Pathological Lying Vs Normal Lying? How To Tell the Difference

There isn’t an established, official definition of pathological lying because it’s not considered a mental disorder. Instead it’s observed as a behavioral disturbance that is present inside other disorders like some personality disorders like antisocial personality disorder and some brain disorders like Korsakoff syndrome which is brain damage from alcohol.

Lying is defined as the deliberate attempt to get someone to believe something you know is not true. There are 3 types of lying: normal lying, prolific lying and pathological lying.

Pathological lying is still seen as a different entity that takes lying to a different level. But normal lying and prolific lying were considered behaviors that were non-pathological.

Normal lying was defined as telling less than 5 lies a day. This video discusses the differences between normal, prolific and pathological.

References
Serota KB, Levine TR, Boster FJ: The prevalence of lying in America: three studies of self-reported lies. Hum Commun Res 2010; 36:2–25
Serota KB, Levine TR: A few prolific liars: variation in the prevalence of lying. J Lang Soc Psychol 2015; 34:138–157
Drew A. Curtis and Christian L. Hart, Pathological Lying: Theoretical and Empirical Support for a Diagnostic Entity. Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice 22 June 2020

Disclaimer: All of the information on this channel is for educational purposes and not intended to be specific/personal medical advice from me to you. Watching the videos or getting answers to comments/question, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship. If you have your own doctor, perhaps these videos can help prepare you for your discussion with your doctor.

[HenryGreenEngine]

As a recovered pathological liar I used it as a defense mechanism. I lied to everyone up to and including myself on the daily. Looking back I realize just how much it took out of me to keep everything in order and the stress of someone possibly finding out the truth was unbearable.

[luhernandez]

this is embarrasing but yikes, this is me. like I DONT HAVE ANY REASON TO LIE but i still do it, even before realizing what i'm doing

[moarroz]

Regular lying is when you catch them in it and they come clean to what they've done.
Pathological lying is when you are holding *proof* via pictures and texts in front of them only to have them say that it's *inaccurate* oof

[rudeboymon]

My sister pathologically lies all the time but shes also a very genuinely caring person at the same time. Call her out on an obvious lie and she will spin it until you give up. People are weird. Just make sure you avoid the ones that use lies to harm you for their pleasure. Ive met a few of those in my life

[qpenxa]

I am just here trying to educate myself more on Pathological liars after watching the "who TF did i marry"series on Tiktok😭

[artemis]

People, if you have this problem... please get help for it. Pathological lying is scary. I have a sibling that is a pathological liar and they have hurt so many people by doing this... even ruined a life. It isn't right, this is a problem that needs to be addressed more often in our society.

[shadrach]

I would call my husband on lies and he would say, “What difference does it make?”. It made a lot of difference to me.

[SnazzyBoxx]

Pseudologia fantastica. Sounds like a Harry Potter spell

[fiberpoet]

I used to be really bad about pathological lying and it was because I hated myself and hated my life and it was a form of escapism from my reality to tell all sorts of lies and many of them were wild adventures and creating an alternative reality for myself. I never meant harm in them, I just wanted to create a different reality and be someone other than myself. However time went on, I got diagnosed with Autism and found a community of people like me. And that enabled me to accept myself and love myself as I am and be with people who are like me. Before my diagnosis, I felt like I was a total freak. I knew I was very different from those around me and no matter how much I tried to fit in, I always felt like an uncover alien observing the world cuz I was so socially clueless.
But being with other autistic people, I feel “normal” and i embrace my quirks and weirdness now. I have no more need to invent an alternate world to escape from myself.
Every person I’ve ever met who does pathological lying, i find there is a very shattered sense of self and deep self hatred and it’s a form of escapism. So my suggestion to fix it is to work on the root issues of self esteem and self concept.

[AngelaNakiyingi]

Fantastic video! My ex partner is a pathological liar. He lies as he breathes. It's extremely difficult to have a relationship with such people

[patteegee]

I was a "victim" of a pathological liar, and being a trusting, gullible person, it took me a very long time to put two and two together. Even when the "stories" were unbelievable, I wanted to trust this person! They lied 98% of the time and just for the sake of lying! Voluntarily lying with far-fetched stories. When questioned, this person would talk in circles so as to confuse me further. A circle talker. I was so ashamed and disappointed in myself that I "fell" for it. It also made me feel insecure about my judgment or lack thereof of people. I have thought about writing a fiction book based on the fabricated stories I was told. It would be quite entertaining!

[Maziko_Lee]

Parents of lying children...
Get that problem resolved ASAP.

