Superstition,Ritual or OCD.

Many people may "knock on wood" or read their horoscope daily. Others may believe it truly unlucky for a black cat to cross their path or believe Friday 13th is a bad day. Some in sports will carry out certain rituals before games, believing it will bring luck or help put them in the "zone".
All harmless behaviour, nothing odd it could be said. When however, the "need" to do such becomes most important, or the doing of such, intrudes on our daily routine, it could be seen as a sign of obsessive compulsive behaviour. Where do we draw the line and can we always see if we have perhaps crossed it?

hope said:

Many people may "knock on wood" or read their horoscope daily. Others may believe it truly unlucky for a black cat to cross their path or believe Friday 13th is a bad day. Some in sports will carry out certain rituals before games, believing it will bring luck or help put them in the "zone".
All harmless behaviour, nothing odd it could be said. When however, the "need" to do such becomes most important, or the doing of such, intrudes on our daily routine, it could be seen as a sign of obsessive compulsive behaviour. Where do we draw the line and can we always see if we have perhaps crossed it?

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I generally find it much easier to see when someone else has crossed a line into obsessive, irrational or unreasonable behavior.

Aberdeen said:

I generally find it much easier to see when someone else has crossed a line into obsessive, irrational or unreasonable behavior.

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Good point.
I'm not a superstitious person, but sometimes under unusual circumstances my brain is finding these as "patterns", and automatically trying to explain it as a logical, lucky or even spiritual in nature. However, I don't do anything supersitian on daily bases, though I have few of my routines. They are more of a practical nature though. If I was a spiritual person, I'm sure, I would have many superstitious routines.

Where do we draw the line and can we always see if we have perhaps crossed it?

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For an atheist every superstitious routine is crossing the line. For a religious person going to a church every day makes god very happy. Not going to church/mosque every day and skipping a prayer is crossing the line.

hope said:

Many people may "knock on wood" or read their horoscope daily. Others may believe it truly unlucky for a black cat to cross their path or believe Friday 13th is a bad day. Some in sports will carry out certain rituals before games, believing it will bring luck or help put them in the "zone".
All harmless behaviour, nothing odd it could be said. When however, the "need" to do such becomes most important, or the doing of such, intrudes on our daily routine, it could be seen as a sign of obsessive compulsive behaviour. Where do we draw the line and can we always see if we have perhaps crossed it?

Click to expand...

I don't believe in any of those things, and I don't have any "rituals" in the sense of a routine that I have to follow before stressful situations at work, for example.

I think it's probably a way to cope with anxiety, and so, unless it does, as you say, interfere with their lives, maybe it's an adaptive behavior.

Unfortunately, I just suffer the anxiety. The only thing I've learned to do for that is to use deep breathing and visualizing techniques. They do work.

That's not to say that I don't have behaviors that other people have told me are obsessive-compulsive, but as with LeBrok, mine are practical, like, in my case, making sure my work space and home are clean and orderly. Of course, it's the slobs who make those kinds of comments!:grin:

I have no superstitious habits or practices, and I sacrifice regularly to Cthulhu and pray to him that he protects me from becoming superstitious or developing strange religious beliefs.

Aberdeen said:

I have no superstitious habits or practices, and I sacrifice regularly to Cthulhu and pray to him that he protects me from becoming superstitious or developing strange religious beliefs.

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Aberdeen, I recall you saying you had tattoos of a spiritual nature....now I`m wondering if one might be of a little crouched man with the head of an octopus?..

LeBrok said:

For an atheist every superstitious routine is crossing the line.

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What about small things..such as spilling salt or putting umbrellas up indoors, greeting guests midway on a doorstep or first footing on New Year etc ? Do you never do anything like that ? I know I don`t... [except I am sometimes called on [ being dark haired] to do the latter by some friends..lol.]

Angela said:

I don't believe in any of those things, and I don't have any "rituals" in the sense of a routine that I have to follow before stressful situations at work, for example.

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No, I don`t believe in them either Angela. However I confess to never walking under a ladder...but that`s more due to common sense rather than superstition.

Angela said:

I think it's probably a way to cope with anxiety, and so, unless it does, as you say, interfere with their lives, maybe it's an adaptive behavior.

