Pinocchio’s Syndrome

When in adulthood we observe people who surround their lives with lies and deceptions to justify actions or to adjust their self-esteem defects, then we are faced with a serious problem.

Not all liars suffer from Pinocchio syndrome

Not all people who lie have this syndrome. Some consciously lie for profit, but the pathological liar does not lie with intention. Their lies are spontaneous and unplanned, and once they enter this dynamic of farce and deception they cannot stop.

Those who suffer from Pinocchio syndrome keep the lies they tell for years on many occasions. But it is important to emphasize that the pathological liar knows that he is lying, but cannot help himself. It is not something he can decide. It is an unconscious, pathological act, something that gets out of hand.

However, this situation is so serious that the person suffering from Pinocchio syndrome ends up believing their own lies. There comes a time when you do not know how to discern what is reality and what is the product of your lies.

The main signs that characterize a mythomaniac

How can we identify a mythomaniac? It can be difficult to differentiate between someone who lies sporadically and willingly not to, from someone who suffers from this pathology. However, we have some signs that if we open our eyes well they can be of great help.

1. The stories he tells are not delusions

When a person lies a story is made up. Nothing that counts is being true, but is totally misrepresented for one purpose: to cause astonishment or to present oneself to others as a victim.

However, who suffers from Pinocchio syndrome when he lies, not everything he is telling is uncertain, but there are many parts of the truth.

2. Lies are prolonged in time

If you have ever lied, you will recognize that this is done at a certain time. It is not something that is done in any circumstance without having reasons for it. Lies have a purpose, as we mentioned before, if there is no purpose there is no need to lie.

Instead, the mythomaniac person lies uncontrollably regardless of the context, the environment, or whether the person they are lying to is a relative or unknown person. There is no discrimination. The lie is taken as normal.

3. Believe your own lies

The person suffering from Pinocchio syndrome, unlike the common liar, believes that everything that counts is true. That is, he is not able to discern between what are fantasies of his mind and what is not. This is very important as it causes various conflicts in your relationships with others.

Mythomania is not harmless. It has side effects on different levels. In the social sphere, the mythomaniac often loses credibility and is labeled the “storyteller.” At a family level, he is defined as a person who is not very recommendable and has little confidence. And at the level of contacts and friends, they tend to distance themselves or the person ends up distant from the group.

The only treatment for people with this syndrome is psychotherapy, although at present, there is no research on this area that can guarantee a definitive cure for the patient. It is a pathology that must always be under supervision and that can have improvements, although there is no evidence that it can be completely eliminated.

Pinocchio syndrome and thermography

A team of scientists from the University of Granada, led by Dr. Emilio Gómez Milan, designed an experiment to find out if a person is lying or telling the truth. In this experiment they used a thermal imaging camera to record the temperature of the experimental subjects’ faces. They concluded that when someone lies, the temperature of the nose drops and that of the forehead rises.

Emilio Gómez points out that these two facial points are the keys to measure what they called the “Pinocchio Effect”. Gómez assures that:  “ when we lie, the temperature of the tip of the nose falls between 0.6 and 1.2 ºC, while that of the forehead rises between 0.6 and 1.5 ºC. The greater the difference in temperature change between both regions of the face, the more likely that person is lying ”.

But, what is this temperature change due to? Emilio Gómez gives us the answer:  “to lie you have to think, and that is why the temperature of the forehead increases, but we also get nervous, something that causes a drop in the temperature of the nose. “