My older sister lied CONSTANTLY when she was a child. Our mom actually grew to dislike her. All that lying made all of our lives miserable. As a child, I barely wanted to talk to her. Every time she opened her mouth, she would tell lies and sometimes, she would LAUGH as if to mock our exasperation. She would ditch school and lie about it. She would throw food out and lie about it. She would hide ROTTEN food under her bed and lie about it.

She's forty now.

No friends. Two cats. She lives alone in some sort of small town in the south. Supposedly, she might be homeless soon?

Parents, TALK to your kids. You don't want them to be like her.

No one likes a liar.

[christophererle-christwist]

I was British for two years. I had a quite convincing accent. I said that I was from Bristol. Every day, I told people that I was from Bristol but had moved to the United States during my high school years. I felt dopamine every time someone thought I was from England. Unfortunately, dopamine isn't a lasting sensation, so I had to keep doing it in order to maintain the pleasure I was receiving from my deception.

Because I was so good at lying, I also pretended to have an England degree that I never had. I was on the verge of receiving this degree but being on the verge and really having it are two different things. I was a professional copywriter all my life, but with this degree (which I didn't truly have), I received better employment as a copywriter. Finally, I became an advertising copywriter, which seemed so natural since I was professionally manipulating people.

I suffer from both Bipolar 1 and OCD. According to what I've read, around 15% to 20% of individuals with Bipolar also have OCD. A manic individual desires goods and will typically go to any length to have them. I wanted money and a well-known title at a large corporation, so I devised a plan to get both. I want to know whether there's any evidence between bipolar disorder and pathological lying. The problem with dopamine is that it isn’t a very deep happiness. Pleasures are shallow naturally, which meant that I had to keep lying to keep the dopamine and the pleasure.

Too much dopamine may actually deplete serotonin, which is responsible for a far deeper level of happiness. Our stomach contains around 90% of our serotonin. Serotonin deficiency has been linked to both depression and anxiety. Dopamine is linked to all addictions, including social media and lying.

I had been from England for so long that I began to believe my own lie. By the end of those two years, it was easier to believe in these illusions than it was to accept responsibility for anything I had done. At the end of my second year, it got harder and harder to keep up with my lies, and I eventually lost everything. My actions caused me to lose my job and fall into a deep depression.

I now have a TBI (traumatic brain injury), and I had to relearn everything I know, including relearning English (aphasia). I finally saw that I needed to change. During the years I spent learning English and all the other skills I now have, I also paid attention to my mental health. With the help of cognitive-behavioral therapy, I was able to slow down my mind to the point where I could see my manic thoughts and choose not to use them. I still have manic thoughts daily, but for years I've been able to have them without acting on them. Because of this effort, I'm more stable, peaceful, and contented than I've ever been.

Thank you, Dr. Tracy Marks, for this video.

[Magnetar]

Every time I hear "pseudologia fantastica" I think about Georgina in "Girl, Interrupted".

[piperjaycie]

I had a friend that I stopped being friends with because of the lies. Insane stuff like buying her house at 15, she lived in a relatives spare room. Saying she had been places she hadn’t. Making up really bad accidents that she or a member of her family had been in. That she was adopted, that her house caught fire and was being rebuilt. That she is in the “British mafia”. It was just too exhausting even to just ignore it. Latest I heard is she is telling people she is a doctor.

[hummbo]

No matter what it’s lonely living with someone like this. They never ever really care about anyone but themselves.

[Blueyzachary]

As someone who used to constantly pathologically lie, I think that when I started taking adderall, stopping became significantly easier—there wasn’t really any urge at all.

[emmafredman]

I have to say Dr. Marks, your video quality has really improved! I love the new editing style and I really appreciate all the time you take to make educational and well made video about mental health.

[Aerational]

Covering for someone who stole 500 dollars doesn't seem like a small lie to me... and pretty unhealthy behavior to say the least.

[meowmeow]

I'm involved with someone who has a history of pathological lying. He used lies to manipulate, to tell tall tales, to appear higher status, for personal gratification, to garner sympathy and so so soooo much more.

He lies over stuff that can be easily verified. The biggest struggle/ frustration is when i have to get a 3rd party account by him - and rely on his testimony, account, story. He's not trustworthy, I really can't believe anything that that comes out of his mouth. Most or all of it might be true, but his track record for lying is so bad, you have to remind yourself this could be a bunch of BS. He has a history of heavy drinking, which made it easy to lie.

Dr what's a good resource to protect yourself from their lying if you have to live together. What's the best boundaries and precautions can I adopt to protect myself. Thank you.