Lies, Guilt, Illness & Acceptance

Seeking an explanation for her mother’s ulcerative colitis, Eve Ash asks Dr Elizabeth Loftus whether people’s guilt and stress over lies causes illness. 

Course Overview 

Dr Elizabeth Loftus explains to Eve Ash that not everyone who conceals the truth feels guilt. Eve Ash recounts her mother’s ulcerative colitis, developed when Eve’s biological father took off with his second wife’s niece, later forming a menage a trois. Although Eve accepts that her mother never told her the truth about her paternity, she wonders if her mother’s illness was a symptom of her stress. 

Key Learning Points 

• Those who lie, some feel guilt, and some don’t 

• As Eve finds, her mother’s deception was complex and the story almost incredible 

• There is no proven link between lies and physical illness 

Interviewer: Eve Ash 

Interviewee: Elizabeth Loftus