Do you tell lies? Like, big lies? Why?

[JustAstroturf]

Just that really. I don't want to judge anyone but I've had a couple of big lies told to me recently and I am just trying to understand why people lie. Someone told me they have a degree they don't have, and also lied about where they were a few times when they were somewhere else.

Have you told any big lies? Why?

I've also been thinking about lies I've told myself that I am ashamed of. When I was younger I had a horrid toxic relationship and told some lies to get his attention when he ended it, and never really understood why I did that. I suppose I'm just interested in hearing from others who have told lies that they are aware of and what causes that

I do lie by omission. If somebody is being needlessly nosey I won't tell them something which doesn't concern them.

Also if I need to protect me or mine. I would have no issue lying to friends or family of an abusive ex, for instance. I also used to cover for his abuse. Lying to protect his lies was bloody soul destroying.

I'm quite a private person but mostly honest, however I would put integrity and loyalty above honesty so if I had to tell some lies but was doing what was right on a bigger scale I could live with that (like helping prisoners of war escape or lying to conceal the hiding place of friends or whatever, although I don't think this applies so much outside War movies)

I have known the kind of liars you are talking about though. They seem to fall into two causes, the very competitive and the very insecure, or both.

I do lie by omission

I suppose I do this too

Someone I knew who was a huge liar had had quite a traumatic childhood. I found out that his mother would verbally and physically abuse them for the slightest thing so they grew up with a constant fear of making any kind of mistake. The lies then developed from that and carried on into adulthood.
Even if you confronted them with 100% proof they were lying they couldn't admit it. It just means that every thing they say you have to take with a pinch of salt, which is a shame when otherwise they're a nice person.
If you are a liar and people don't call you out on it, it doesn't mean that people actually believe you, they're probably just being polite so they don't hurt your feelings.