[imsoorin]

Just to clarify. I'm not trying to point and laugh at her. I don't think she is a moron or an idiot for lying, because I know people do have legitimate problems with lying, they can't control it or they become so entangled in their lies, that they believe it.

But on the other hand, there are people who lie and who know they lie, yet they continue, for personal gain, to make themselves appear more interesting or to get sympathy or attention from others.

That's where my problem is. I don't want to confront her if she does have a problem and doesn't know she has a problem. This thread is in no way trying to insult or poke fun at those with a problem.

And feel free to share your stories, anonymous is more than welcome. Thanks again.

-soorin

[imsoorin]

(Original post by Dmon1Unlimited)
how do you tell if its a lie?
could be a weird joke?
could be bored?
could have a weird mental issue?
could have private issues that shed rather lie about?

if it annoys yo then try talking to her about it...

How do I tell? Because most of the time, what she says doesn't add up. And they are very elaborate. Thanks for your input

[imsoorin]

(Original post by BethaneyJ)
Please don't be sorry it's kind of wonderful

Good luck :3

Thank you, all the best

[RubyShoes]

I have a friend who used to lie about everything. There were always a series of health disasters or made up boyfriends (she used to fake phonecalls to them and text herself pretending to be them), or mansions her family owned and her dads collection of super cars held in the basement that didnt exist in her house.

When we were at school a group of friends confronted her about it, but she refused to admit , so it didnt really get anywhere. In the end she grew out of it a little, but none of us ever really listen to what she says anymore. She is fun to see occasionally, but everything she says is always taken with a huge pinch of salt and no one ever asks her much about her life/job/family because she cant be trusted to be truthful.

We all just learnt to stop expecting anything from her, its just easier that way.

[Dmon1Unlimited]

(Original post by imsoorin)
How do I tell? Because most of the time, what she says doesn't add up. And they are very elaborate. Thanks for your input

ask her about it the next time she mentions something that doesnt 'add up'. im sure she has a reason...

[Semolina1]

I had a friend who i always invited out with me. and there'd be an excuse EVERY time.
Yet she used to always tell us of these amazing things she did and places she went with these people we've never heard of before or met.... I'd be like did you take any pictures on that road trip? and she'd say no, i didn't have my camera out, it was all packed away in the car. i was enjoying myself too much to look for it.

We all came to the conclusion she had imaginary friends and didn't like going out haha

[I love shopping]

I knew someone who once told us that her younger brother died Who tells lies like that about their family??

We soon found out she was lying when someone went and offered condolences to her parents.

[imsoorin]

(Original post by RubyShoes)
I have a friend who used to lie about everything. There were always a series of health disasters or made up boyfriends (she used to fake phonecalls to them and text herself pretending to be them), or mansions her family owned and her dads collection of super cars held in the basement that didnt exist in her house.

When we were at school a group of friends confronted her about it, but she refused to admit , so it didnt really get anywhere. In the end she grew out of it a little, but none of us ever really listen to what she says anymore. She is fun to see occasionally, but everything she says is always taken with a huge pinch of salt and no one ever asks her much about her life/job/family because she cant be trusted to be truthful.

We all just learnt to stop expecting anything from her, its just easier that way.

It sounds like a soap opera, it's very strange how the mind works. Even after she was confronted she persisted that she was telling the truth? It's good that she grew out of it a little and that you are acting in a positive way towards it, rather than conflict.

If I don't confront her I think from now on I'll just try not to take an interest or change the subject. Thanks

[Tanzey]

My ex boyfriend was. He got better as he started trusting me more but he couldn't help but make stories up. And when he got caught out he would change it slightly to explain himself. Was not good for the relationship but at least he recognised that he was. That's a start to getting help I suppose.


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[Anonymous]

I know two 'friends' like this.

One has always lied about little things, such as what she had been doing, what other people have said etc. and has generally been a compulsive liar. Recently though it got worse and worse and she has lied about some very serious things that initially we believed and now we are unsure as to whether this stuff is true. For example, pregnancy. She even turned against me because she made up that I had done something I hadn't.

Another is a bit more of a suprise. For the past 2 years she has been making things up, most of which we believed. Recently, we discovered that actually none of it was true. She had been lying to us all for the last 2 years about so many things. She made up a boyfriend, created texts and conversations from him, and lied about many other people. She started also lying about stupid things, like where other people are etc.

Through my experiences with the first one, I tried very hard to try and make sense of it all but nothing helps. I've now accepted that I will never know the truth for certain. Now I used to be close to her and I miss being friends with her, however, I know that it can never go back to how it was. I talk to her every now and then and that is fine. As for the other girl, we had already well and truly drifted a million miles away by the time this all happened and I didn't really want the friendship to continue. One day everyone started being honest with her and well I hope she now knows that lying like that will not help her.

