If you have OCD, it’s likely that you suffer from magical thinking. This is when you believe that your thoughts, emotions, and actions can control events and outcomes that are unrelated to you.
For example, you may think that if you have a negative thought, something bad will happen to you. Or, you may think that if you don’t perform a certain ritual, something bad will happen.
I am a sufferer of OCD, and my condition causes me to have what is known as magical thinking. This means that I often believe that my thoughts, actions, or words can influence events in the world around me in mysterious or supernatural ways.
For example, I might believe that if I think about a certain person too much, I can make them have a car accident. Or, if I don’t perform a certain ritual just so, I might think that something bad will happen to me or my loved ones.
I now know that my magical thinking can be extremely distressing and can cause me a great deal of anxiety.
Stephan, Switzerland
Here are five examples of magical thinking:
1. Thinking that you can control the weather by thinking positive thoughts.
2. Thinking that you can influence someone’s behavior by imagining doing something bad to them.
3. Thinking that you can prevent accidents or illness by worrying about them.
4. Thinking that you can control your destiny by making sure you don’t do anything that could jinx it.
5. Thinking that you can influence other people’s thoughts and emotions by thinking about them in a certain way.