Stephanie Ericsson The Ways We Lie Summary

Have you ever told a lie? Why is it so easy to lie in some situations? Nearly everyone has been guilty of telling a lie in some way or another. Stephanie Ericsson, the author of, “The Ways we Lie” has shed some light on different ways of lying. This article is most intriguing because it is of a subject matter that is not really discussed. Stephanie Ericsson wrote this article to bring out that there are different ways of lying. Not just the typical lies and white lies that everyone thinks about once you hear the word lie. Part of being truthful is when you can be transparent about your own self. So Ericsson opens up this article by confessing about her own lying ways. Ericson explains that she lied four times in one day. A passage …show more content…
I can go on and on about this one. We all have images of ourselves in our mind of where we want to be, who we want to be, and what we want to relay to people. But because we are not where we want to be or where we picture ourselves to be, some people might try to mask it to reflect how they want people to see them. Now don’t get me wrong, the meaning of facades is not talking about putting your best foot forward, making a good first impression at an interview, on a date, marketing an item, or things of that nature. A facade speaks on being deceptive with the intent to manipulate others perception on how they see you. Ericsson gave us a definition from Webster’s dictionary of lying. A lie is a false statement or action especially made with the intent to deceive or anything that gives or is meant to give a false impression. Sure we don’t want others to see our hurt, shameful secrets, regret, pain, misfortune, and anything else that doesn’t paint a happy successful image of ourselves. But sweeping it under a rug, not facing your truth, and putting on an “it’s all good” façade is a recipe for painful living that will give birth to more lies and deception that can sadly ruin the human spirit and tare a person to pieces mentally and spiritually. It can ruin you all because it is too much suppression and division with …show more content…
All of which ties into the definition given on lying. Omission is pretty much telling the truth minus a couple of facts left out on purpose that can paint a deceptive picture of what really happened. How many times have we done that? It is kind of funny when you think about it. We strategically plan what to say in order to have the integrity of knowing that you told the truth, all while leaving out and covering up a few facts. But at the end of the day, it all goes under the category of lying. Omission can lead to deflecting, which is pretty much directing someone’s attention away from you or what you don’t want uncovered. Perhaps you focus on another problem or something wrong that they do. That way the attention will be taking off you and put onto them or something else. It is clear that a lot of lawyers are good at deflecting. Ignoring plain facts and dismissal can all tie into denial. The truth can get pretty heavy sometimes. For some reason or another, some people find it easier to just dismiss the truth all together and don’t think about it as if will go away. Denial is dismissals twin. If you dismiss a truth long enough and choose to ignore it, you are definitely going to be in denial. Ericsson found out through her studies that the root of a lot of mental disorders can stem from dismissal of reality. That’s when delusion can set in. People