Telling a few truths consciously and intentionally may help in adjusting their behavior. Help them change.Įncourage them to practice the truth a little at a time. Tell them you understand they felt compelled to lie and that you are willing to help. Reassure them that you still care about them regardless of their issues. If you’re friends with the person, says to try these suggestions: 4. ⌄ Scroll down to continue reading article ⌄ How? Well, according to PsychCentral, there are a few ways to handle them: So when you know someone is a pathological liar, you can be on your guard and more apt to addressing them. If you come across any pathological liars, address them in the right ways.

More traits to keep in mind with pathological liars: This doesn’t mean all addicts are liars, but according, people fighting addictions tend to be more likely to lie uncontrollably to friends and family. If a person has certain addictions like alcoholism, gambling, substance abuse or more, they may be more likely to be a pathological liar. It’s when the number of terrible events in a person’s’ life makes you question their honesty, you’re probably dealing with a pathological liar. This person may always have a new illness, or tragedy in their life. In addition, pathological liars may also take an opposite approach and show themselves as victims. ⌄ Scroll down to continue reading article ⌄ They play the victim non-stop. They often put themselves in an excellent light, such as a hero that saves the day, someone that’s rich and powerful, or they know a lot of celebrities or people in enviable positions. They are “so” amazing.įor example, every story they tell will seem extraordinary and absolutely fabulous. When you’re dealing with pathological liars, you’ll begin to notice a few things about them. Somewhere along the line, and then for multiple years thereafter, it gets learned.” To spot a pathological liar, observe these behaviors. “Pathological lying doesn’t crop up out of nowhere like a tumor. To take it a step further, Medical Daily says, All of these disorders can blur the lines behind what is and isn’t pathological lying. In addition, an adult may have psychotic disorders, delusions, sociopathy and more. For instance, a child may be suffering with attention deficit disorder or have oppositional defiant disorder. These issues can contribute to or make it harder to diagnose pathological lying on its own. This type of liar may actually suffer from other mental disorders.Īlso, some people suffer from other disorders and pathological lying can be a symptom of these disorders. But you may soon realize this person is not only a liar, but may even be a sociopath, leaving you open to harm. Some come off as extremely charming, kind and nice. In addition, a pathological liar may not seem so obvious at first. Or sometimes, it may not even be about taking your job.

For instance, you could be working in your office and find out a pathological liar has lied about you in order to take your job. Not knowing if a person is a pathological liar or not could result in lots of negative experiences.

These people not only lie to make their lives sound more exciting or credible, they also lie about other people - maybe even you. It can be easy to think lying is no big deal, but being around a pathological liar can be harmful in some cases. Pathological liars can leave you open to harm. They believe it’s the compulsive liar that lies without reason, just out of habit, and that the pathological liar not only lies habitually, but also creates lies rooted in manipulation. While some of these terms may be familiar to most people, some are not, unless you’re an expert in the field.Īlso, the overall consensus is that these terms all mean the same thing, but there is some debate between mental health professionals that pathological liars fall under compulsive liars. There are multiple names for pathological lying as well, such as mythomania, compulsive lying and pseudologia fantastica. This kind of lying goes beyond what’s considered a “fib” or a “harmless, little lie” in that the person routinely lies and does so without any logic behind it. However, pathological lying is different. ⌄ Scroll down to continue reading article ⌄ Pathological lying is continuously lying with no logic behind it.įibbing, deceiving, fabricating - whichever way you slice it, you know it’s lying.

Compulsive liar vs pathological liar