Do you know someone who tends to lie frequently about any and everything? Have you caught them in a lie or two and wonder why they continue to lie? If so, you are obviously dealing with a pathological liar. What most people fail to recognize about pathological liars is that they often lack the ability to empathize with others (walk in your shoes), feel guilt about their behavior, and have trouble controlling their inbornimpulse to lie. For most of us, it is very difficult to lie with a straight face and quite easy to feel guilty about the lie. But for someone with “psychological deficits” or pathological behaviors, it is rathereasy for them to lie while exhibiting behaviors and emotions that make the lie believable.What is most interesting about pathological liars is that many of them know how to control their emotions in such a way that lying can look like the truth to us. This article will explore pathological lying and offer tips on how to protect yourself from their wrath.

Having worked with adolescents for the past 7-8 years in the mental health field and juvenile justice system, I have seen my fair share of teens with socio-pathic, borderline, narcissistic, and histrionic traits that includes lying behaviors. The lying behaviors are typically chronic, destructive to others, purposeful and nonpurposeful at times, calculated or impulsive, manipulative, and confusing for everyone. In many cases, pathological lying occurs when you least expect it. I’ve heard many parents make statements such as “I know he is lying when his lips are moving” or “she just tells lies with no problem. She does it with ease.”

Pathological lying is very different from telling a “fib” or “white lie” to get out of something or change the scope of a situation. The lying isinsidious, evil, and sometimes vindictive. Some individuals have developed skill in lying to others and have no fear or regret inengaged in lying to a Judge, police officer, therapist, psychiatrist, family member, spouse, supervisor, etc. They can also present as very calm or charming, provide appropriateeye contact, maintain norming breathing rhythms, bepersonable or friendly, and have calm body language. These individuals certainlyfit the description of a sociopath and can be very dangerous for society and the lives of those who are in relation to them in some form or fashion.

The tragic reality of those who work with, live with, or know a pathological liar is that there are almost always victims. Sometimes you are a part of a lie and may not even know it. Other times, you may know the person is lying, but due to the person being very personable and friendly, you struggle to even consider the fact that maybe you are being lied to. In other cases, you might also struggle to convince others that a respected or likedperson is in fact lying. As a result of some pathological liars tend to be charming, sometimes intelligent, have good jobs, and are sociable, we can be blinded to their obvious social, emotional, and cognitivedeficits.Because of this reality, it is very important that we understand how to protect ourselvesagainst a pathological liar. It is even more important that you understand just how damaging these individuals can be. Denial makes it very difficult for some people to believe they would ever be lied on, harmed, or nearly destroyed by a dangerous liar. Sadly, these are the individuals who become victims.

It’s also important to understand that some individuals who pathologically lie also suffer from certain disorders or have been diagnosed with a myriad of diagnoses such asconduct disorder (CD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), or ADHD (i.e., some youths with this diagnosis also have ODD or antisocial traits that contribute to frequent lying) for children and adolescents. For adults, the diagnosis might include but are not limited to borderline personality disorder (BPD), histrionic personality disorder (HPD), antisocial personality disorder (i.e., sociopathy), and some psychotic disorders.

There are certainly ways to protect yourself from a destructive person who sendswhirlpools of confusion into your life. You should take every lie seriously and strive to remember:

  1. Avoid engaging the pathological liar: If you sense that you are being lied to, perhaps you are. We all have an “internal compass” that signals trouble or peace, truth or fiction. Trust that. There are situations in which you might feel someone is being untrue but later find out they were telling the truth. But in many cases we, as humans, are good barometers. If you sense that someone is lying to you, don’t make the person feel comfortable by agreeing, nodding, or laughing about it. A blank stare might do the trick in shutting down the lie.
  2. Call them out: Sometimes it’s perfectly fine to point out that something isn’t adding up. You could most certainly put it on yourself by saying “for some reason, I am confused. Can you explain that to me again?”In counseling sessions the use of confrontationcan be powerful if used appropriately and with the right amount of tact. Confrontation does not mean creating an argument but creating an acknowledgement that information isn’t adding up. For example, a confrontation might include you stating “…that’s not what I see happening because I spoke with the Principal and he showed me documentation that you skipped school at 2:00pm on Monday.” Confrontation is using facts to undercut the lie.
  3. Play “stupid” : I use this technique quite a bit in sessions with adolescents and young children. If I want a youth to open up or I’m looking to build rapport, I make statements such as “…that’s not what I was told, can you help me understand because I’m a bit confused…as always?” Individuals who tend to lie are usuallyseeking some sort of power over others. If you are able to take a step back and appear unassuming, you can actually become the person “on top” and coax the individual into explaining things so you can evaluate it. You’re not trying to catch the person in a lie per se, but to clarify information in a nonconfrontational manner.
  4. Don’t believe anything until you confirm it:Someone with a track record of lying behaviors should never be believed at face value. The moment you begin to appear as if youbelieve what the pathological liar is saying, they will run with it. Any kind of approval or trust the pathological liar can sense makes them feel powerful and energized to continue the behavior. It’s always good, when speaking to someone who frequently lies, to remain neutral, detached, and focused. You should weigh everything you are being told against the facts.
  5. Don’t argue or fight with the pathological liar: It’s not worth your energy to argue with someone who lives in a fantasy or psychologically unstableword. Most liars lack an identity and struggle with feelings of insecurity and abandonment. Other pathological liars are simply sociopathic and overly confident. Either way, don’t argue or get into a confrontation with the liar because they will use circular arguing, demean you, and possibly create more lies to use in the future (possibly against you).You will never get to the truth, even with the use of intimidation. In some cases, you might get only half of the truth. It’s best to step back, work around the pathological liar, and keeping a safe distance.

Pathological liars are difficult to live with or work with because you can’t determine what is true and what is false. You also cannot determine when the next lie will come. I have found in my work that many of the individuals and families who live with pathological liarscan also struggle with theirown sense of reality. It’s difficult to sometimes to weed out fiction from the truth when all you know is the lies the person tells you. It’s very easy to second guess yourself or question if something is wrong with you.

My suggestion to people struggling with this issues is to keep your distance, if you can, and remain focused on the facts. Be mindful ofyour emotions and learn to question how you feel about what you are being told by the pathological liar. Questions to ask yourself may include: “Do Ifeel comfortable with what is being said to me?” “Do Ifeel foolish or silly while listening to this story?” “Why amIquestioning the legitimacy of what is being said to me right now?” The most important goal for anyone who is dealing with a pathological liar is to always remember your dignity and self respect. A pathological liar typically has very little to no empathy and will take you as far as you let them.

As always, I wish you well

References

Dike, C. (2008). Pathological lying: Symptom or disease? The Psychiatric Times. Retrieved June 15, 2014 from,http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/articles/pathological-lying-symptom-or-disease.

Winton, R. (2001). Panel ousts Judge for lying.Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 15, 2014 from,http://articles.latimes.com/2001/aug/16/local/me-34920.

This article was originally published on April 15, 2015 but has been updated to include updated and comprehensive information.