The Exotic World of the Liar ; The Compulsive versus The Pathological Liar

Everyone has told a lie and everybody will continue to do so in moderation throughout their lives.
In moderation.
For most people,the need to fabricate is not an issue but a mere vocabulatory stumble every now and again to slightly embellish a story, to cover one's back or cover one's tracks.
Once in a while,we have the misfortune of crossing paths with a being whom at first we might admire for having a silver tongue, and rather exciting life experiences. But eventually an inkling of reality dawns on us -this person is a liar.

The odd story of his ex-wife cheating on him thirteen times got everyone to pity him. 'But don't feel bad', he rushed on ,' in the end I got a date with (famous movie star),and we have been happily married for 3 years.' His trail of stories were suspicious, especially after he touted that he is the love child of Jane Mansfield and Frank Sinatra. As a youth he remembered Sinatra arranging him marvelous birthday bashes scattered with baby elephants,exotic carnivorous plants and champagne squirting from the water fountains. Once,as a child he took his ball out to play in the backyard and found a drunk Marilyn Monroe crying on his father's lap. " Oh, I didn't see you there honey," the words escaped from her red painted mouth rather shamefully,he remembered .The former admiration of his captivated audiences turned to ridicule and whispers behind his back. Does this person believe his own lies? Does he snicker behind our backs as we laugh behind his? Or perhaps this person needs to lie and clock in as many outrageous lies in a day to fulfill some perverse compulsion.

If one steps away from being a simple 'audience member' to the liar and begins analyzing the situation, one must conclude that not all liars have the same foundation in terms of pathology. That is, there are different subtypes of liars.

Some who lie do so out of desperate necessity but otherwise would not be considered chronic liars if not for their circumstances. For instance,a drug addict may lie incessantly about his whereabouts and actions to his family and friends,and a pathological gambler may lie to his family about all the bank accounts he has sucked dry. If these individuals were not under the strain of such circumstances, their lying would be reduced into normal proportions  Others are not so lucky;

The Compulsive Liar- When I am not enough,a lie emerges

A compulsive liar fabricates stories big and small. He lies because he cannot face reality in other terms, and his lies act as a lifeboat in which he clings to. With little self esteem he has learned from a young age that lying elevates him in ways he cannot elevate himself and this rather pathetic truth lends him to feeling guilt and shame. Compulsive liars do not wish to hurt others with their fabrications but cannot face the feelings of inferiority or the habitual norm of saying the bleak outright truth. The truth is bent rather compulsively and reaches undeniable proportions when the liar faces life stressors. These liars are otherwise empathic individuals and may function normally in society,despite for their uncontrollable need to lie.

The Pathological Liar- I lie to 'get one over on you'

The pathological liar is not as benign as his Compulsive counterpart. His lies are designed to have an effect on the listener,if not to entertain or impress- then to persuade. Their lies come easily and tailored to the situation,and thus an expert habit is developed and honed from an early childhood age. The pathological liar is so skilled and familiar with lying that he will eerily be uncertain if the lie actually happened or if it is his fabrication.The pathological liar's verbal fantasy might sometimes sound believable , sometimes outrageous and laughable or at times without aim but underneath the lie is the intent to manipulate.Pathological lying is a sign of serious mental illness and personalities tied to the latter are usually those with personality disorders such as Antisocial personality disorder,Psychopathy and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. For these cold and self oriented individuals-namely the first two, stealing, aggression and other harmful acts of violating others is normally coupled with the lying. 

To further put a spotlight on the most ruthless and skilled liar is that of the Psychopathic liar. Here lies the psychology of the prototypical conman. Unable to bond,or develop feelings of compassion ,love,empathy,shame or guilt the psychopath has adequate tools in his arsenal and lying is a mere result in the latter deficits. His interactions with others cannot be sparked by a need to nurture and build an attachment,so they must only aim to garnish as many shallow and hedonistic needs as possible. Thus, the psychopath takes typically through stealing and other illegal acts of crime or/and interpersonal and emotional theft,in which deception and lies are are employed with heartless strategy and skill.

The consequences of lying is the person's loss of credibility and subsequently this destructive habit leads to the liar losing everybody's trust and relationships falling apart.Another consequence is the damaging effects on the feelings of others when faces with evaluating and sorting what was real or false in the relationship with the lying individual. Much research still has to be done on the topic, as psychologists are only beginning to unearth the aspects of compulsive versus pathological lying.


Below is the link to criminal and pathological liar John Schmidt during his stint in jail. He was dubbed Mr. Bullschidt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33OraHcicNA

And Now, Presenting Hollywood's Take on Mental Illness . . .

A recent headlining story in the celebrity realm spurred me to speculate the media's portrayals of what is  normal versus what is dysfunction.
Last night,the bright eyed child star of the 90's Amanda Bynes was handcuffed, brought to your local psych ward to be evaluated, and then proceeded to the next stop ; the local jailhouse.

