At the beginning of summer term I told my friends I was talking to some guy...just as a prank I wanted to see how long I could convince them I had a love interest, for context I haven't spoken to a guy since I left primary school in year six. Anyways, I really start to get into this prank for some reason and I show them pictures of him but they're some celebrity called Aryan Khan and I didn't think they would find out. This lie snowballed MAJORLY and he became my boyfriend and we went on dates and we loved each other and we even broke up because I was done lying to them. This went on for MONTHS from April 2024 - Jan 2024 and it was too late to tell them it was just a prank. I made up all of these fantastical stories of crazy things we had done like kiss and more, they get worse. They confronted me today saying that they realised I was lying to them and I tried to lie again but they came to bite me in the butt because my web of lies is so massive they couldn't tell if I was lying or telling the truth. And this prank extends for so long with other fake people I made up and they're confused on why I lied and why I never told them. I messed up massively and I need to fix it. They don't know whether they can trust me and if I was In that situation I wouldn't trust me either so I get where they're coming from. I realised I lie to get away from the crap going on at home and the family drama so i can escape to my fantasy world but I never realised how it could affect others. I also realised that I started reading books that A LOT because it lets me let go of what is happening in my family and submerse myself into another world where I can read other people's problems and not worry about myself. I feel like there's a lot wrong with me that I need to deal with. I need to rebuild the trust between my friends but I'm so scared to go to school tomorrow that I'm skipping it. Do you think leaving it for a day might give them more space to think? How can i make them trust me again? I really screwed up and need help. I know I must have compulsive lying disorder or something along those lines because I just started shutting down on myself. What mental health institutes can I talk to? Anyone have any experience in this area of expertise?