I am with our fellow RA's here...I don't think its that they literally mean what they are saying - it just works. It gets people to leave them alone, it relieves them from being honest with themselves, and it furthers the "self-will" run riot thinking by always being the victim of someone or something else. It's part of the disease process.
Think of it the same way we look at the lying. It is a tactic to protect the addiction. Our job is to stop taking it all so personally, recognize these are sick people, and act accordingly. Learning to not react nor believe whatever came our of my XRA's mouth was a huge turning point for me!