Magical thinking and OCD: is there a way out of the inner prison?

[Tomcat]

Magical thinking as an attempt to control reality dates back to primitive times. Then, not knowing the laws of the objective world, people tried to protect themselves from the blows of fate with specific rituals. Surprisingly, today, in the 21st century, during the heyday of science and free access to knowledge, many are still fixated on "magic rituals" in an attempt to influence an ever-changing world. In what is magical thinking, how it is dangerous and what constitutes obsessive-compulsive disorder, we understand together with practicing psychologists and leading researchers.

Each new century sets conditions for humanity to which it was not ready: the First and Second World Wars struck the world with their unprecedented cruelty and broke the psyche of entire generations, and the relatively stable XXI has fallen upon us with the daily volatility of reality ... Being in the so-called information society, we daily receive streams of information of very different, sometimes polar content, are forced to master new programs and techniques, regularly improve our qualifications in order to preserve a source of income, rethink social processes and, most importantly, come to terms with the absolute instability of everyday life.

The demands that modernity imposes on us affect a huge amount of mental resources. Meanwhile, the need for stability remains one of the basic ones for us. Reality is accelerating, and in these difficult conditions more and more people are resorting to the so-called "magic thinking". Its essence lies in the fact that a person begins to think that his thoughts, actions or words have a certain impact on the reality around him.

It is worth noting that Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was still engaged in the study of this phenomenon, who studied the human tendency to try to program the surrounding reality.

As modern experts note, such a habit can develop into addiction, and in this case, the individual will explain all his victories and defeats by the fact that he was rude to someone in public transport, he did not borrow money for a friend, comrade ", etc. Variants of" magical actions "are deeply individual and varied.

In addition, according to VS Svechnikov and the applicant of the department "Culturology" SSTU LN Chevtaeva, myths about magic are steadily embedded in the collective unconscious. They note:

Sane citizens of Russia, businessmen, politicians, doctors, scientists understand that any mysterious phenomena are always of interest to the masses and are the ground for various kinds of speculation.

This was especially noticeable in the 90s. In a period of absolute instability, people with special zeal turned to all kinds of magicians, fortune-tellers and psychics. During this time, and later in the 2000s. television, radio and other media supported the interest of the masses in everything "mysterious": the programs of A. Kashpirovsky, shows with psychics, calls to the studio to "magicians" who "resolve" any problems at a distance, from husband's alcoholism to serious diseases, were especially popular.

In this regard, the Russian Academy of Sciences even created a special Commission to combat pseudoscience and falsification of scientific research.

At the same time, it is interesting that many understand the illogicality of "magical thinking" and speak out against this method of controlling reality. However, a study conducted in Great Britain by psychologist E. Subbotsky showed the opposite. One of the experiments is described as follows:

Adult subjects were asked to imagine their future life. After that, they tried to convince them that a) a magic spell imposed on their future life would change this life for better or worse (mythical suggestion), and b) changing the numbers on the computer screen would change their future life for better or worse (ordinary suggestion). All subjects denied that changing the numbers on the computer screen could affect their future life, but in their actions they demonstrated faith in this possibility.

Thus, we can say that mentally healthy people are aware of the absurdity of "magic spells", but the irrational grain deeply embedded in the unconscious, in some cases associated with childhood trauma, as well as with culture (fairy tales, myths, legends , sayings and local superstitions) interferes im thinking rationally and significantly increases the level of anxiety.

This is precisely what is dangerous about "magical thinking". Receiving the illusion of control over the world, a person begins to strive for "absolute omnipotence" and tries to program the uncontrollable. In cases where his actions coincide with obtaining the expected result, he increasingly believes that he has found a "magic way" to control the environment. Otherwise, he blames himself for the allegedly “wrong” thoughts or actions.

The habit of thinking "magically" is fraught with the fact that seemingly harmless actions quickly progress into a real mental illness - obsessive-compulsive disorder (hereinafter - OCD), bringing personalities severe, sometimes unbearable suffering.

