Because everyone is so different and their minds and personalities differ, every person can truly have a large spectrum of honesty versus dishonesty traits. There are different types of liars and different levels at which they lie, too. At the opposite of the normal spectrum, there are psychiatric disorders that can cause a person to obsess in lying to others, sometimes without any logical reason for doing so.
Pathological lying is defined by Websters Dictionary as an individual who habitually tells lies so exaggerated or bizarre that they are suggestive of mental disorder. It is said by the literature to start around 16-years-old and plagues some teenagers who are juvenile offenders. Lies that are told by pathological liars are different in that they are not pre-planned, whereas a lie told by normal person occasionally is generally planned out ahead of time and executed with some thought and intent in hiding or covering up the lie.
Someone who is a pathological or compulsive liar may or may not even be aware that they are lying. They may be having fantasies or their reality or perception may be inaccurate because they have an underlying psychiatric or mental disorder that could be causing them to lie. Or their lying may be purposeful and intentional, especially if they are using lying as a protective measure. A pathological or compulsive liar may have trouble controlling their lying, even if their lying is not provoked by another person or they have no reason to be lying.
Is Lying a Symptom of Underlying Problems?
There are many underlying psychiatric conditions that list pathological or compulsive lying as a symptom of the disease. Health professionals arent yet in agreement whether excessive lying is a psychiatric illness or personality disorder in itself, or whether it is just a symptom of many other mental health illnesses. Narcissism, psychopathy, antisocial disorders, borderline personality disorder, and histrionic personality disorder are all illnesses that have an element of lying to them. Excessive lying in any case could be directly linked to mental illnesses. If lying is used in the form of manipulation with no disregard for the other person, it is especially harmful.
One of the most prevalent mental illnesses that can result in serious habitual lying is a person who is diagnosed as a psychopath, also referred to as a sociopath. Psychopaths and sociopaths have a tendency to lie in a way that is manipulative to others and serves their own self-gratification purposes. Not all sociopaths or psychopaths are serial killers or bad people, thought. In fact, some sociopathic and psychopathic people can be in positions of power without you even knowing it, such as a CEO of a company. Being diagnosed with psychopathy means that a person doesnt have normal inhibitions, has little or no empathy for others, has little or no remorse for actions taken against others and may exhibit antisocial behavior. Some people are simply born this way. Being classified as a psychopath, sociopath or compulsive or pathologic liar does not necessarily mean the person exhibits criminal behavior towards others.
Lying and dishonesty isnt just for people who have mental illness. As we learned, lying is a part of normal brain development. In addition to autistic people and those who have mental impairment or personality disorders, a person can resort to lying if they are under the influence of alcohol, drugs or other chemicals that can alter behavior and normal brain functioning. A person who has been deprived of sleep or who is experiencing insomnia for a variety of reasons may resort to lying as a coping mechanism or because their memories or brain functioning is altered by lack of sleep.
The Reason Behind the Lies
You may be wondering why people choose to tell lies. Many lies are told in order to benefit in some way from the lie. People may lie in order to gain trust, money, finances, relationships, status and admiration. Lies can also be told in kindness so as not to hurt another persons feelings. Telling someone they dont look fat when they may indeed be overweight is a type of lie called a white lie that is told in order to keep from hurting another persons feelings or hurting your relationship with them. Lies can be told in order to avoid conflict, as can be seen when a husband lies about his whereabouts or spending habits to satiate a wife that may be upset at his behavior.
Lies can also be driven by fear. A person who fears conflict, rejection, punishment or consequences may resort to lying as a means of protection. A person who cheats on their partner could lie to their partner about their whereabouts because they are afraid they will lose the relationship if they dont cover up their infidelity. A person may boast, exaggerate or lie about their successes, sexual prowess and their financial state in order to attract a romantic partner, because telling the truth may result in rejection, abandonment or an inability to have sex. If you walk through the halls of a jail or prison, or listen in on courtroom trials, most criminals always profess their innocence. This is because we may lie to protect ourselves from punishment or to protect ourselves from loss of our money or our freedom.
A person may not just lie to others, but could also be lying to themselves. For example, a person who is in denial about the state of their own mental health may be in denial that they have a drug or alcohol problem and lie to themselves accordingly. The mind does many things in order to protect itself from severe trauma also. If a child or adult experiences an extreme trauma, their mind can distort the reality and they may perceive what happened quite differently than it actually did happen. Sometimes facing the truth can be much more painful than facing the repercussions of telling a few lies. When someone tells a lie repeatedly, it can sometimes engrain itself in a persons memory as the truth, replacing the actual truth as it is perceived by that person.