist of multiple lies at the same time
- He lies all the time
- He doesn’t seem to know the difference between factual and fictional statements
- His lies can be detrimental to other people
Do the people around him believe his lies?
At first, they probably do. He can be very convincing. This is especially true when they initially meet him.
In the beginning of a relationship a person has no reason to doubt they are being told the truth. Are they in for a shock!
What happens to change this opinion?
He gets caught by one or more people at least several times. Now they no longer believe him.
The more folks that find out he has been lying, the more stop believing it. Then they will permanently cease communications with him.
The sad thing is, he won’t understand why. In his mind, he always tells the truth.
Expanding on the concept of compulsive liars
Although this pattern of behavior can be harmful, mental health care professionals disagree.
To these people, ANY form of lying is bad and should be avoided at all costs.
What is the definition of a sociopathic liar?
So far, we have explained that the compulsive liar does so out of habit and the pathological liar actually believes his lies are the truth.
Sociopathic liars lie because they want to. This person derives great pleasure when he lies. He does not care who it may hurt or how badly.
Consequences mean nothing to him. This makes this form of lying the most detrimental of all.
Sociopathic liars are mentally ill and don’t fit into society
They lack a conscience and never experience remorse. If they get caught lying, they just shrug it off and go about their business.
He also does not care what society thinks of him. Other people think he is awful for his constant lying, so what?
That does not affect him in the slightest. Stay away from this person!
Can somebody who is a habitual liar ever change?
Could they? Probably yes. But will they? Most likely not. Even with scientific breakthroughs in research, it is extremely rare that they change.
According to the results of computer-assisted brain scans, there is literally something wrong with this person’s brain. Even medication cannot help.
Medication for such an illness might stop the lying for a little while. However, other folks cannot always tell when he has been taking the meds.
When he goes off them, the lying resumes and can even be worse. Do yourself a huge favor. Stay away from people of this nature.
Can a habitual liar be successful in life’s endeavors?
In the beginning, he can be successful. The trouble comes in when others discover the truth. Then nobody believes him anymore.
He may get fired from his job, lose his spouse and family, etc. There is not much hope for this person.
Would you want to be married to somebody you cannot trust? If you said yes, unfortunately, you will get whatever this life throws at you.
The best thing to do is leave him and find someone different.
