Mitomania is about people who lie … for no reason at all. Find out about this problem, how it affects the lives of those who suffer from it, and learn how to fight mythomania!

Mitomaniais a term that has been used in the language of psychology for quite a long time. The first description of this problem appeared in 1891, its author was Anton Delbrüeck and hence the other namemitomania , i.e.Delbrüeck team . Still other terms used to describe this phenomenon are pathological lies and fantastic pseudology.

So far, no exhaustive research has been conducted that could allow for more certain conclusions as to the frequency of mitomania in the population. However, there are publications available according to which pathological lying could be a problem for up to 1% of people. The estimated frequency of mitomania in both sexes is similar. People of all ages can suffer from mitomania, but so far it has been observed that it may have a particular tendency to start in adolescence (around the age of 16).

Mitomania: what is it?

Mitomani create their own alternative, much different from the real reality. Not every person who lies a lot can be said to be a mythomaniac. It is characteristic of mythomania that a person lies… because yes. A "typical" lie is usually related to some external motive - for example, a child lies to his mother that he has passed the last test with a very good grade in order not to get a pen alty for a failed test. Pathological lies, in turn, are related to internal motives, in addition, a man with mythomania may utter content inconsistent with reality without any specific purpose.

People struggling with mythomania with their lies usually embellish themselves, showing themselves as better people than they really are. Pathological lies may concern, for example, the fact that the mythomaniac has an exceptionally good professional position or that he is a friend of high-ranking people.

Above it was mentioned that pathologically lying people can present themselves as heroes as it were - the opposite situation is also possible, where they will show themselves as victims to others. A mitoman maybealso transforming fundamentally truthful information into lies, for example by having the flu (and being fully aware of it), he may inform other people that he is suffering from some completely different and life-threatening disease.

A characteristic feature of mythomania is also the chronic nature of this problem - mythomans typically lie pathologically for many, many years. It is also noteworthy that the stories of people with Delbrück's syndrome can take on a very fancy character, sometimes it can be hard to believe in them, but the content is rather not about completely impossible phenomena.

Mitomania: reasons

Currently, neither doctors nor psychologists are able to unequivocally state what the causes of mythomania are. However, the tendency to pathological lying is associated with a variety of mental problems, such as, for example, personality disorders - mitomania can be encountered, among others, In people with borderline personality disorder or narcissistic personality disorder, there are also theories that the course of adolescence would affect a person's risk of developing mitomania. According to such hypotheses, people who encountered various childhood problems - such as, for example, alcoholism of their parents or abuse by their caregivers - would have a greater tendency to pathologically lie in their adult life.

There are theories according to which various diseases of the central nervous system could be a potential cause of mythomania.

The scientific research carried out so far has managed to discover that even in almost half of people diagnosed with Delbrück's syndrome, some neurological diseases, such as epilepsy or infectious diseases of the nervous system, occurred.

Mitomania: symptoms

In fact, even for an experienced psychologist, recognizing mythomania can pose many problems. This is related, for example, to the fact that pathological lying must be differentiated from other disorders, which are sometimes related to the utterance of content inconsistent with reality by patients. We are talking here, for example, about psychotic disorders, such as delusional disorders or schizophrenia.

Sometimes it can be quite difficult to distinguish whether the contents uttered by the patient are pathological lies or delusions after all. It may help to distinguish between these two similar problems that, in the case of delusions, even the most sane arguments of the environment that the patient's beliefs are inconsistent with reality cannot change his mind. Pathological liars canmeanwhile, not be aware that they are lying, but there are also situations where, when they are back against the wall - though usually reluctantly - they are able to admit that they were actually lying.

Mitomania: How pathological lies affect the life of a mitoman?

One thing can be said about the mythomans: they certainly do not have an easy life. It is possible that those around them (sometimes even for a long time) will not realize that they are faced with the lie over and over again, but the truth eventually emerges. Ultimately, mythomans can break up relationships - basically, no one likes to be lied to all the time, and even the most loving partner can finally abandon the myth-man. People with mythomania may also experience problems in their professional life - a boss who has even a very good, but still pathologically lying employee may eventually decide to give him a notice of dismissal. . Are there any ways to cure pathological lying?

How to fight mythomania?

The treatment of mitomania is based on psychotherapy - there are no pharmaceutical preparations that could prevent the patient from lying pathologically. Psychotherapy in mythomania has several primary purposes. First, the patient must realize that he or she is habitually and - basically for no reason - lying. During therapy, it is also very important to develop a motivation in the patient to get rid of mythomania - in people who will approach therapy without commitment or who will think that psychotherapy is unnecessary for them at all, achieving therapeutic success is very difficult, and sometimes even impossible.

In the treatment of mythomania, an important role is played by the search for potential factors that could contribute to its occurrence - for example, emotional conflicts that began in childhood or adolescence. During the psychotherapy of pathologically lying people, behavioral training modifying the behavior of patients is also important. In the case of mitomanes who remain in relationships, it may be beneficial - both for the pathologically lying person and his partner - to take advantage of therapeutic sessions for couples.

Sources:

1. Rakesh Pal Sharma et al., Case Report: Pseudologia Fantastica, Delhi Psychiatry Journal vol. 10. No. 1; on-line access: http://medind.nic.in/daa/t07/i1/daat07i1p78.pdf

2. Charles C. Dike, Pathological Lying: Symptom or Disease, Psychiatric Times; on-line access: http: //www.psychiatrictimes.com/articles/pathological-lying-symptom-or-disease

About the authorBow. Tomasz NęckiA graduate of the medical faculty at the Medical University of Poznań. An admirer of the Polish sea (most willingly strolling along its shores with headphones in his ears), cats and books. In working with patients, he focuses on always listening to them and spending as much time as they need.

Category:

Psychiatry