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Could lying be a compulsion?


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Why not?  Sounds pretty likely that such constant lying is a compulsive reaction if he has been diagnosed with OCD. 

The trick now I imagine is to establish what the OCD core belief is, at the heart of his problems, that produces a frequent compulsion in the form of lying. 

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It could be compulsive PolarBear, but as you know that doesn't mean it is OCD. From an OCD perspective it only becomes an OCD compulsion if there is a preceding obsessive thought/fear/worry. 

If I am honest, I don't think it is an aspect of OCD, I have never heard of it being so, but never, say never. 

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54 minutes ago, Ashley said:

It could be compulsive PolarBear, but as you know that doesn't mean it is OCD. From an OCD perspective it only becomes an OCD compulsion if there is a preceding obsessive thought/fear/worry. 

If I am honest, I don't think it is an aspect of OCD, I have never heard of it being so, but never, say never. 

Since we can obsess and compulse about literally anything,  perhaps looking for that OCD core belief is the most practical answer. 

If none can be found, then the same exercise will surely reveal the reason for all the lying. 

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The clue may be in the word "constantly". 

I have come across a few people willing to lie to achieve their ends, but there is a limited, and specific, aim to that lying. 

Repetitive actions suggest to me a locked way of thinking in keeping with OCDM

Standard CBT approach for an adult would be to get him to complete a thought log. The one my current therapist used was good because it helped her find any obsessions and resultant compulsions, plus categorise any thinking distortions that were causing an anxiety response. 

An added bonus was that the thought log put paid to my fear that I also had General Anxiety Disorder. 

A normal 6 year old would probably treat the exercise as fun. A  6 year old with OCD, afraid of their thought patterns and constantly lying, would be a challenging proposition - might have to be achieved by gentle probing having won his confidence. 

A job for uncle PolarBear perhaps? 

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I agree with Caramoole, the important thing is what is he lying about? For example, I have lied in the past that I didn't do a compulsion when I did because of embarrassment. In that instance, the lie wasn't the compulsion but it was because of it.

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