Lie-O-Meter

I am a person of petty lies. I can make amazing excuses on the spot, and get out of situations. I do a great job at getting others out of a situation. Yes, I forged my parents' signatures in high school. I have even sneaked out of my house once or twice in those years. But something that really scares me is - people living a BIG, FAT, MASSIVE lie for weeks, months and possibly years.

We all know everybody lies. Some are caught and some aren't. I am known to be a very anxious person. I cannot tell a lie confidently if it has to do with something serious. I cannot lie about my marks. I don't lie about my friends or relationships. I lie about things that won't make a difference or harm anyone. I lie about insignificant nonsense that will never have a further consequence.

But if you have the ability to lie about serious issues for a long time, something must be wrong. I discovered that someone I had known (not directly been friends with) as an acquaintance lied to his fiancee for nearly a year and a half. He was in a relationship with somebody else in another geographical area, and would effectively two-time both women. He seemed like a man that any girl would want. He was very polite and generous in nature. So, how do you wind up to be a compulsive liar? And how do people detect that you're a liar?

I know female acquaintances that have lied about being pregnant and gone to the extent of faking a pregnancy test attempting to keep a guy that was going away from them. Some people use lies and deception to gain relationships in life, but do they really last? I know a habitual liar within my friend circle that lies to her parents about practically everything, from her finances, to her grades, to her friends, and possibly everything you can imagine. Is lying a safety net to protect ourselves from social punishment?

It surprises me how someone can live a lie over a year and love two people at the same time - or at least pretend to. Or may be it is common. I don't know. Thankfully, I didn't have to ever deal with that in my relationships. Yes, we all lie to a certain extent and hide petty things from our loved ones, because we don't want to hurt them. But there is a line. Some people have a fear of telling the truth that makes them lie obsessively. But what's the solution to this? I have seen many ruined lives over this issue. I am really interested in researching compulsive liars and how they build a facade of someone who appears normal on the outside when there is a totally different person inside. That is actually.. quite scary.