Is there such a thing as a compulsive lying disorder?

My son who is now 23yrs old constantly tells lies.He makes arrangements for example he says he is coming to visit and does not turn up.I then phone him and he sais he never said he was coming to see me,he always manages to turn the whole situation around .Lie after lie comes out of his mouth and it is so upsetting as he is doing this to his family and all his freinds constantly.The lies become more elaborate as the conversation comes out of his mouth.Do you think he may possibly have some mental health disorder,I just want to be able to help him.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder, more specifically, an anxiety disorder. OCD is manifested in a variety of forms, but is most commonly characterized by a subject's obsessive (repetitive, distressing, intrusive) thoughts and related compulsions (tasks or rituals) which attempt to neutralize the obsessions.

The phrase "obsessive-compulsive" has worked its way into the wider English lexicon, and is often used in an offhand manner to describe someone who is meticulous or absorbed in a cause. Such casual references should not be confused with obsessive-compulsive disorder; see clinomorphism. It is also important to distinguish OCD from other types of anxiety, including the routine tension and stress that appear throughout life. A person who shows signs of infatuation or fixation with a subject/object, or displays traits such as perfectionism, does not necessarily have OCD, a specific and well-defined condition.

To be diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, one must have either obsessions or compulsions alone, or obsessions and compulsions, according to the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria. The Quick Reference to the diagnostic criteria from DSM-IV-TR (2000) describes these obsessions and compulsions:

Obsessions are defined by:
1. Recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress.
2. The thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real-life problems.
3. The person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action.
4. The person recognizes that the obsessional thoughts, impulses, or images are a product of his or her own mind.

Compulsions are defined by:
1. Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly.
2. The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts either are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent or are clearly excessive.

In addition to these criteria, at some point during the course of the disorder, the sufferer must realize that his/her obsessions or compulsions are unreasonable or excessive. Moreover, the obsessions or compulsions must be time consuming (taking up more than one hour per day), cause distress, or cause impairment in social, occupational, or school functioning (Quick Reference from DSM-IV-TR, 2000). OCD often causes feelings similar to that of depression.

Treatment

OCD can be treated with Behavioral therapy (BT), Cognitive therapy (CT), medications, or any combination of the three. Psychotherapy can also help in some cases, while not one of the leading treatments. According to the Expert Consensus Guidelines for the Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 1995, Vol. 54, supplement 4), the treatment of choice for most OCD is behavior therapy or cognitive behavior therapy.

The specific technique used in BT/CBT is called Exposure and Ritual Prevention (also known as Exposure and Response Prevention) or ERP; this involves gradually learning to tolerate the anxiety associated with not performing the ritual behavior. At first, for example, someone might touch something only very mildly "contaminated" (such as a tissue that has been touched by another tissue that has been touched by the end of a toothpick that has touched a book that came from a "contaminated" location, such as a school.) That is the "exposure." The "ritual prevention" is not washing. Another example might be leaving the house and checking the lock only once (exposure) without going back and checking again (ritual prevention). The person fairly quickly habituates to the (formerly) anxiety-producing situation and discovers that their anxiety level has dropped considerably; they can then progress to touching something more "contaminated" or not checking the lock at all â€” again, without performing the ritual behavior of washing or checking.

Pharmacologic treatments include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as paroxetine (Paxil, Aropax), sertraline (Zoloft), fluoxetine (Prozac), and fluvoxamine (Luvox) as well as the tricyclic antidepressants, in particular clomipramine (Anafranil). SSRIs prevent excess serotonin from being pumped back into the original neuron that released it. Instead, the serotonin can then bind to the receptor sites of nearby neurons and send chemical messages or signals that can help regulate the excessive anxiety and obsessive-compulsive thoughts. SSRIs seem to be the most effective drug treatments for OCD, and help about 60% of OCD patients, but do not "cure" OCD (Barlow & Durand, 2006). Other medications like gabapentin (Neurontin), lamotrigine (Lamictal), and the newer atypical antipsychotics olanzapine (Zyprexa) and risperidone (Risperdal) have also been found to be useful as adjuncts in the treatment of OCD.

The naturally occurring sugar Inositol may be an effective treatment for OCD.

Recent research has found increasing evidence that opioids may significantly reduce OCD symptoms, though the addictive property of these drugs likely stands as an obstacle to their sanctioned approval for OCD treatment. Anecdotal reports suggest that some OCD sufferers have successfully self-medicated with opioids such as Ultram and Vicodin, though the off-label use of such painkillers is not encouraged, again because of their addictive qualities.

Studies have also been done that show nutrition deficiencies may also be a probable cause for OCD and other mental disorders. Certain vitamin and mineral supplements may aid in such disorders and provide the nutrients necessary for proper mental functioning.

For some, neither medication, support groups nor psychological treatments are helpful in alleviating obsessive-compulsive symptoms. These patients may choose to undergo psychosurgery as a last resort. In this procedure, a surgical lesion is made in an area of the brain (the cingulate bundle). In one study, 30% of participants benefited significantly from this procedure (Barlow & Durand, 2006).

