Sometimes a lie is just easier to deal with than the truth. When faced with a choice that seems innocent enough, it’s tempting to cop out with a line that’ll save face, or quite simply, just get you what you want faster. But taking liberties when it concerns your health can grow into a bigger problem than the truth you were avoiding in the first place. Skip these fibs, or you’ll have a lot more to deal with than a little lie.
Lying about your fitness level.
Okay, we’ve all snickered at the hopelessly un-coordinated people at the gym (even when we’ve been them). But better to look like a fool than to overexert yourself just because you didn’t want to admit to being a beginner. You could seriously hurt yourself walking into an advanced level class without the necessary experience. Most activities offer beginning-only classes anyway to take away any newbie nervousness. So skip the intense pretzel positions at your first yoga class “ your body will thank you for it.
Lying about your alcohol consumption.
Restaurants and bars aren’t supposed to over serve, but it also isn’t their job to play babysitter. If you’re feeling sick or out of control, take a break for a few hours or stop drinking for the night altogether (and tell that wannabe frat guy to piss off the next time he starts chanting Chug, chug, chug!). Take responsibility for how much you drink, or you could end up in the hospital, or worse. It’s that simple.
Lying about your sexual history.
Whether it’s to your doctor or a partner, never lie about how many people you’ve been with, or anything you may have contracted from them. No one wants to have to admit that they’ve been careless with condoms, but it’s important for your doctor to know so he/she can properly test and if need be, diagnose you. One of the most common STIs, Chlamydia, usually has no symptoms. But if left untreated, it can cause pelvic inflammatory disease.
Lying about your symptoms.
This goes hand-in-hand with lying about your sexual history. Wouldn’t it be nice for everyone to have unoffending symptoms every time we got sick? A sexy raspy throat, or cute little hiccups? Reality check: The reason you came to the doctor is because you have symptoms that are impossible to ignore. So no matter how awkward it may be to utter diarrhea to your doctor, think about how much more awkward it would be to never be rid of it.
Lying about your finances.
Unless you owe money to some very sketchy people, this one probably won’t affect your physical health. But being in debt is one of the biggest mental stressors you can get yourself into. It’s hard to say no when your girlfriends decide to jet off for a weekend, but if you can’t afford it, you need to skip out. The momentary left-out feeling is way better than the terrified sinking feeling you’ll get when your next credit card bill comes.
