What would happen if you answered any question you were asked with total honesty? That's what RADHIKA SANGHANI did for two years - and it's changed her life

What would happen if you answered any question you were asked with total honesty? That's what RADHIKA SANGHANI did for two years - and it's changed her life By Radhika Sanghani Published: 20:53 EDT, 15 May 2024 | Updated: 20:53 EDT, 15 May 2024 e-mail View comments 'So, you lied.’ The accusation from my therapist rendered me speechless. I hadn’t lied! As I’d just explained, all I’d done was tell a friend I wasn’t upset with her for cancelling on me when, secretly, I was.

But that didn’t make me a liar. I was just..

. tweaking the truth so I wouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings. Everybody does that.

‘That is lying,’ he said, a bit more gently. ‘It’s dishonesty. You’re denying that person the truth — and yourself.

’ His words shook me. I’d never thought of myself as dishonest. Yet I began to think of all those times when I hadn’t been truthful, big and small.

In the past few days alone, I’d told a friend I loved her outfit when I didn’t, pretended I was busy with work when my parents rang and told a colleague how great their latest project was when I hadn’t actually read it. In that moment, I realised I wasn’t the flawless friend, daughter and colleague I’d always thought I was; I was actually a prolific liar. I might have been doing it with the intention of not hurting others, but it didn’t matter.

I was lying to my loved ones — and I’d been doing it my whole life. After three decades of lying - and suffering from anxiety and stress b.