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He COULD, if he believes in God (has a conscience, in other words) or has another issue that makes him feel he has to lie, quit cold turkey and continue living with a life lesson of what it feels like when you lie or are lied to. BUT, if he has a mental health disorder causing it, such as a psychopathy of some sort, then he can get help but will probably not change.

NO! Oh-Oh! I think I have it .

yeah think my partner has it ,hes like jackornory the story teller

There is it would be a personality disorder! There are many types depending on the behaviour. It all has to be persistent and quite extreme to get such a diagnosis but if it really affects your and his life so much then take him to a doctor and ask to see a psychiatrist.He could just be a liar and thats it but it sounds quite bad to me.

It's called Baron Munchausens syndrome.

yes, it's a recognized disorder.. and he can get help but he has to want help... that's the tough part.

Yes and your son probably actually believes what he's saying so he will feel offended when you raise the subject , good luck in trying to get him to the GP

It does sound like a type of mental illness where there has been a psychotic episode. You can look back on his history to find out if he was hospitalized. He would not have been able to work during one. At any rate the mental health professionals dont want an unmotivated patient and will let him become more depressed before they can get his cooperation.

There are people that lie so often (most of the time for seemingly no reason) that they believe the lies themselves. While growing up, did your son have to pick up after himself, apologize for being rude or mean to someone. Was he ever walked through the process of thinking about his consequences or others feelings?

Being the mother of 3 boys I can imagine how hard and frustrating this is. Nothing can be done till he decides to take ownership of his actions and starts caring about others. He simply wants the immediate gratification of getting everyone off his back immediately. When his wife and kids get sick of it, when it effects his job and other relationships, I hope you are there to help him to realize what he is doing. It is really self destructive behavior.

I would tell him: Son I love you more than you could imagine, but I need to stop involving myself in your self-destructive behavior. If you are going to come see me, great! I love seeing you, but from now I will not engage in this type of negative behavior.

You need to stop getting upset, it feeds his desire and need to keep controling everyone. There is a great deal of satisfaction and controll for him to have everyone upset because of his lies.

Lies only get bigger with time.

No,there is no such disorder.Most mental health 'disorders' are highly contentious anyway.From what you describe though,he has a real problem with compulsive lying.It could be that it's just the way he is,or there is some underlying problem fuelling this behaviour.

yes i had an ex like that.....but he would always insist he was right ...very frustrating... & caused many rows as he was saying i was lying!!!!! & that was just one of his many faults!!!!!

Sincerely, I think my ex husband was a compulsive liar. He would even lie about what he ate for lunch. I think a therapist could really help him.

yes my son seems to have it as well he's 33

yes it is a mental problem BUT there isnt a problem till he admits he has a problem

There are people who are compulsive liars, much like people obsessively clean, or even steal. He may very well have a disorder of some kind, but it's always best to check with a professional. Just tell him you know that he's lying, and bring up the idea, asking him whether and why he thinks he has to lie all the time.

The trouble is, some people lie so much, they actually believe that what is coming out of their mouth is true. I'm not sure if this is a recognises Mental Health problem though.

I think some of the answers have been confusing, this is not and I repeat not a classifiable mental disorder it is certainly not OCD and neither is it Munchhausen's. It would come under the wider diagnostic criteria of personality disorder and would be difficult to get help for.

There is a form of CBT known as schema focused therapy that claims to be able to work with this type of problem, it might be worth approaching your GP to see if it's available in your area, if it is then you have the greater task of persuading you boy to go along.

Good luck.

No it's not Baron Munchausens syndrome, that's a bit different.

But I had a friend who is ALWAYS telling porkys, he really believes in his own lies, he's been that way for 40 years or more, how he keeps track of them I really dont know, everything he says seems to be true untill you find out later, then he tells more stories to cover up the first lot, and even they are believable! I kinda fell out with him years ago because I couldn't trust in anything he said.

In all honesty, your son has a problem and its going to get him into trouble or he'll end up very lonely.

The trouble will be getting him to talk to someone about it. Its not going to be easy. Perhaps you can sit him down and ask for an explanation, his response will tell you all you need to know. If he is aggressive and defensive, he may need some help. If not, you may get some answers.

Are there friends of his you can talk to about it, who could in turn talk to your son ? That may be a good route forward.

Maybe something in his past has triggered this, or it may even be depression, it manifests itself in many different ways.

I wish you the very best of luck and your son too

Yes, and I think most men suffer with it !!!!!!!!!!!!

Pathological lying is not considered a mental health disorder on it's own, but can possibly be a sign of something greater than that.

There may also be a possibility that he may have problems associating imagination with reality and may actually wholeheartedly believe the lies he gives out (Confabulation).

The Homeopathic Remedy OPIUM is prescribed to cure Pathological liars. Click the link to read more about it in the Materia Medica of Homeopathic Medicines :-
http://homeoint.org/books/boericmm/o/op.htm
Take Care and God Bless you !

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