General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Dealing with a compulsive liar in the family at Christmas dinner. [View all]frazzled
(18,402 posts)To test her grasp on reality, maybe instead of commenting on her stories, you should just try responding with a made-up story of your own, to see if she "gets" it: "That reminds me of the time I was in Barcelona, and we went to a flamenco cafe. There was a point in the show where they invited people to come up to try their hand at it, and even though I'd never done it before, apparently I blew their socks off, because they offered me a permanent job as a flamenco dancer on the spot. It was tempting, but I decided I needed to get back home."
Or, present a bowl of ordinary mashed potatoes at dinner and blushingly say how your mashed potatoes won first prize at the County Fair. Get family members to recall the honor and all join in the praise for your mashed potatoes!
It seems like it would be tempting to get angry at someone lying like this, or to simply make fun of it. But maybe she really can't help it. Maybe it's an illness and she really doesn't realize that what she is doing does not comport with reality.