OCD is an obsessional state characterized by obsessions and compulsions, where obsession is a persistent, very frightening or unpleasant thought that comes into the patient's head against his will, and compulsion is a special, deeply individual ritual that helps temporarily get rid of obsessive thoughts.

Thus, the consciousness of a person with varying degrees of frequency is visited by phobic, sometimes disgusting, thoughts unusual for an individual. Among the most common is the fear of contracting a dangerous, incurable disease, catching a virus, failing at work or school, losing a loved one, etc. Sometimes the patient is faced with nasty and unusual images of violence, cruelty, sexual perversion, intentions to inflict moral or physical harm on someone.

Thoughts that have nothing to do with the patient's personality drive him crazy, drive him into a panic. To get rid of them, he tries to perform absurd rituals invented by him. The most common of these are constant hand-washing, avoiding stepping on certain rungs of the staircase, arranging books and other objects in the “right” order, and so on. The rituals can be very different. For example, some people have a fear of reposting or liking on social media simply because they think "something bad" is going to happen.

Consultant psychologist A.V. Duhareva notes:

A person believes that repeating certain actions can protect him from the vicissitudes of fate. Often from such clients you can hear phrases like: “if I do everything right, nothing will happen”, “the main thing is to turn off the light with the right / good thought”, “if I was mistaken in the sequence of actions, then it is important to start all over again”, etc. NS.

OCD usually occurs for a variety of reasons. This can be both a consequence of a hobby for magical thinking, and childhood trauma, stress, mental and physical exhaustion, heavy workload, instability in professional activity.

The threat is that no "magic" rituals really exist. But sincerely believing in their power, the patient can spend hours only washing their hands, turning the door handles a certain number of times, rewriting messages on social networks, choosing the "correct word order", etc. The fear behind each ritual varies significantly each individual person. For example, people with anorexia may not be able to say certain words or letters for fear of gaining weight. At the same time, rituals bring only temporary relief, forcing a person to independently immerse himself in an inner prison full of unbearable suffering.

Interestingly, most people with OCD do understand the absurdity of the situation, but they cannot fix it. As a rule, they hide their illness, fearing judgment and ridicule. According to the WHO, in 2013, between 1% and 3% of the population suffered from OCD. However, according to experts, this figure is greatly underestimated.

It is also important that, in addition to the majority of people who are aware of the illogicality of their actions, patients with a "psychopathic level of organization will believe that rituals really save them from fatal consequences."

The good news is that this condition is curable. Psychiatric advice is universal. A person should be sensitive to his condition and an effort of will to try to break the chain of his own "cause-and-effect relationship", trying to identify in the reason for success or failure not a sign of "correct performance of magical actions ", but a real act, to realize the level of anxiety that interferes with a full life, for example, in the form of relationship problems, eating disorders, stressful work, unstable business. Also, psychotherapists suggest bringing rituals to the point of absurdity, that is, for example, closing and opening doors until the person just gets tired and realizes the meaninglessness of this action. Moreover, doctors recommend visualizing my fears, imagine what would happen if I “lost my job”, “gained weight”, “Broke up with a toxic partner,” and so on. In this case, the patient, albeit with a share of greater discomfort and high anxiety, works out alternative options that help him remove fatal scenarios from his life.

As a rule, patients diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder undergo both drug therapy (usually with the help of antidepressants and tranquilizers) and visit a psychotherapist who helps not only get rid of obsessive thoughts, but also tries to help the client find and neutralize the cause his worries. After all, everything that happens to us, be it OCD or a panic attack, is, in fact, a signal that something is wrong in our life. And our psyche begins to rebel, demanding a more careful attitude towards ourselves and our life. Revision of the life scenario, the realization that the patient may not be on his way or take too much on himself, helps him to return to a healthy life.

In addition, it is important to remember that life has always been, is and will be a changeable substance. This is its value and beauty. We have no right to "concrete" the present, but we have a unique opportunity to live without fear, enjoying every day, with all its amazing surprises or troubles, which ultimately save us from infantilism and make us stronger.