Lance Armstrong: A Psychiatrist's Point of View and Advice

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It may be too early to pass the final verdict on whether or not Lance Armstrong was lying. And when that time comes, it certainly won't be my place to do so. But in light of the public attention being paid to one athlete's (at least potential) lies I want to shed a little light on lying itself from a Psychiatrist's point of view. 

The History of Lies and Liars

For most of the history of psychiatry, lies and lying were one of the few aspects of human experience not discussed. You’ll find very little in Freud’s writing about lying. And even the 1984 Encyclopedia of Psychology doesn’t devote much page real estate to the subject.

But this part of human experience was too big to be ignored forever. And researches have been devoting a fair amount of attention to the subject over the last two decades. And what they found is that lying is a major part of our lives. And few of us get through the day without telling one.

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White Lies

In a 1996 study by Bella DePaulo, Ph.D., a psychologist at the University of Virginia scientifically measured our natural impulse to lie. And her clinical trial study revealed that the average human being lies between one and two times a day.

We fudge about our weight. We tell a friend they look great when they really don't and we tell bill collectors that “the check is in the mail”. These little white lies are commonplace, sometimes necessary (telling your boss her outfit looks terrible may affect your promotion) and don't take much from the quality of our lives. 

However, there are other types of lies: significant ones like the ones Lance Armstrong may have told. These lies affect your life and the lives of others. They help you misrepresent yourself and mislead people that you love and care about. 

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Lies Affect Your Physical and Mental Health

Luckily, most of us will never have to face national scrutiny and be forced to own up to our biggest lies to all of our biggest fans. But even well-hidden lies have a profound affect on your physical and mental well-being. 

When you tell a significant lie, you become tense and anxious. The effects are measurable. Your heart rate speeds up and your body temperature increases. These are the signs of stress that polygraphers pick up on to detect whether you're telling the truth or not. 

And when you hold on to a big lie for a significant period of time, these physical effects combined with the mental burden of deceiving your loved ones can start to take its toll. 

You may become short-tempered or angry whenever anyone treads near the truth, have trouble opening up fully or suffer from low self-esteem because you feel that you are untrustworthy and unworthy of trust, love and affection. 

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A Sweet Release

If Lance Armstrong is lying, his efforts to cover up his lies are monumental. I believe The Guardian called it “a ruthless campaign of concealment, intimidation and misinformation.”

People living with big secrets waste a massive amount of emotional energy on keeping loved ones and other prying eyes from their secrets. This is energy that they no longer have to devote to self-examination, building healthy dynamics or getting peaceful, good night sleeps.

And what many liars feel after they’re found out is a profound sense of relief. They no longer have to run the daily marathon of holding the lies inside and hurting and deceiving their friend, family or fans (as in Lance Armstrong’s case).  

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So in honor of the trials and tribulations that Lance Armstrong is facing and the uncertainty of his millions of fans, I encourage you to take a moment of introspection. Is there a lie that you’ve been holding onto that you’re afraid to let go of?

Consider letting it go. Your fear of the consequences and the lie’s daily impact on your life are likely much greater than the actual consequences of your secrecy. And once you let go of the lie you can begin to heal and examine the motivation that allowed you to become so deeply mired in your current situation.