Amanda Bynes Mugshot picture after her DUI

I'm sure this is not what Amanda meant when she said she wanted to have an 'exciting night out'.
Some would say , 'We saw this coming' after a string of bizarre events that Amanda has reportedly found herself in lately.
But after reading the reportedly 'bizarre behavior', I asked myself honestly ; when does behavior become so out of the norm that it is deemed 'disordered'?

In Amanda's case,she is a 27 year old woman with enough money in the bank that one would hope to win in the upcoming lottery , hence , her perception of responsibilities and priorities are not the same as the average member of society's.
Additionally,when reading about the events and actions that were accounted for as 'bizarre', I realized that for the upcoming generation of teens and young adults these actions are in fact quite common.
 Some actions that led to an inquisition on Amanda's mental health status were ; smoking marijuana, taking pictures of herself in various degrees of undress, showing off new piercings and collecting a small collection of DUIs.

The columnist must have had her daughters raised in a convent if the said behaviors were perceived as outlandish!
Silly press,
The truth is that many of these actions are the usual Friday night for young women and girls across America, to utter a 'nay' at such an opinion would warrant one to consider
 that they might be naive or operating with blinders on.
As for Amanda posing with her breasts jammed into a push-up bra and posting the tacky deed on an online forum, it might be provocative but so is our standards for the average celebrity.
Hollywood is the land of the Playboy Mansion in which reside women with breasts the size of car bumpers , and other generally exaggerated states of being ... so why is such behavior being added up as ill when isolated in the case of one woman? Perhaps you have forgotten to account for the entire ill society?

Twitter,Tumblr and Facebook are swollen with provocative imagery from young women who post pictures of themselves while attempting their best Rhiannas.

Of course, if push-up bras on twitter and smoking marijuana from a bong- then driving the family Sedan home afterwards are decent behaviors from young adults,the answer would be no! But I wouldn't venture to call them particularly devious and disordered, or behavior reserved for women with felonies.

Another story that seemed on the cusp of exaggeration by the press was Amanda's outing at her local gym. Amanda was in a cycling class when she decided to hop off her machine, waltz over to the mirrors and touch up her makeup for a whole dozen minutes.
Coined as outlandish and reportedly proof that this young woman is in a downward descent into madness, the magazine fails to outline that perhaps Amanda does not feel the urge to commit to the class because she can afford it, and for her it is a mere pastime and not a commitment. Or perhaps the class did not suit her expectations, at the very least maybe Amanda needed some attention? She does not have the average person's sense of responsibility and priorities , if she spends money on a class she is not dedicated to it wont scorn her budget, partying and smoking marijuana will not get her immediately fired if she is a no-show at the assembly line the next morning. Amanda 's family will not go hungry if she chooses hedonistic activities over priorities and work. Secondly, one must obviously consider the gaggle of paparazzi outside the gym who are clocking her and waiting to take her picture. Hell, eight out of ten girls would be powdering their noses in front of those mirrors as well if a group of ten men with high resolution cameras were waiting for them in the parking lot. Can one blame Amanda for not fully concentrating on her Spinning Class?

And let us consider for a moment the possibility that Amanda was indeed mentally ill ,what role would we be playing by constantly taunting her and publishing articles dubbing her 'mentally ill'?

Hollywood ; The Western Holy Land

Hollywood is the land of often botched attempts at creating a simulated empire of perfection. The Hollywood society is overexcited with the idea they are the debauched elite of this Western Holy Land, and they are continuously obsessed with symbols that represent this ; the glamour , festivities, beauty, fashion ect..

Survival of the Fittest theory dictates that the weak will perish , even Hollywood abides by this law.
Hollywood subsequently shames and dehumanizes those members which fall short of the 'elite' status.

Credit :britneyspearsgifs.tumblr.com 

It is as if those not glamorous enough or those who fail to meet the standards of Hollywood are seen as misrepresenting the pack.

What happens to them is the systematic shaming and assault on their integrity. We love to watch them fail and pick them apart, relishing the idea that they are 'imperfect' in the valley of perfection.

Contemporary victims of Hollywood shaming are Britney Spears,Lindsay Lohan,Christian Bale, Catherine Zeta Jones.

And now Amanda Bynes.

I am not trying to push the idea that Amanda is ever knowing and flawless in her actions but the press jumping on this celebrity mental illness campaign and magnifying this woman's every 'wrong move' is in part driven by their capitalist thirst, all the while throwing this individual under the bus.

Like all of us, Amanda might be going through hard times but since when are hard times a call for everyone to shout from the rooftops that you are suffering from a severe bout of mental illness. Like someone wise once said , "The only time you should be looking down on someone, is when you are helping them up."