My piece of advice would be to try and be less involved. I normally am the opposite, I'm really involved but I have definitely learnt that staying out of this is the way forward. Be honest, don't be two-faced and don't be close friends with people who treat you badly.

[chocolate buttons]

Yes I know/knew two girls who used to lie about everything.
One was a girl in my form at school, another was a girl I was doing a course with.
Both of them were confronted in front of everyone!

One of them lied about her dad owning a crisp company, made up a boyfriend and even made a fake letter of him saying hello to all of her friends, and that she was attacked but her boyfriend rescued her
The other lied that she was going to be in the Olympics, that she had brain cancer, and stupid things like getting her face pierced but the piercing closed up because she had good skin.

[snowyowl]

My sister does this all the time, although she suffers from asperger's and I don't know if it's related in some way.

[RubyShoes]

(Original post by imsoorin)
It sounds like a soap opera, it's very strange how the mind works. Even after she was confronted she persisted that she was telling the truth? It's good that she grew out of it a little and that you are acting in a positive way towards it, rather than conflict.

If I don't confront her I think from now on I'll just try not to take an interest or change the subject. Thanks

When she was confronted she either insisted that we all had the wrong end of the stick/she never really said what she said/claimed she wasn't able to tell us 'the whole truth' about her family etc. So in the end we gave up.

She even used to forget which lies she had told which people and seemed to forget the fact we would all compare stories and know what was going on.

It is slightly frustrating because you cant even ask her simple things (my parents are trying to buy me a flat, and we cant even ask her how much her dad bought hers for or property prices in her areas in general because we cant trust it to be the truth). Whenever she calls about some fabulous new job she has, we all just say 'oh thats good' and then move the convo on. We try not to encourage her and react as little as possible.

[laura111294]

I know a person like the one you've described. He made up a girlfriend with a fake Facebook profile for her and then apparently she died by stabbing herself in the heart. He also made up that he had a brain tumor with only 10 days to live which was about two years ago. The latest I've heard is him saying he has anaemia...

What you should do is just ignore her or even confront her as Iif you just go along with the lies she's telling you then she'll carry on and get even worse!

[madders94]

It's annoying but I had a friend like this, she'd lie to make everything about herself sound better than others, even though I knew it was blatant lies. I think rather than confront her and shout at her and call her names, it might be better to be gentle with it and suggest - either to her or a friend/family member, that perhaps she should see a counsellor?

[Minotauro]

LOL, I'm the exact same position, but it's ok now because we're finished with college, but he does still occasionally send me ludicrous text messages. Where to start, his name is Quazi
- He has a fictional girlfriend who is a model for Channel who was scouted whilst shopping in Channel
- Said Girlfriend has never been spotted in the real word, although she does have lengthy conversations with me over whatsapp
- Most of these conversations consist of how awesome Quazi is, and how much money they both make
- Quazi claims to make £700 pounds a week, but complains this is too little. That's 40k a year you ****, more then my father makes
-He also has another whole load of lies to accompany these lies, including the death of his imaginary girlfriend's father, his eventual modelling contract with diesel (which he turned down) and various other stories.
Here are some screen shots from our hilarious conversations, (all with his 'girlfriend')

Spoiler:

Show

Oh and hears me attempting to out him, this is still his gf talking by the way

Spoiler:

Show

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Spoiler:

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All I can say is I feel your pain

[madders94]

(Original post by I love shopping)
I knew someone who once told us that her younger brother died Who tells lies like that about their family??

We soon found out she was lying when someone went and offered condolences to her parents.

This sort of thing always disgusts me because my little brother died and to think of someone making it up to get attention is horrific.

[taylorg292]

I have a friend like that, she didn't stop until people started ignoring her, but she's just started again. You have to confront her about it, next time she says something you know isn't true just question her.

Most likely she told one silly lie and feels she has to keep telling them and has dug herself a hole. She probably thinks she's boring and needs to tell the lies to be interesting.

[I love shopping]

(Original post by madders94)
This sort of thing always disgusts me because my little brother died and to think of someone making it up to get attention is horrific.

I'm really sorry to hear that. I lost a sibling too, so I know exactly what you mean.

EDIT: she told a lot of other lies too, which I just ignored, but this one really got to me. The worst thing was I actually believed her when she told us because I could not imagine anyone making something like that up.

[sweeter than a cherry pie]

(Original post by Pitt1988)
I hate people like that. Their lives are obviously so boring and uneventful that they spin stuff like this. I'd just distance yourself from her and when she tries to engage you in conversation either ignore her or give her answers that wont warrant a reply. Either that or make up some blatantly ridiculous lies yourself, see if she gets the hint.

To be fair I'm pretty sure it can linked to mental health issues and either the person genuinely believes everything they say, or they can't help but lie - it's an overwhelming compulsion. It's not necessarily just attention-seeking, especially when the lies are so far-fetched.