Am Eye Lying?

Well, you can bet if I was still drinking that a good percentage of almost every thing I said, even to myself, would likely be a fabrication. Why is it that alcoholics and addicts are such proliferate liars? It’s my opinion that there are two main reasons; the first is that we are in denial of the reality of our addiction and lie to others in order to convince ourselves we are still in control. There was always an excuse (lie) of why I couldn’t get to work, where I had disappeared to, or what happened to the money. As long as I could get someone else even to partially believe my tales, I felt measurably better that I was still “controlling” the situation. The second reason is the obvious one, and that is to obtain drugs and alcohol at any cost. Lying was an acceptable means to an end just as cheating and stealing were in the quest to gain the substances that kept me alive.

This topic was brought about by an interesting article I stumbled upon that shows you how to detect lies by observing eye movement and detection. The article is part of a larger series on blifaloo.com on detecting lies. There are some good graphics explaining the basics of detecting lies by watching the eyes, but here is the gist of the article:

Example: Let’s say your child asks you for a cookie, and you ask them “well, what did your mother say?” As they reply “Mom said… yes.” they look to the left. This would indicate a made up answer as their eyes are showing a “constructed image or sound. Looking to the right would indicated a “remembered” voice or image, and thus would be telling the truth.

Fair warning about catching the lies of a loved one; nothing will work when you so desperately want to think someone is telling you the truth. Been there and done that, consider it gospel. Another good rule of thumb, if you are speaking with an active addict or alcoholic then you can be rest assured that half of what you are hearing is a lie. Many people will try to take me to task on this estimate, but it would take a lot to convince me otherwise because I see it too often. Why would eye lie to you?