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Its often experienced as part ofobsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)andcan also happen in generalized anxiety disorder.
Superstition, when taken too far, can become the tools having control over you.
Sarah Faith Gottesdiener, artist, tarot reader, author
For a while, magical thinking felt great.
And Im not the only one.
licensed therapist specializing in OCD and anxiety disorders
Enter magical thinking, which in anxiety disorders, is often focused on preventing a negative outcome.
Take my detergent bottle experience, which was driven by a fear that my partner would leave me.
Magical thinking is a common symptom of OCD and other anxiety disorders, says Henry.
Certainty gives us the perception of control, she adds.
But ultimately, its a false sense of safety and control.
(It certainly did for me.)
Not only is it magical thinking, but an incredibly privileged perspective.
People devastated by poverty, in war-torn countries, etc.
cannot just manifest a better life.
licensed therapist specializing in OCD and anxiety disorders
Theres some research backing up Kastenss concerns.
But further studies are needed to understand this potential connection.
My own OCD was definitely at its peak when I fell into New Age spirituality, says Kuyvenhoven.
It makes the cycle of OCD thoughts-anxiety-compulsion stronger, Kuyvenhoven says.
For her, the intertwining of New Age and OCD was all-consuming.
Superstition, when taken too far, can become the tools having control over you.
I get to choose what I believe in.
A belief doesnt just happen to me without my will.
I get to choose what I believe in, she explains.
A belief doesnt just happen to me without my will.
For Gottesdiener, its all in how you use the tools.
So did many of the people I spoke to.
Some people with OCD or anxiety may need to step away from magical thinking altogether.
With some guidelines in place, others may be able to use magical thinking supportively.
Hold it lightly, like a bird, she says.
No matter how many angel numbers you see or candles you light, bad things will happen.
Manifesting entails purposefully moving toward ones desires with concrete action and energy, Kastens says.
This can be reassuring for people with anxiety or OCD who are afraid theyre manifesting their unwanted thoughts.
Thoughts dont create things.
When people are manifesting, theyre thinking about what they desire and intending to move toward.
People with OCD dont desire their unwanted thoughts.
They perform compulsions to prevent the feared outcome from occurring, she adds.
Set up an experiment
Henry likes to encourage her clients to set up an experiment.
Shell have them purchase a lottery ticket, really focus on winning, and see what happens.
But its not, right?
Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesnt.
Im finding a balance with the magic that works for me.
Spirituality is neutral and its a tool.
Its up to you to decide how to use it, Gottesdiener says.
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