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How Can The Inability To Identify The Truth And The Ability To Believe In Made-up Events Be Medically Or Psychologically Treated?
Posted on
Sat, 12 May 2018
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Sat, 12 May 2018
Answered on
Tue, 13 Feb 2024
Last reviewed on
Question : I am looking for information. My wife is a cronic liar. She makes up a story/reality in her mind and then she believse that is the truth. I am trying to help her but do not know what disorder this may be or even where to start. She does not believe there is anything wrong with her because she believes these lies. She refuses to seek treatment.
I don't know what to do other than ask for answers.
I don't know what to do other than ask for answers.
Brief Answer:
Explanation provided
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I have gone carefully through your query and understand your concerns. Although you mention that your wife is a chronic liar, please note that lie is different from fiction. Perhaps, your wife makes up things and then believes in them since she is unable to distinguish them from the reality.
Let me describe it a bit further...Imagine that there are some newspaper clippings (factual) and certain others which are made up. You now lose the catalogue and now you do not have a clue whether a particular clipping is from the factual category or from the fictional one. Such is possibly the case with your wife. Once she makes up something her brain now has an entry for it. But due to lack of proper cataloging her brain mixes up fact with fiction and starts believing the fiction to be true.
Since her brain is trying to fetch a factual piece but erroneously (unknowingly) comes up with a fictional one, she still believes it to be true and therefore expects nothing to be wrong with it.
Dealing with such problems needs training of the mind. You need to visit a psychologist who would be able to administer psychotherapy could try to look into the root of the problem. Be sure to share my inputs with him or her. The psychologist will need to frame a method which would help her identify the problem and to develop coping mechanisms for them.
Let me know if I could help further.
Regards
Explanation provided
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I have gone carefully through your query and understand your concerns. Although you mention that your wife is a chronic liar, please note that lie is different from fiction. Perhaps, your wife makes up things and then believes in them since she is unable to distinguish them from the reality.
Let me describe it a bit further...Imagine that there are some newspaper clippings (factual) and certain others which are made up. You now lose the catalogue and now you do not have a clue whether a particular clipping is from the factual category or from the fictional one. Such is possibly the case with your wife. Once she makes up something her brain now has an entry for it. But due to lack of proper cataloging her brain mixes up fact with fiction and starts believing the fiction to be true.
Since her brain is trying to fetch a factual piece but erroneously (unknowingly) comes up with a fictional one, she still believes it to be true and therefore expects nothing to be wrong with it.
Dealing with such problems needs training of the mind. You need to visit a psychologist who would be able to administer psychotherapy could try to look into the root of the problem. Be sure to share my inputs with him or her. The psychologist will need to frame a method which would help her identify the problem and to develop coping mechanisms for them.
Let me know if I could help further.
Regards
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
Answered by
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