“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” Winston Churchill

Everybody lies. The ones to watch out for, however, are the ones that believe their own lies. It’s not ALWAYS someone else’s fault. It’s not ALWAYS you being the victim. The Judge was not bribed, the fix was not in, and it was not a vast conspiracy between the lawyers, the Court and the FBI.

Lying is the act of knowingly and intentionally making a false statement. Lies are often told out of fear. Usually lies are defensive and are told to avoid the consequences of the truth. They are often white lies that spare another’s feelings, reflect a stereotypical societal attitude, or to appear as a civilized human. Pathological lying is considered a mental illness as the lies take over rational judgment and stray into the fantasy world. Pathological lying is described as habitually lying. It is when an individual consistently lies, even if there is nothing to gain. The lies can even be obvious and often pointless, but are told nonetheless.

There are many consequences of being a pathological liar. Due to lack of trust, a lot of pathological liars’ relationships fail. As the lies and disease continues, lying can become so severe as to cause legal problems including; criminal consequences, divorce and issues in a custody case.

Treatment through therapy may help. The problem with treatments is the patient often won’t admit that they are lying. A “normal” person knows when he or she has lied, but the pathological liar may not be able to differentiate between the truth and a lie. Pathological liars believe their lies and may manufacture false memories to support the lies that have been told. Pathological lying may also be a symptom for other personality disorders. A combination of medication and psychotherapy may help a compulsive liar to stop lying routinely.

Matthew Thompson is a Family Law litigation attorney in Mississippi and advises you not to lie!

Follow the blog: BowTieLawyer Visit the website: Thompson Law Firm

You may also contact Matthew with your family law case, question or concern at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms.