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How can I stop being a compulsive liar?

Profile: PG
PG on Nov 22, 2014
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1] Be true to yourself.[2] For the sake of your reputation,stop lying! [3] Try to analyze ,all that you said and the adverse effects on others.
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Profile: Erynn
Erynn on Jan 3, 2015
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It will take time, anything that's been an ongoing behavior takes time. And you will probably slip up a lot on your way to permanently changing your behavior. It can help to start small. Are there specific people, places, or topics you could more easily start being more honest about? It can also help to examine why you feel the urge to lie. How does lying benefit you? If you've been lying for a long time, it's likely that telling lies benefits you somehow. If you can find how it benefits you, you may be able to find alternative ways to get those benefits. It can also help to examine how lying has hurt you and/or your relationships. How might it help to stop lying? Online, or your local library, probably has some useful resources for individuals, friends, or therapists working with people who compulsively lie. These resources can all help you help yourself by allowing you to better understand why you lie, and how others have learned to stop. Best of luck!
Profile: Anonymous
Anonymous on Nov 14, 2014
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I think before you lie the next time, ask yourself "why am I lying?" "what am I scared of?" and basically dig deeper and try to resolve any issues you may be facing with the truth.
Profile: Anonymous
Anonymous on Mar 11, 2015
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start accepting yourself for who you are, stop trying to mask and cover up who you truly are and let people accept you for YOU that way you wont need to lie
Profile: Spirited1
Spirited1 on Nov 20, 2014
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You have taken a decision to stop an aspect of your behaviour that concerns you. Consider what it will feel like to be free of lies? How will it feel to live in accordance with your values? Describe or picture the YOU you wish to be. Try setting some small goals for what you want to achieve. If stopping at once is hard, perhaps you could reward yourself for small achievements. A day with no lies, for example. Or a particular event where your lies are limited or contained to particular subjects. Reflect on situations that drive you to this compulsive behaviour. Where are you? Who are you with? What else is going on? How do you feel? Physically and mentally? What thoughts go through your mind before you lie? And during? How is the lie formed? What, in the moment, is your motivation for it? What would be a better way to achieve your goal without lying? By examining the situations and feelings that trigger your lies, you may come to understand yourself better. You may find, for example, that you lie when you are anxious, or under pressure, or feeing threatened in some way. Wanting to impress can be an example of all of the above. Visualise how you want to be in such situations. Imagine a positive outcome free of lies. Think of some coping strategies that you can employ if a situation or person triggers the compulsion to lie. Perhaps a change of subject or scene? Perhaps a moment out, and some deep breathing and visualisation that helps you get back to natural state of balance. Consider engaging a trusted friend, who knows you well, to monitor your lies in social situations. Agree with him or her what their role will be. Perhaps he or she can interrupt you with a codeword or phrase when you are lying. Perhaps they can reflect with you afterwards on what happened and why. By stating your intention to another person, you may find you become more committed to following through on your ambition to stop lying. Ultimately, don't be too hard on yourself. I cannot speak for every person on the planet, but I would wager a bet that each of us has told a lie at some point in our lives. It is part of the human nature. Lies can be a source of creativity, of imagination, of new possibilities, of visualising a better future. Lies might not always be bad. What is important is that you act in accordance with your values, and that you feel happy and in control of your behaviour, and that you treat others with care and responsibly. Good luck :)
Profile: astray
astray on Jun 23, 2017
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You stop being a compulsive liar by having the courage to do something you've never managed to do before be honest tell the truth about every and anything you have ever lied about, it might be hard and it might take some time but you can do it, you will feel so much better once you tell the truth it'll be as if a weight was lifted.
Profile: Yunowho
Yunowho on Nov 20, 2014
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Ask yourself why you lie, and what you hope to gain from it, and what gain you'd get from not lying, the answer follows after that
Profile: Anonymous
Anonymous on Dec 29, 2014
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Think about the consequences of your lie. How will they hurt you? Also, think about the people you could be hurting with your lie.
Profile: Anonymous
Anonymous on Dec 22, 2014
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First and foremost, it is imperative that you find a therapist that you feel comfortable with and can be honest with.If you have spent the majority of your life telling elaborate lies you may find it almost impossible to stop lying overnight. Commit yourself to telling a small number of truths per day and increase them as time progresses. Do not expect that you can just stop a deep ingrained behavior in one or two days. It will take time, but it is possible to stop lying for good.
Profile: Anonymous
Anonymous on Jan 22, 2016
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You can simply ask yourself before lying, "will this affect others?" "How would I feel if I got lied to?" "Why do I feel the need to do this?" The lying may not stop immediately but it should slowly simmer down to almost nothing if you put in a lot of effort.
Profile: Anonymous
Anonymous on Feb 4, 2016
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Every time you lie, journal about it. You will soon find that you are doing it mostly for comfort in yourself, or for a silly and preventable reason. If you don't know the reason yet, start journalling. It is eye opening.. Write in pen too.
Profile: Gemma8483
Gemma8483 on Feb 7, 2016
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Admit to someone you trust your problem. Then you can practice not lying to them. When you do lie to them, immediately tell them you've lied. If they really care about you they will understand and want to help you.
Profile: Anonymous
Anonymous on Mar 12, 2015
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If you lie often, you should consider things will be worse when the truth is finally discovered. That doesn't feel good.
Profile: Jadie
Jadie on Dec 4, 2014
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It can help to keep a journal of the lies you've told, and the consequences that came out of it - seeing these will be a reminder of why it is ultimately better (even if harder) to tell the truth.
Profile: healingWaters73
healingWaters73 on Dec 7, 2015
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Realizing that lying separates us from self and others and leads to negative distrustful relationships.
Profile: Anonymous
Anonymous on Jan 28, 2016
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It's natural that you have an ingrained tendency to lie ..maybe because you're a very personal person who doesn't like sharing much about yourself with others? It's okay to accept that and start making an active habit to catch yourself when you feel somebody is being intrusive and you feel you're about to tell a lie . Then tell the truth or just tell them you'd prefer not to share
Profile: MalignantLove
MalignantLove on Jan 29, 2016
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Accept the reality of how things truly are. Accept people's choices and decisions for what they are instead of feeling the need to lie for your own reasons.
Profile: elliejade
elliejade on Feb 10, 2016
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Think before lying, know what lying actually is, and stop it one step at a time rather than stopping it all together because that would be tricky. Tell yourself every hour how bad lying can be and what it can get you into (for example splitting up from serious relationships).
Profile: WindMelody
WindMelody on Feb 22, 2016
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You should tell someone. Trust me, I used to be a compulsive liar, I actually enjoyed it, but later on I understood that what I was doing was unfair to the ones I loved. So, in my opinion, you should tell someone you really trust to point out to everybody when they feel like you are lying, so you'll have to be honest, if you don't want to lose the persons you love. I understand it may be drastic, but that's probably what you need
Profile: amazingHorizon37
amazingHorizon37 on Oct 9, 2016
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try to think if these lies will hurt those around you, and how it will make them feel. think like Phinocho, when he lied his nose grew, so every time you want to lie, just think oh no my nose will grow.
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