Reasons Why People Lie

Some time later, information circulated that Ratna Sarumpaet was mistreated until her face was bruised. Later, it was revealed that the news was a lie. Ratna's bruised face is not abused, but the effect of plastic surgery.

According to information, the chairman of the Advisory Council of the Gerindra Party, Prabowo Subianto , Ratna did not even know why he lied by admitting that he had been mistreated until his face was bruised.

The case that has taken many by surprise is one of the patterns in which people lie.

Well, to find out why people lie, the following explanation is quoted from various sources.

When you lie, you may feel that it is not a lie to yourself. Lies need to be done because they are considered important. In fact, other people who saw it judged this an unimportant matter.

People who lie can actually be the reason because they don't want to disappoint others, they want to be liked, appreciated, to impress others. There is anxiety about being rejected or humiliated.

When lying and harming others, that there is no purpose to hurt others. However, this can be a way to save yourself or cover up mistakes. You can also lie to blame someone else.

If someone has lied once, it will continue to cover up the previous lie. Then the lies deepened.

Pathological Liar

Is there another reason why people often lie? Maybe he's just a pathological liar, which means they can't stop developing false issues about themselves and others.

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , a pathological liar is a disorder in itself and a hallmark of personality disorders, such as psychopathy and narcissism.

"Most pathological liars also have a narcissistic personality disorder or at least a strong narcissistic trait and they lie compulsively (and know they're lying) just to make themselves look better," says psychiatrist Scott Carroll.

"Pathological lying can be a function of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), but it's not a mental illness in itself," says licensed marriage and family therapist Racine Henry.

People with OCD may have learned to lie to feel better, to convince people of them, and to hide their illness.

Not everyone with OCD is a pathological liar, but some pathological liars do have a tendency to OCD.

According to therapist Bill Eddy, one of the most fascinating theories about pathological liars is that they may have hormonal differences, which are opposite ratios of cortisol and testosterone in most people.

Usually, cortisol stops people from being too rude and taking illogical risks.

However, those with antisocial personality disorder may have higher testosterone levels and lower cortisol levels than the average person.

“This allows them to be very aggressive regardless of the risks involved, similar to lying outright about something that could have serious consequences if they get caught,” Eddy explained.

Eddy also says that the most successful pathological liars are sociopaths and are known as antisocial personality disorder to mental health professionals.

Scott says some pathological liars also experience functional illusions. That is, they are completely convinced of their own lies and may even pass a lie test.

"It's called micro-psychotics to distinguish such people from people who have schizophrenia and are very delusional," he said.

He includes, most micro-psychotic people have Borderline Personality Disorder and are completely convinced of what they say (which helps them become more convincing), but then when they get caught up in a lie, they are able to rewrite their memories until they truly believe it. .