Lifestyles

The Truth About Lies

Taylor Hammett, Reporter|May 4, 2016

In the words of William Paisley “White lies introduce others of a darker shade.” From childhood it has been drummed into our heads that lying is bad. There are countless stories and fables associated with the negative effects of lying. Pinocchio’s nose grows to be several feet long and the boy who cried, “Wolf” is still in the belly of the beast.

“Liar, liar pants on fire!” On the playground, liar was a four-letter word. We felt threatened if someone dared to question our honesty. As children we were told, “The truth will set you free.” As we grow we realize there is no sense of freedom when getting in trouble. We quickly learn the art of deception in order to dodge consequences. Lying is a protective mechanism, which we learn from an early age. Often we would rather live with the guilt of a lie that suffer the consequences.

Lying is also a survival skill. In times when we hunted for our meals what we lacked in strength we made up for through deception. In the wild deception can be the key to survival. A chameleon goes through all colors of the rainbow to avoid getting eaten. Luckily we are no longer forced to go head to head with a wild animal, but we still have the skill for trickery. We often lie and keep secrets in order to protect information that could harm us or another person. We can also lie in order to persuade people to get our way. The most common forms of lying are excuses.

marina Lying can take a toll on the mind and body. Psychology professor Anita Kelly spent ten weeks tracking the health of 110 adults. She told half of the participants to stop lying for the ten week period. At the end of the experiment she found that the people who made an effort not to lie had better physical and mental health than they had at the beginning of the study. (http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2012/08/lying-less.aspx) An explanation for this result is that a lot of effort goes into telling a believable lie. Stress puts unnecessary strain on the body. Over time lying can lead to numerous health problems like back pain, rapid heartbeat, and tension headaches. These health problems can lead to much more serious conditions like cardiac arrest and migraines.

Lying can have an even bigger impact on your mental health. A lot of negative energy goes into telling a lie. Although pathological lying is not classified as a disease, it can be an indicator of a number of psychological problems like bipolar disorder and OCD. Lying can also cause mood swings. For example, pathological liars lack a sense of personality because they are in a constant state of denial. They themselves do not even know their true identity, so like a pendulum they swing back and forward between happy and sad. Be careful a lying habit could turn you into a bipolar maniac. (http://lifehacker.com/5968613/what-lying-actually-does-to-your-brain-and-body-every-day)

In daily life we do not feel the impact of telling a lie, but does that mean that it makes it okay? Is there ever a right time to lie? Do you agree that constant lying can lead to more serious conditions? Let me know your opinions by taking this poll.

Is there ever a right time to tell a lie?