Psychopaths and Pathological Lying

"Engaging in deception and manipulation are not a sign of excess of intelligence. They’re a symptom of lack of character. Once you see through their lack of character, their reactions also become transparent."

Adopted from: Psychopaths and Pathological Lying: Why Do Psychopaths Lie?

How well does this match your experience of the BKWSU?

Psychopaths lie pathologically to others about pretty much everything: their past, their present and their future. Whatever lies you discover about the psychopath in your life are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg.

Since psychopaths wallow in seediness, cruelty and perversion, they enjoy not only lying, but also waving their lies under the noses of the people they dupe. They leave little trophies of their infidelities lying around ... they get the additional thrill of offering a false explanation.

Psychopaths enjoy lying both because of the power it gives them over others and because of the risk of getting caught.

Psychopaths cannot value ... anyone but themselves. If they lose their money, they can always mooch off or scam someone else.

Lying makes them feel more powerful and superior to others.

When he gets away a lie, he feels a cheap thrill. When caught in a lie, he feels no shame. He simply covers it up with another lie or, when that’s not an option, blames you for his wrongdoing or accuses you of behaving in the same manner. Often, even when psychopaths believe that they’re telling the truth, they’re in fact lying. A psychopath can "sincerely" state that he’s being faithful to you right before his date with another woman. Psychopaths live in an Orwellian doublethink world. They believe the truth of the moment while actively seeking new opportunities. We might as well call it a "psychopath-think", since such individuals have their own language.

Psychopaths tell harmful lies, not mere white lies. The lies that harm us, either by omission or by commission, involve the intent to deceive. Dr Susan Forward defines a harmful lie as a "deliberate and conscious behavior that either misrepresents important facts or conceals and withholds them in order to keep you from knowing the truth about certain facets of your partner’s past, present, and, often, future."

When a psychopath lies about important matters related to their identity, actions and intentions, certain implications follow:

1) they becomes the sole proprietor of the truth
2) they acquires control over events in other peoples’ lives
3) those they dupes lack important information that can drastically influence their lives
4) consequently, those they dupes cannot make major life decisions based on this information, including whether or not to stay with in a relationship with them, and
5) most importantly, those they dupes don't know who he really is.

Psychopaths typically deny or minimize their deception once it's discovered. This strategy constitutes a power game which has several negative implications for the people being duped.

1) they did not see what they saw
2) they did not hear what they heard
3) they don't know what they found out
4) they're exaggerating, imagining things or being paranoid
5) in holding the liar accountable for their deception, they are the ones creating problems in their relationship
6) they're to blame for the deception or the psychopath's misbehavior
7) other people, who are exposing the psychopath’s lies, are creating trouble in their relationship.

Since psychopaths regard life as a power game, they suffer from an incurable addiction to deception as a way of life .. they lack the emotional and moral incentives that motivate normal people to improve themselves. No matter how much suffering they cause others and no matter how much they, themselves, get into trouble as a result of their lies, psychopaths remain pathological liars and frauds throughout their lives.

Psychopaths don't change their ways because ...

1) they don't experience the pain and shame that motivates people to become honest
2) they don't play by the rules and thus they never feel that they've done something wrong
3) they lack the emotional depth to want to improve their character
4) in their relentless search for excitement, they live to break, not follow, moral and social rules
5) they believe that they're superior to those they dupe
6) they believe that the rest of humanity is just like them, i.e., manipulative and deceitful, only less intelligent or less adept at it than they are.

Psychopaths have no real concept of truth and falsehood.

To them both are instrumental to get them what they want at the moment.

That’s why they constantly switch gears from truth to lying. They lie to your face without any signs of lying because to them truth has no real meaning. Just an instrumental one. They sometimes say truthful things if it hurts others, to gain credibility or to manipulate people.

An interesting post which sheds light on a category of people, and also organizations, teachings and principles, who living among us and we deal with them on almost daily basis.

The main characteristic of Psychopaths is lying and their relationships with other people are practically defined by manipulation and exploitation. Other people to them are little more than objects for their own gratification.

They are unable to understand the emotional states of other people, except in a purely detached sense. Always lack empathy and fail to admit they are wrong.

Are we not talking here about certain people ... and most certainly about the Brahma Kumaris ??!!

Are we not talking here about certain people ... and most certainly about the Brahma Kumaris ??!!

Yes, I actually believe at least some Brahma Kumari leaders "teach" people to be psychopaths and this unfeeling, unquestioning detachment aspect is a big part of it. I, personally, see Brahma Kumarism as being in part someone's mental illness, unquestioned, and turned into a religion.

You don't have to run around with a red cape, a fork and a tail to be evil. Psychopaths are far more subtle than that. All it takes is a tiny little bit of mental pain now and again, in the right place, to control people. And what better than to pose as a world saving angel to do so ...