Ask a doctor - How do you deal with a friend that is a pathological liar?

Q. How do you deal with a friend that is a pathological liar?

Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.

Answered by Seconmedic Expert

Dealing with a friend who is a pathological liar can be difficult and emotionally exhausting. It is important to remember that ultimately, it's not your fault - pathologic lying is an actual mental health disorder, and the best way to handle it is to communicate clearly, set boundaries and seek professional assistance if necessary.

First of all, understand that pathological liars become involved in frequent deceitful behavior in order to gain approval or avoid negative consequences. The lies often appear harmless on the surface, but talking about them can lead your friend into further lying as they will never fully admit the truth of their stories. For this reason, it may be beneficial for you to stay away from trying to confirm or dispute their stories as much as possible.

It's also essential that you take care of yourself while dealing with this type of situation by maintaining healthy boundaries around the issues discussed between you two. This means setting limits on how much time you spend discussing the issues related to their lies so that your conversations don't become overwhelming for either of you. You should also make sure not get caught up in listening too closely or trying too hard to investigate every detail - chances are they won’t tell you the whole truth anyway! Additionally, keep any conversations focused on what understanding a particular story could do for your friendship rather than focusing solely on uncovering whether or not they are telling lies again.

Finally, if these coping strategies still aren't helping improve things between you two then seeking therapy may be necessary. Pathological lying can cause severe harm both mentally and socially; some forms need professional treatment before more serious consequences like strained relationships occur within someone's life - including yours! Ask your friend directly about going for counseling together so that both parties can speak openly about underlying feelings and experiences which might contribute towards them continuing their pattern of deception . Ultimately finding out why certain behaviors manifest during certain situations may help stop this cycle altogether; being able open up about potential triggers can give insight into how paths forward through tolerance could begin instead!