Pathological lying isn’t a standalone diagnosis:
Linked to conditions like BPD, ASPD, or trauma
Lies are often impulsive and chronic
Evaluation looks at patterns and underlying issues
If someone in your life lies constantly, not just occasionally or when the stakes are high but reflexively and habitually, even when the truth would serve them better, you know how frustrating that can be. You second-guess your own memory. You brace for the next untruth. You wonder what’s real.
If you’re reading this because you recognize some of these patterns in yourself or you’ve caught yourself lying when you didn’t need to and you’re not entirely sure why, that kind of self-awareness is important.
Pathological lying is real. It’s well-documented and it causes measurable harm. However, it still lacks its own entry in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the handbook clinicians use to classify mental health conditions.
What Is Pathological Lying?
Pathological lying, also called pseudologia fantastica in clinical literature, is a chronic pattern of deception that persists across contexts, continues despite negative consequences and often serves no clear purpose. It goes far beyond the ordinary lies people tell to avoid conflict or protect themselves.
According to research published in Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice by Drew A. Curtis and Christian L. Hart, 13% of participants said they or others identified them as pathological liars, meaning they told numerous lies each day for longer than 6 months. Compared with other participants, they reported more distress, more problems in daily life and more danger. Their lying also often appeared compulsive or purposeless. Although the behavior was first described in 1891 by psychiatrist Anton Delbrück, clinicians are still working to define its boundaries as a distinct diagnostic entity.
What distinguishes pathological lying from simply being dishonest is this: the lying is pervasive, chronic and largely automatic. The person often reports being unaware of their motivation for lying. Reality, what actually happened and what was actually said, can become genuinely blurred for them.
Signs of a Pathological Liar
Recognizing pathological lying isn’t about calling someone out. It’s about making sense of a pattern that has probably left you confused, exhausted or questioning your own perception. These signs don’t constitute a diagnosis, but they can help you understand what you’re dealing with.
The Lies Serve No Clear Purpose
Perhaps the most defining feature of pathological lying is the absence of obvious motivation. Most people lie to avoid consequences, protect their privacy or gain something concrete. A pathological liar often lies when the truth would work just as well or better. The stories tend to cast the person as the hero, the victim or someone with special knowledge, status or connection. Clinicians describe this as “decorating their own person,” a reflexive self-mythologizing that doesn’t require an audience to believe it to continue.
Reality Becomes Blurred
Over time, many pathological liars lose the clear line between what happened and what they said happened. This isn’t necessarily a deliberate strategy. The person may genuinely believe their own version of events or experience significant cognitive dissonance when confronted with contradicting facts. This makes conversations about honesty particularly difficult and explains why simply pointing out the lie rarely changes anything.
Escalation and Consequences Don’t Stop the Behavior
Lies tend to grow. A small fabrication requires a larger one to maintain it. Consequences, broken trust, damaged relationships and professional fallout accumulate, and still the behavior continues. This is one of the most important things to understand: pathological lying isn’t a rational cost-benefit calculation that stops when the costs become high enough. It’s a pattern driven by something deeper, which is why willpower alone rarely resolves it.
The SPL Self-Screening Tool
The Survey of Pathological Lying Behaviors (SPL) is a nine-question screening tool that serves as a useful starting point for reflection. It can help either someone questioning their own behavior or a clinician assessing a patient.
Rate each statement on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree):
- Telling lies without a clear reason. I often find myself telling lies, even when there’s no clear reason to do so.
- Feeling guilty after lying. I feel guilty or remorseful after lying.
- Confidence in deceiving others. I believe I am better than others at deceiving people.
- Lying causing real-life problems. My lies have caused significant problems in my personal or professional life.
- Feeling excitement from deception. I feel a sense of excitement or satisfaction when successfully deceiving others.
- Lying more in certain situations. There are particular situations or contexts in which I am more likely to lie.
- Seeking help for lying. I have sought professional help or counseling for issues related to lying.
- Embellishing or exaggerating stories. I often embellish stories or exaggerate details in conversations.
- Fabricating past experiences or achievements. I have fabricated stories about my past experiences or achievements.
