Pseudologia fantastica

compulsive lying

1. "The best lies about me are the ones I told” Patrick Rothfuss The name of the wind

2. Pseudologia Fantastica

3. Pathological / Compulsive lying “ falsification entirely disproportionate to any discernible end in view, may be extensive and very complicated, and may manifest over a period of years or even a lifetime” Definition :

4. Prevalence : 1 in 1000 repeat juvenile offenders The average age of onset : 16 years ( when the level of intelligence is average or above average ) Equal in both genders Epidemiology

5. Individuals have shown above level verbal skills as opposed to performance abilities . Grown in a chaotic home environment, where a parent or family member had a mental disturbance (30%) 40% of cases : History of CNS abnormality ( E pilepsy , abnormal EEG findings , ADHD , head trauma , or CNS infection,…) Epidemiology(cont.)

6. Characteristics : The stories told are usually dazzling or fantastical, but never breach the limits of plausibility. Not a manifestation of delusion or some broader type of psychosis ( upon confrontation, the teller can admit them to be untrue , even if unwillingly)

7. The stories told tend toward presenting the liar favorably . The liar “decorates their own person” by telling stories that present them as the hero or the victim .

8. can be very difficult because: - it has not been recognized as a disorder in the DSM . - Excessive lying is a common symptom to several mental disorders but pathological liars do not necessarily possess characteristics of those disorders. Diagnosis :

9. No pharmaceutical medication Psychotherapy is effective Treatment :

10. Atkinson & Hilgard’s introduction to psychology Pathological lying: symptom or disorder?, Charles C. Dike, Psychiatrictimes.com Pathological liars treatment, Michael Lee, slideshare.net Factitious mental disorders, Uky.edu Pathological lying, Wikipedia.org References :