Pathological Liars

Is there any sort of mental condition where pathological liars actually believe their lies to be true?

I work with a guy who's constantly telling tall tales about how his family's in the mafia, he's public enemy #1 with the cops following him everywhere, he hangs out with bazillionaires, and has a fleet of cars from BMW's to Escalades, and low-riders, which are always coincidentally parked too far away for anyone to see it. Some of his stories are so ridiculous, they don't even make sense. Co-workers have gently called him on it many times, but he still does it constantly.

I'm honestly wondering if he has some sort of psychological condition that causes him to believe his lies are true. His claims are so ridiculous, I can't figure out how a rational person could believe these claims to be even remotely plausible.

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

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Is there any sort of mental condition where pathological liars actually believe their lies to be true?

I work with a guy who's constantly telling tall tales about how his family's in the mafia, he's public enemy #1 with the cops following him everywhere, he hangs out with bazillionaires, and has a fleet of cars from BMW's to Escalades, and low-riders, which are always coincidentally parked too far away for anyone to see it. Some of his stories are so ridiculous, they don't even make sense. Co-workers have gently called him on it many times, but he still does it constantly.

I'm honestly wondering if he has some sort of psychological condition that causes him to believe his lies are true. His claims are so ridiculous, I can't figure out how a rational person could believe these claims to be even remotely plausible.

No, he probably just has a really small penis.

I know a guy who used to work with this one guy on the same team. Every day, the guy would tell him that he had been to the greatest party with all the beautiful actresses and models in town. He also used to brag about how well connected he was within the business community. This guy was young and people were thinking "what a liar". He used to also talk about the great holidays to Tahiti and the Maldives that he enjoyed. He also had a lot of confidence that, although he was very junior, he would one day run a conglomerate.

Well, this guy suddenly quit his job and ran his father's LARGE company.... I'm not saying that what you are hearing is true, but there are some cases where that type of person is telling the truth. I think the issue here is that the guy is a total Douche! Which I think there is no doubt that he is.

my mom lies about everything and i think she genuinely has come to believe them from years of telling them.

Originally Posted by thekunk07

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my mom lies about everything and i think she genuinely has come to believe them from years of telling them.
My ex-wife went through a several-years-long period of lying about everything. I think she, too, believed she was telling the truth.

Thankfully for my kids' sake, she seems to be coming out of it.

^it's scary, i've seen my mother recount patently false stories over and over again in great, unchanging detail.

Have I told you all how big ******* is?

I have had one for a boss. Very likable guy, very intelligent. His lying was so bad, he would lie, even when the truth would serve him better. He had problems keeping track of his lies too. Totally reminded me of Bill Clinton too, FWIW.

For seven years, I was married to the second most intelligent person I've ever met (the most intelligent has a Nobel prize). Of course, my ex doesn't have nearly the accomplishments of the Nobel laureate, but she used her intelligence to maintain what the CIA would call "plausible deniability" concerning almost all of her lies, then she would rely on people's incredulity to tell a real whopper ("She didn't really say that". "She can't really mean what I think that means&quot. I'm convinced she believed she was always 100% honest because she said to me several times, "I've never lied to you", even when I had written proof that she was lying. Perhaps it depends what the definition of "is" is. I don't understand it, but I accept that such people exist. To me, this is what takes lying to a pathological level-the belief against all contrary evidence that the lie is true. I sometimes wonder what the psychologists would say.

Originally Posted by thinman

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I sometimes wonder what the psychologists would say.

They would say that's $150.00 a hour to talk about it.

Originally Posted by thinman

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For seven years, I was married to the second most intelligent person I've ever met (the most intelligent has a Nobel prize). Of course, my ex doesn't have nearly the accomplishments of the Nobel laureate, but she used her intelligence to maintain what the CIA would call "plausible deniability" concerning almost all of her lies, then she would rely on people's incredulity to tell a real whopper ("She didn't really say that". "She can't really mean what I think that means"). I'm convinced she believed she was always 100% honest because she said to me several times, "I've never lied to you", even when I had written proof that she was lying. Perhaps it depends what the definition of "is" is. I don't understand it, but I accept that such people exist. To me, this is what takes lying to a pathological level-the belief against all contrary evidence that the lie is true. I sometimes wonder what the psychologists would say.
Other than the "second most intelligent person" part, this could describe my ex. Eerily similar.

I always wonder, and I don't mean disrespect to you Rube, but divorced people always sound so hateful of who they married. I know so many people, like my ex's mom, when I went to their place over the holiday last year, she'd sit and tell me about her crazy ex-husband.

I always wonder, did you not see that **** comming? People don't suddenly stop one day and say "today, I think I'm going to become a crazy asshole". Especially in the case of people with serious issues, I just don't get why they marry these people.

To clarify: I don't hate my ex at all. I loved her deeply and earnestly for 27 years. She remains a quite charming and physically attractive middle-aged woman. I need to stay civil with her as we have a young child to whom primary custody was awarded.

To answer your query: I didn't "see that **** coming". I saw her lying, but it was usually about inane things. I didn't learn the truth about her lies (think of the irony of that phrase!) until mid-way through our rather lengthy divorce proceeding.

As to how I couldn't see it coming: it is sort of like not noticing one's children growing. When you are with them everyday you don't see the changes in physical appearance. Only when you look at year-old photos do you notice just how much change has actually occured.

Originally Posted by Dakota rube

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To clarify: I don't hate my ex at all. I loved her deeply and earnestly for 27 years. She remains a quite charming and physically attractive middle-aged woman. I need to stay civil with her as we have a young child to whom primary custody was awarded.

To answer your query: I didn't "see that **** coming". I saw her lying, but it was usually about inane things. I didn't learn the truth about her lies (think of the irony of that phrase!) until mid-way through our rather lengthy divorce proceeding.

As to how I couldn't see it coming: it is sort of like not noticing one's children growing. When you are with them everyday you don't see the changes in physical appearance. Only when you look at year-old photos do you notice just how much change has actually occured.

So you suggest an annual review of your spouse, to make sure she's not diverging too much from what you married? How would you go about implementing that?

^In reality, as long as she was willing to take it up the ass, all that other stuff really didn't seem to matter that much.