Lie until you fall down

After the thousandth vague mush of words, I was sure. Oh yes, I had long had such a dubious, queasy feeling in my gut, but I scolded myself with the thought that someone couldn't possibly fantasize so much bad luck. Yet I was right (and then you really don't want it for once); the person in question lied about everything. In a pathological way. Pieced together files (thank you, Photoshop), conversations with non-existent people, a marriage on the rocks that wasn't on the rocks... Then you first think: too bad for me, but say goodbye and move on. Only she had scammed the group, which consisted of the sweetest volunteers from a foundation, for thousands of euros. My god, what now?

You have the little white lie for the best intentions, which we all practice. Research even says we do that twice a day, oooops. Then you have the woman or man who can do something about it and who just lies often and a lot. Not sympathetic, but as long as not too many favorites are the victims. The most nauseating form I personally find is the pathological version, where you deliberately make everything up. But did you know that there is also such a thing as a lying disease? That is pseudologia fantastica, which means you believe in your own lies. As silly as I find that, the name is quite cool.
By the way, the lie is recognizable. Bummer, I could have used that info a bit earlier. So I would prefer to see the Pinocchio situation as an option with a growing nose, but I'm lacking that magic. Someone is of course always innocent until proven otherwise, but there are verbal and non-verbal signals that help you identify a liar.

Through the side street

The liar is a master at giving vague answers. Ask a question and you get no direct answer? Then you might just be dealing with a Pinocchio. A liar prefers not to lie by nature (yes, weird) and does everything to take detours. This can be through a denial, aka the I-pretend-I-know-nothing way. The lying beast also prefers not to call the beast by its name, which is why mitigating circumstances are brought up. A lie can suddenly be presented as a little mistake. The lie is rehearsed and that sometimes takes the casual chatter out of a conversation. Is an explanation glued together with formalities? Then it could just be a fantasist.

Read the signs

In the posture of the fantasist, deviations can also be picked up. Everyone already knows that a liar looks to the left more often, but because everyone knows this, it is studied carefully and therefore often doesn't apply. Pay attention to nervous tics, remember well how a person's facial expressions are when telling the truth (someone doesn't lie non-stop) and watch the blinking frequency of the eye. The less blinking there is, the more it points to a lie.

A clever trick

A liar prefers not to talk about the lie and would rather sweep it under any rug. Yes, complicated. But you can gauge how someone reacts when you later return to the subject. If you see all sorts of nervous tics flying across their face, then it could very well be. Just remember that pseudologia fantastica believes in its own lies, so with that person, you just have to gather hard evidence.