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The unintended fabrication of faulty or distorted information and recollections is known as confabulation. It's different from delusions and lying. It can range from minor distortions of real-life memories to the fabrication of weird and unique memories, typically with great detail.
Unlike common understanding, individuals who confabulate do it without awareness. Individuals who display this psychological trait are not deliberately or consciously attempting to mislead. Instead, despite being presented with contradictory information, individuals remain confident in the veracity of their memories.
Meaning of confabulation
What's confabulation? It involves people remembering their own experiences incorrectly and frequenting autobiographical memories. Sometimes people put experiences in the wrong period or location. They might incorrectly recall additional things, no matter how trivial. These may lack a solid foundation in reality. Movies, television and overheard conversations can all provide information.
This is sometimes referred to as 'honest lying' by psychologists, as those who do it genuinely believe what they say. What they say is sincere, despite it being untrue. For instance, a confabulating person with dementia might recount an event from their childhood that didn't happen but did so in their mind. However, it's possible that they recall an actual event in a completely different way.
Confabulation can either be provoked or come about spontaneously. If they come in answering a query, they're provoked. Even if the person is at a loss for words, they could feel forced to respond. If they're given voluntarily, they are spontaneous.
Confabulations that happen on the spot are frequently less credible and can be atypical or weird.
What causes confabulation?
Brain sickness or damage frequently causes a tendency to lie. Memory difficulties, head trauma and a few psychiatric diseases are a few of the conditions that have been related to confabulation.
It's also linked to many neurological and psychological disorders, such as:
1) Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome
A neurological condition that results in severe thiamine shortage and is typically brought on by long-term alcoholism
2) Alzheimer's disease
Memory loss, cognitive decline, language difficulties and other neurological impairments are all symptoms of dementia known as Alzheimer's disease.
3) Traumatic brain injury
Injury to particular brain areas, like the inferior medial frontal lobe. Many disorders in the brain can lead to permanent changes in personality and behavior.
4) Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that impairs reality awareness and understanding, leading to bizarre sensations and actions.
5) Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
It's one of the many brain issues that can result from alcohol exposure during pregnancy. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder patients frequently exhibit suggestibility and a desire to please others. They may be more prone to fabricating memories because of these traits.
This tendency is not caused by a single region of the brain in particular, but it has been linked to injury to the frontal lobe (important for memory formation) and the corpus callosum (important for visual and auditory memory).
Treatment of confabulation
Confabulation may appear to be relatively innocuous, but for family members and caregivers it can be stressful and painful, as they may mistake it for lying or find it monotonous and unpleasant. They may also be susceptible to manipulation, which could result in negative legal outcomes if they confess or give false statements to authorities or in court.
As there can be a variety of reasons for the condition, there is no one universal cure. As the underlying illness is treated, the phenomenon can diminish. If you want to remember what really happened the previous day or a while ago, it could be helpful to keep memory journals to record genuine happenings. Occasionally, drugs like antipsychotics can be beneficial.
Strategies that urge a person to question their memories both good and bad can be helpful. Instead of making up a response, people are required to say that they are unsure about something or that they do not know something.
Confabulation might be perplexing or upsetting, but it occasionally aids people with memory problems in adjusting to the present. Memory lapses can be challenging and sometimes terrifying for those who encounter them. One way the mind may attempt to make sense of the world is through conflated memories.
It's crucial to get assistance if you're worried that a loved one may be exhibiting confabulation symptoms. Consider speaking with a mental health specialist who can determine the underlying problem and assist you and your loved one in coping with the confabulation's impact.
Janvi Kapur is a counselor with a Master's degree in applied psychology with a specialization in clinical psychology.
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