What you should know about "honest lying"

Confabulation is a medical phenomenon where someone creates events or memories, often elaborately shared, that are untrue. Yet they wholly believe them, often in vivid detail. The reasons for this vary, but a few things to know are...

Confabulation is not lying. Lying is purposeful with an intent to deceive. Confabulation is not done to deceive or mislead. Because they fully believe what they are saying, confabulation is often called "honest lying." What they say is their truth.

Confabulations are not delusions. Delusions stem from mental health issues and most often refer to current or future things. Confabulations are more often related to memory.

Two types of confabulation are Provoked and Spontaneous. Provoked confabulation happens when someone responds to direct questions. Spontaneous is when someone voluntarily shares their account of an incident or a memory.

Confabulation can be a symptom of Alzheimer's or dementia.  Memory gaps can be subconsciously filled with altered or completely untrue recollections. Dementia sufferers will often confabulate about events that happened many years earlier.

While it may be frustrating for family and friends of someone prone to confabulating because it mimics lying, it's important to remember it may actually be a way for their minds to cope with the fear or sadness of experiencing lost memories.

Mental health conditions that can cause it include PTSD, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and schizophrenia. Treating the underlying issue may reduce instances of confabulation.

Medical reasons this can happen are brain trauma, a stroke or aneurysm, or a head injury. Sometimes their stories or accounts can hold some shreds of truth or familiarity, such as pulling information from a television show or from their past and inserting it into their reality.

Minimal confabulation can appear to a certain degree in anyone. Things like siblings remembering a childhood event differently or witnesses from a crime recalling different details. Variables like emotions and fear can alter anyone's memories.

Can serious cases be cured? Maybe, but there are many variables. It can be temporary and leave on its own. If alcoholism contributes to its occurrence, sobriety can reduce or eliminate it. Treatment for underlying mental or physiological conditions can be effective as well.