Magical thinking is the belief that one's
ideas, thoughts, wishes, or actions can influence the course of events in the
physical world. Sometimes people look for meaning in strange places because the
brain is designed to pick up on patterns. Making such connections helped our
ancestors survive what they didn’t fully understand.
For example, they learned not to eat a
certain berry, or they would die. Seeing patterns gives an illusion of control
and comfort by eliminating unwanted surprises. People who rely strongly on
logic may view magical thinking as delusional. Below are a few ways some people
use magical thinking in their lives:
·
Coincidence- Everyone
experiences some form of this. For example, a person may think of a long-lost
friend who then happens to text them out of nowhere.
·
Fortune and
Luck-Some
people have all the luck while others never seem to get a break. Are lucky
people just more open to new opportunities because of their personality?
·
Lucky
Numbers-In
China, the number 8 is pronounced bah,
and sounds like fah,
which means wealth. In playing the lottery, these are the luckiest numbers: 26,
16, 41, 32, and 28.
·
Placebo Effect-A sugar pill can
deliver powerful medicinal results. Studies show that being exposed to a sham
treatment (without knowledge) can alleviate pain, and even boost immunity.
·
Rituals- These practices happen
in different ways. Sales representatives may wear a lucky suit to an important
meeting. Baseball players may adjust their gloves the same way, or spit in the
same spot before every pitch.
·
Superstition- Many cultures
believe in superstitions. In Portugal, you may walk backward so the devil will
not know where you’re heading. In the U.S., people may knock on wood and avoid
crossing the path of black cats and walking under ladders.
·
Synchronicity- A belief that life's
events are not random but deeply ordered. This gives people the feeling that
everything happens for a reason.
Our brains are wired to find meaning in the
world. Even without realizing it, a region in the left hemisphere of the brain
activates to form hypotheses (possible reasons) as soon as we see or hear
something incomprehensible.
There is even a brain chemical assigned to the task of tagging experiences
as meaningful (a neurotransmitter known as dopamine). Magical thinking can be a
normal human response. It is essential for creativity because it allows some to
see patterns, and make connections that more rational thinkers don’t normally
distinguish.
If magical thinking interferes with healthy
functioning in the real world, then it’s time to see a therapist. This problem
often happens to those with obsessive-compulsive
disorder
(OCD). People with OCD may develop rituals such as washing
their hands multiple times in a row in the belief that doing this will give
them an irrational amount of control over their environment. They may spend countless
hours a day engaging in these behaviors and feel a high degree of anxiety and
distress when they are not able to perform them.
“What I want to tell you today is not to move into that world where
you're alone with yourself and your mantra and your fitness program or whatever
it is that you might use to try to control the world by closing it out. I want
to tell you just to live in the mess. Throw yourself out into the convulsions
of the world. I'm not telling you to make the world better, because I don't
believe progress is necessarily part of the package. I'm telling you to live in
it. Try and get it. Take chances, make your own work, [and]
take pride in it. Seize the moment.” (Joan Didion) [i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“Magical
Thinking Benefits and Concerns” By Lisa Fritscher
·
“Magical Thinking” by Psychology Today
·
“Magical thinking” From Wikipedia
· “The Benefits of Magical Thinking” By staff of California Psychics
 |
| Joan Didion |
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