 Hey Psych2Goers, welcome back to our channel. Thank you all so much for the love that you've given us. Your ongoing support has helped us make psychology and mental health more accessible to everyone. So thank you. Now, let's continue. Have you ever crossed paths with someone who told you a lot of tall tales? Did they make claims about knowing famous celebrities? Or did they lie about being stricken with a life-threatening disease? These types of people are known as pathological liars and they have a compulsive urge to lie about matters big and small, regardless of the situation. This behavior puts a strain on your relationship with them and makes them difficult to trust. If we can recognize the signs of a pathological liar, we can better decide if we wanna try and help them or if it would be better to distance ourselves from them. Before we begin, we would like to make a disclaimer. This video is intended for educational purposes only. Please do not self-diagnose or diagnose others. Having one or all of these traits does not automatically make you a pathological liar. Although being a pathological liar is not a psychiatric disorder listed in the diagnostic and statistical manual for mental disorders, it can be really distressing for you to deal with a pathological liar in your life. So here are the seven signs of a pathological liar that you should look out for. Number one, the stories they tell are unbelievably bizarre. In many cases, a pathological liar's grand stories can easily be proven wrong. If your initial reaction was no way, followed by utter confusion, it's because you likely felt the story they told you didn't make much sense. For example, they may claim that they are close friends with Bruce Lee to this very day, but since he passed away in 1973, you can easily figure out that this story is a lie. Number two, their stories change over time. Pathological liars can tell very elaborate stories to keep you engaged and interested. However, they often can't remember all the details of their fake stories, so they wind up retelling you the story differently each time. For example, they may claim that they stay in touch with Bruce Lee's friends when they originally claimed to personally know him. Number three, they don't like being doubted. If you question them or catch them in a lie, they might get angry or express hostility towards you. For instance, if you ask them about whether they actually knew Bruce Lee or knew his friends, you may be met with a clear attempt to change the topic. Pathological liars want to avoid being questioned about the believability of their stories. Number four, they are quick thinkers. Once you start to doubt how believable their story is, the pathological liar will think on their feet to cover up their inconsistencies and past lies. If you question them about their Bruce Lee story, you may not even realize how seamless their cover-up story is. They will quickly make up an answer to your question, even if it sounds bizarre. Number five, they lack empathy. At this point, you are probably really fed up with them and their elaborate lies. You know that they're making things up when you start rolling your eyes at anything they have to say. Another sign of a pathological liar is that they won't care about your feelings. They'll continue to spin their tall tales even if it makes you uncomfortable being involved in the conversation. This lack of empathy is one reason why pathological liars can strain interpersonal relationships. No one wants to be friends with someone who makes them uncomfortable. Number six, a pathological liar may be self-centered. A pathological liar can be very preoccupied with the claims that they make. Their self-centeredness may be driven by their belief that what they're saying is actually true. As Joseph Gobell says, if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. And so, the cycle of repetitive lies continues. The pathological liar tells a bizarre lie, covers it up, and does whatever they can to keep up with the lie. They may even feed off the attention they get from telling all these tall tales. And number seven, they have a history of interpersonal challenges. There's no wonder that pathological liars can damage relationships. They make you feel confused, uncomfortable, and are difficult people to trust. So more often than not, problems like job instability, substance abuse, and a history of broken relationships may be present in their lives. Do you recognize any of these traits in people you know? Do you know of any other signs of a pathological liar that we may have missed? Let us know in the comments below. Please like and share this video if it helped you, and you think it could help someone else too. The studies and references used are listed in the description below. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button for more Side2Go videos, and thank you for watching. We'll see you next time.