Scoring guide:
- 9–21. Low likelihood of pathological lying tendencies
- 22–35. Moderate likelihood of pathological lying tendencies
- 36–49. High likelihood of pathological lying tendencies
- 50–63. Very high likelihood of pathological lying tendencies
A score of 22 or above is worth discussing with a mental health professional. Keep in mind this is a screening tool, not a diagnosis and the person completing it may not answer with full honesty, which is part of what makes assessment in this area genuinely complex.
So, Is It Actually a Mental Health Disorder?
It isn’t official, at least not yet. Pathological lying isn’t a standalone DSM-5 diagnosis. A review published in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law notes that it may occur in antisocial and borderline personality disorders and may also appear in narcissistic and histrionic personality disorders. The ICD-11 also does not list it as a separate disorder. Even so, more recent research suggests it may deserve to be treated as one.
A landmark study by Curtis and Hart, published in Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice, recruited 807 participants and found that those who self-identified as pathological liars showed more emotional distress, more problems in daily life and more exposure to danger than people who did not. The researchers concluded that this group was meaningfully different and that their behavior may meet the standard for a mental disorder.
A follow-up study published in The American Journal of Psychotherapy surveyed 295 practicing psychotherapists about their clinical experience with pathological liars. The majority said pathological lying should be recognized as its own diagnosis. They also said that without a formal diagnosis, it’s harder to study, treat and track over time.
There may also be a brain-based explanation. A study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that habitual liars in the sample had greater prefrontal white matter volume and lower gray-to-white ratios than control groups, which suggests a possible brain-based link. This doesn’t excuse the behavior, but it does suggest that pathological lying may be more than simple dishonesty.
The clinical consensus is moving, even if the DSM hasn’t caught up. What’s clear is that pathological lying causes real harm and should be taken seriously as a behavioral health issue, not just judged as a character flaw.
What Mental Health Conditions Are Linked to Pathological Lying?
Because pathological lying currently exists as a symptom rather than a standalone diagnosis, it’s most commonly identified in the context of other conditions. Understanding these connections can help make sense of the bigger picture.
Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)
ASPD is characterized by a persistent disregard for the rights and feelings of others, impulsivity and a pattern of deceit. Lying in ASPD tends to be instrumental, used to manipulate, exploit or avoid accountability. It’s one of the most strongly associated conditions with pathological lying behavior.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)
People with NPD may lie to maintain an inflated self-image, protect their sense of superiority or avoid exposure of vulnerability. The stories told often portray the person as exceptional, uniquely talented or unjustly wronged, a pattern that maps closely onto the “decorating their own person” characteristic of pathological lying.
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
In BPD, lying can emerge from intense fear of abandonment, emotional dysregulation or a fractured sense of identity. It’s often less deliberate than in ASPD and more tied to overwhelming emotion than deliberate manipulation. If BPD is affecting you or someone you care about, our BPD hotline is here for a confidential conversation.
Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD)
HPD involves a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking. Lying in this context often takes the form of dramatic exaggeration, amplifying stories to hold an audience, fabricating crises to generate concern or embellishing personal narratives to remain the center of attention.
It’s also worth noting that trauma, anxiety and low self-esteem drive habitual dishonesty without meeting the threshold for a personality disorder diagnosis. It’s rarely that simple. If you’re trying to understand manipulative behavior patterns more broadly, our resource covers related dynamics in more depth.
Can a Pathological Liar Change?
Yes, but there are important limits.
Change requires genuine motivation from the person themselves. There’s no medication that addresses pathological lying directly. Therapy is the main way this is treated, but treatment can be hard. Someone who lies often may also lie to their therapist, so progress usually depends on working with an experienced clinician over time.
Research from Curtis and Hart’s 2022 psychotherapist survey found that clinicians described pathological lying as typically beginning in adolescence and persisting for five or more years before people seek help, showing that this is usually a long-term pattern, not a phase. Therapists reported that a sustained relationship was essential: the longer and more consistent the relationship, the better the clinician’s ability to recognize deception and guide the patient toward more honest functioning.
If the lying is rooted in an underlying personality disorder or trauma history, treating that condition matters, too. Progress is possible. It’s rarely fast, and it’s never guaranteed, but people do change, and the right relationship with a therapist is where that change most often begins.
