Lying... exaggerating?

So, I did a search on this topic and nothing relevant came up. So maybe I am just as crazy as I think I am...

Does anybody else, when they're hypo or manic, find themselves exaggerating or lying to people, fully aware that you're lying?
In a few of the hypomanic episodes I've had in the past (and actually a LOT during this last one) I found myself exaggerating my achievements and abilities to people, to the point of actually kind of making stuff up. Not to people I know, obviously, but to strangers that I'd meet (or men that I'd flirt with, or whatever...) I'm not talking about delusions of grandeur, because I obviously knew that the s*** I was saying wasn't true. But it was totally believable. And I did think I was pretty fantastic at the time, but yeah. Totally lying... about a lot of stuff.

Am I just a really horrible person, or has anyone else found themselves doing this? I'm so embarrassed about it now. Like, really embarrassed. I'm really hoping I never run into these people ever again, or that the things I said don't come back to bite me in the *** somehow. I'm newly diagnosed, and having a pretty serious identity crisis, trying to piece together which things are symptoms of my illness and which things are actually just me...

I'm not bipolar and haven't done that, but I am sure there are a lot of people that do. I never thought about them being bipolar because I didn't know- I just knew they were lying. Like one of my friends was in the audience of a talk show once, and she stood up and said she was a lawyer and was therefore an expert on the subject and gave her opinion like it was gospel, and she wasn't a lawyer.

Good luck with your new diagnosis. It's hard to differentiate what is illness and what is "just me", and eventually you'll end up trying. It's a futile exercise, as the meds change fundamentally who we are, or at least how we act around others.

Welcome to the club.

Thanks... this is hard.

I realize on occasion I have exaggerated incidents or situations I have been involved in. I realize I am a teller of stories and sometimes exaggerate parts in order to stress my point or garner the emotion felt at the time it occured. I hate this, am aware I am doing this at the time, and beat myself up for it afterward.

I've done this for job interviews or applications, especially my favorite interview.where I thought I could be a dog groomer, btw I'm legally blind and can't groom dogs, don't even know how. Never want to go back to that particular Petco I interviewed at either...

Delusions of grandeur proclamations ("I'm a f'in genius!" etc.), yes.

Lying, no.

Haha! This made me smile. Thanks.

Never have I lied, but I have been known to exaggerate a little.

Is it lying when you believe the ridiculous things you are saying to be the truth?

That's the problem I've ran in to

I can ever recall outright lying but I do know I was delusional and believed I was something I'm not. I think there is a LOT of embarrassment and regret that comes with mania. Losing control and doing things I don't normally do has it's own repercussions.