Table of contents:
- What is a pathological liar?
- What is a compulsive liar?
- What is the difference between pathological and compulsive liars?
- Are people who commit extreme lying to be considered a mental disorder?
- Can liars change?
Everyone must have lied throughout his life, because basically lying is an inseparable part of everyday life. However, some people are so fond of lying that those around them have a hard time telling what is true and what is not. People who enjoy lying are divided into two types, namely pathological liars and compulsive liars.
What is a pathological liar?
Pathological liars are people who already have the intention and plan to commit lies. The person who plays the role of the pathological liar has clear goals in which they will always hope that their goal can be achieved by lying.
People who commit this type of lying are generally cunning in nature and only see situations from their own point of view or gain. They don't care about other people's feelings and the possible consequences of their lies.
Most pathological liars will continue to lie even though you already know that they are lying. This makes them often commit self-incriminating lies, which makes them much more difficult to understand.
What is a compulsive liar?
Lying, for the surplusive liars is a habit. They can probably lie about anything and under any circumstances. People who commit this type of lie usually lie to avoid the truth. If they speak honestly, they feel uncomfortable.
Most of the time, compulsive liars will lie in order to appear cooler than other people. In this case, compulsive lying is often referred to as "imagery". Those who lie are basically aware of their lies. However, they couldn't stop lying because they got used to it.
What is the difference between pathological and compulsive liars?
From the two explanations that have been mentioned above, at first glance these two types of lies do look the same. Quoted from the Everyday Health page, Paul Ekman, Ph.D., a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California also said the same thing. He says that the two extreme types of lying are so similar that they are difficult to distinguish. You can be a compulsive pathological liar.
However, to put it simply, the pathological liar has the intention of lying from the start and will continue to lie even though other people know he is not telling the truth.
Meanwhile, compulsive liars may not have the intention of lying at first. It is only when he is faced with a situation that makes him feel cornered or threatened can a compulsive liar become incapacitated and continues to lie.
Are people who commit extreme lying to be considered a mental disorder?
Basically compulsive lies and pathological lies have been studied by experts for a long time. Even so, researchers still don't really know what causes the two types of lying if they are to be linked as mental disorders.
For example, experts are not sure what makes someone commit such an extreme lie. They do know that most people who lie out of habit and to improve their self-image. However, they are still debating whether these two types of lying fit into the symptoms or the disease itself.
That is why, until now, pathological and compulsive liar can not be mentioned as a symptom or even a mental illness.
Can liars change?
Most people who commit extreme lying don't want to and can't change just by taking medication. Usually they will change when they have a problem.
For example, the lies they made turned out to have an impact on bankruptcy, divorce, job loss, or being caught in the law so that they had to serve a prison term.
There is still little research into treatment options for people who are used to lying. The good news, however, is that researchers believe counseling or psychotherapy can help people who commit extreme lying to change, by focusing on reducing their impulses or compulsions to lie.
