Lying and Mental Health
It is hard to escape the new reality in the world, lying has become the norm more and more. There was a time that people were held to account for their statements. When those statements were shown to be deceptive there were punishments invoked and the perpetrators where shown to have deceived. Lying has ended many a promising career and people were cautious about how and when to bend the truth. This reality has been replaced by people who now lie with a justification that the ends justify the means.
This might cause righteous indignation but little if anything is done about it. Indeed, we accept it so in essence we have changed the rules as to how we value people and their word. This invariably has an effect on our mental health as well as development. If a child or adolescent sees that lying is normal and not really punishable people tend to take on these behaviours themselves. We learn the doctrine of me first. This is unhealthy and can lead to a variety of psychological and emotional problems and can foster distrust in others whether that be fair or not. For those in positions of responsibility it is essential to consider how your actions affect those around you and be honest of the potential harm you are causing to the wider society.
