Clearing a Conscience. Caroline Myss's theory is that when one lies he will go through much suffering and the only way to rid the body of this pain is to confess the lie.

When one finds himself in a sticky situation and needs a way out, human instinct is to take the easy way out, to lie about what happened. The next step is to feel guilt for the lie committed. After that, the guilt will continue to grow stronger, this will continue until the liar has admitted his wrong doing and takes responsibility for his actions, making the first step, of lying, into a pointless detour on …

…How many ways can a person rid themselves of any tormenting lies that hang over them? One; he most confess the lies in order to continue his life. When a lie is kept secret it will thrive on the torment it is causing the one who made the lie. This will continue to thrive until the secret is told. Only when one confesses the lie will he will be able to escape from the guilt.