How to Protect Yourself When Someone in Your Life Lies Pathologically
Living alongside a pathological liar, whether that’s a partner, a parent, a sibling or a close friend, is genuinely exhausting. That constant state of low-level doubt, replaying conversations to figure out what was real and the grief of loving someone who repeatedly breaks your trust can wear you down. These are not small things and you deserve support for carrying them.
Here are some approaches that tend to help:
- Remind yourself this isn’t about you. Pathological lying is a pattern driven by the person’s own psychology, not by something you did or failed to do. It isn’t a measure of your worth or a reflection of how they feel about you at their core.
- Don’t argue about facts. Trying to win a factual argument with someone who believes their own fabrications is a losing battle. It tends to generate defensiveness without producing clarity. Calmly naming what you observed, such as “I know what I heard,” and disengaging is often more effective than escalating.
- Set boundaries you can actually hold. Boundaries aren’t ultimatums. They’re decisions about what you will and won’t accept in your own life. Be specific, be consistent and follow through. Boundaries that aren’t enforced teach the other person they don’t apply.
- Separate support from enabling. You can care about someone and still refuse to protect them from the consequences of their behavior. Covering for a pathological liar, or making excuses on their behalf, often delays the moment when they might genuinely seek help.
- Encourage professional help once. You can name it clearly and offer support in accessing it. After that, the decision belongs to them. Repeated pressure tends to entrench resistance rather than overcome it.
- Get support for yourself. This isn’t a situation you should navigate alone.
Our mental health resources for families offer guidance on supporting someone you love while protecting your own well-being. Our hotline is always available if you need someone to talk to, not just about them, but about the toll this has taken on you.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pathological Lying
What’s the Difference Between a Pathological Liar and Someone Who Just Lies a Lot?
The distinguishing features are that it lasts 6 months or more, has no clear external motive, causes distress or problems in daily life and continues despite serious consequences. Someone who lies frequently for strategic reasons, to avoid trouble or to gain advantage, is dishonest, but that’s a different pattern from the more driven and often purposeless nature of pathological lying.
Can Pathological Liars Tell That They’re Lying?
Sometimes yes and sometimes no. The line shifts. Some pathological liars are fully aware of the deception in the moment. Others have blurred the line between their fabrications and reality to the point that they experience their lies as true. This isn’t consistent even within the same person, which is part of what makes this condition so confusing for the people around them.
Is Pathological Lying the Same as Being a Sociopath?
No. Pathological lying is associated with antisocial personality disorder (which includes what was previously called sociopathy), but they’re not the same thing. Many people with pathological lying tendencies don’t meet the criteria for ASPD. And many other conditions, including BPD, NPD, HPD and trauma histories, also feature habitual dishonesty without the full antisocial profile.
What Should I Do if I Think I Might Be a Pathological Liar?
The fact that you’re asking the question is meaningful. Many people who struggle with chronic dishonesty feel genuine shame and want to change. They just don’t have a framework for understanding what’s driving the behavior or how to address it. Starting with a therapist who specializes in personality and behavioral patterns is the right first step. You can also call our warmline to talk through what you’re noticing and get guidance on finding the right support.
Can Therapy Actually Help a Pathological Liar?
Yes, though it takes time, the right clinician and genuine commitment from the person in treatment. There’s no quick fix and no medication that addresses this directly. But with a skilled therapist and a sustained relationship, meaningful change is possible. Treating any underlying conditions, personality disorders, trauma or anxiety is usually central to the process.
How Do I Talk to Someone I Love About Their Lying Without Pushing Them Away?
Start with curiosity, not accusation. “I’ve noticed something that’s been confusing me, and I want to understand it” opens more doors than “you’re a liar.” Be specific about impact, how it affects you, rather than making global character judgments. Name what you need going forward. And accept that you can have the conversation perfectly and still have them respond defensively. The goal is to be honest and clear, not to control the outcome.
Talking to Someone Can Help
Whether you’re trying to understand someone else’s behavior or sitting with something you recognize in yourself, you don’t have to work through this alone. A warmline is built for this kind of support. It can help with the confusion, self-doubt, exhaustion and shame that often come with these patterns.
You don’t need a diagnosis to call. You don’t need to have it figured out. You just need to be ready to talk to someone who will listen without judgment and help you find a next step that makes sense for you.
Call the Mental Health Hotline anytime, free and confidential: (866) 903-3787.
