I once attended a lecture by a biologist who was on a tour popularizing science, enlightening the audience about fallacies (mistakes in reasoning). I asked why people invent all those complex explanations (often paranormal) when the real one would have been simpler.

Telling the truth often means refusing the shared fiction someone is leaning on. Sometimes that is the right thing to do. Often it is an act of force passing as virtue.

A mother brings her 12 y.o. boy to a therapist. He is a bad boy, lazy and stupid, and plays video games a lot. Teachers are not happy, no close friends in sight. The mother wants something to happen.

You're the therapist, by the way.