Mythomania: symptoms, causes and treatment in children and adults

Lying is a behavior as inherent to human beings as eating and sleeping. Becoming an effective technique, although not too honest, when it comes to achieving certain purposes or even trying to be accepted by those around us.

However, when lying becomes a necessity and the lie involves all aspects of the person's life, it is possible that this suffers from mythomania, a psychological disorder in which the person lies permanently about her life.

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What is mythomania?

Mythomania, also known as pathological lie or fantastic pseudology, is a psychological disorder that was first described in 1891 by the Swiss psychiatrist Anton Delbrück. This condition is suffered by those who lie constantly and repeatedly in order to get the attention and admiration of others.

These people constantly falsify and distort reality and, although in most cases they are aware that they are lying, on some occasions they can come to believe their own inventions and take them as real.

Usually these people are driven by an urgent need to fascinate other people, pretending that their life is extremely exciting. However, in the vast majority of cases, they are aware that their reality is very different and they consider their life tedious, unpleasant or miserable.

The main characteristic of the lies typical of mythomania is that these narratives always tend to be fascinating and chimerical. Nevertheless, they never become impossible or are too fantastic, so it is really difficult to identify that the person is lying.

Of course, the mythomaniac person always tends to be the hero or protagonist of their own lies, since the main motivation of these is to dazzle other people and thus achieve fame and admiration.

In addition, since this need to lie consists of a personality trait of the subject, it is a chronic lie. That is to say, he does not respond to a specific social situation but his whole life revolves around lies.

Who experiences it?

Although it is not entirely proven, different investigations suggest that mythomania has a higher incidence in men than in women. Among the main characteristics of the personality of these people would be a low self-esteem, narcissism, few or no social skills and a tendency to distrust other people.

What are the symptoms?

Because mythomania is seen as the overriding urge to lie, it can be considered something similar to a type of addiction, so it shares a number of common traits and symptoms with other addictions. These symptoms are:

• Increased anxiety symptoms at the time of carrying out the addictive behavior. In this case lie.
• Constant intrusive thoughts and ideas.
• Inability to resist the urge to lie.
• Decrease in psychological pressure when lying and not being discovered.

In addition, there are a number of symptoms of mythomania. Among which are:

1. Magnification of reality

On some occasions, instead of inventing a story, the mythomania magnifies reality, oversizing and decorating it to make it much more interesting and attractive. In addition, these people tend to gesticulate in an exaggerated way when accompanying their stories.

2. Low self-esteem

The need to lie is usually fueled by low self-esteem and an inability to accept and accept your life as it is. Hence the need to elaborate and express an idea of ​​themselves that makes them appear attractive and interesting.

• Related article: "Low selfsteem? When you become your worst enemy"

3. Anxious symptomatology

Due to frustration and disenchantment they experience with the reality of life, mythomaniacs tend to experience numerous episodes of anxiety as a result of comparing your life with what you would like it to be in reality.

• Related article: "The 7 types of anxiety (causes and symptoms)"

4. Constant feeling of stress

The feeling of constant fear of being discovered, the effort derived from maintaining the lies and the permanent creation of scenarios and contexts so as not to be discovered, leads them to experiment persistent stress levels that end up wearing them down on a psychological level.

5. Ability to believe your own lies

Although it does not occur every time, many of the people who live with mythomania can come to assimilate or believe their own lies; accepting themselves as truths or as situations lived in a real way.

Finally, mythomania can be integrated as a symptom more typical of other psychological disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder. as well as some other addictions, since the latter place the person in a situation of isolation and a great need to get money.

Its causes

Although the exact cause of the mythomania has not yet been determined, There are a number of theories that try to give a basis to this disorder.

Regarding the neuropsychological bases, some research points to a neuronal imbalance in the area of ​​the frontal lobeas well as a greater amount of white matter in the brain.

On the other hand, according to different hypotheses put forward by psychology, the cause of this condition is found in a set of personality traits that make it easier for the person to feel the need to lie to attract attention or to seek the popularity or affection of other people.

Finally, theories have also been developed that indicate that mythomania is actually a symptom of another, more important underlying psychological condition, such as borderline personality disorder and the antisocial personality disorder.

Is there treatment?

Due to their fear of being discovered or their reality being discovered, in most cases people with mythomania do not usually go for consultation or they manifest a great reluctance to therapy. So a large part of the intervention is done through family members or acquaintances very close to the person.

However, in cases where direct treatment can be initiated it is necessary to get the commitment of the person and ensure his willingness to cooperate, otherwise the therapy will have no effect on him.

There are different means or techniques to treat mythomania. Some options are:

• Cognitive or cognitive-behavioral therapy.
• Social skills training and communication techniques.
• Pharmacotherapy with anxiolytics.