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I agree some things are done in order to cope with stress or anxiety. However there may be [ in a small number of cases] a chance some of those behaviours may become part of the compulsion, adding to anxiety.

Angela said:

Unfortunately, I just suffer the anxiety. The only thing I've learned to do for that is to use deep breathing and visualizing techniques. They do work.

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I am sorry to read you suffer anxiety, Angela. I notice you say you only learned two techniques and I wonder if you mean, that was all was shown you, or that is all you need? [ and being as that is a personal question and this is a public forum, you can ignore that question if you prefer..]

I am not superstitious at all (coming Friday the 13th is carnival party yay :cool-v: ), however do any of you think that extra sensory perception (maybe telepathy too) is a real thing? even though it has never been proven scientifically. I feel its all part of us and some are more receptive then others. What do you think?

hope said:

.
What about small things..such as spilling salt or putting umbrellas up indoors, greeting guests midway on a doorstep or first footing on New Year etc ? Do you never do anything like that ? I know I don`t... [except I am sometimes called on [ being dark haired] to do the latter by some friends..lol.]

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Nope, I'm lacking natural inclinations believing in them or to consider them important. My mother on the other hand observes all of these superstitions on top of her religious duties, and also believes in dreams. If it comes to spirituality I'm like my father. However, when I was young I was closer to my mother and followed her rules to the letter. On grounds of nurture I was a god fearing religious person when young, but still considered superstitions silly. Later when I was on my own, I slowly drifted to my real nature, and stopped believing completely.

hope said:

Aberdeen, I recall you saying you had tattoos of a spiritual nature....now I`m wondering if one might be of a little crouched man with the head of an octopus?..

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Only women who become very good friends of mine get to see my tattoos. Curious internet buddies will just have to wonder about it.

hope said:

I am sorry to read you suffer anxiety, Angela. I notice you say you only learned two techniques and I wonder if you mean, that was all was shown you, or that is all you need? [ and being as that is a personal question and this is a public forum, you can ignore that question if you prefer..]

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What I meant is that if there is a continuum in terms of being anxiety prone, I'm probably more on the anxious side than the average person, but it's not incapacitating in any way. I don't have any phobias or anything like that; in fact, I'm pretty fearless when it comes to most physical things, except that lately big roller coaster rides don't seem to agree with me.etrified: I also quite like going to new places and having new experiences.

It just makes me a worrier, particularly where the people I love are concerned. You know, the kind of mother who doesn't really sleep soundly until the children pull into the driveway, and who starts to worry if they don't call after a long car trip. When they went off to school it was a blessing in a way. What I didn't know didn't bother me!:grin: Partly because of life experiences, I also tend to get anxious about the health of those I love. It also makes me a "planner". I like to cover all bases and rehearse all possibilities just to make sure nothing goes wrong. I do admit that before a particularly big day at work, or after a confrontation with someone I can get that little "flutter", but some deep breathing exercises and visualizing my favorite places usually do the trick.

I do know people who have "real" anxiety, and it's terrible. A dear friend of mine absolutely can't fly, for example, so if we're to travel together it always involves some exhausting car trip. Some people have to resort to medication on a daily basis, which isn't good, but needs must if they are to function.

I do think that extreme anxiety is at the root of some of the kinds of behavior you describe. Did you ever see the movie As Good As It Gets, with Jack Nicholson? That's what I mean. I don't think anything but medication helps in those kinds of situations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44DCWslbsNM

LeBrok said:

Nope, I'm lacking natural inclinations believing in them or to consider them important. My mother on the other hand observes all of these superstitions on top of her religious duties, and also believes in dreams. If it comes to spirituality I'm like my father. However, when I was young I was closer to my mother and followed her rules to the letter. On grounds of nurture I was a god fearing religious person when young, but still considered superstitions silly. Later when I was on my own, I slowly drifted to my real nature, and stopped believing completely.

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Ah now, dreams are a totally different kettle of fish. Those I do believe in, at least where my mother and I are concerned. Too many of them have turned out to be true for it to be down to coincidence. I just wish I could control them, and dream about the next Lotto numbers, for instance! Unfortunately, they're usually about a beloved person in some sort of peril, and so I absolutely don't look forward to them. I also assure you that they're very detailed as to place, time and precise sequence of events. My children claim I'm a witch and would have been burned in an earlier era, which might indeed have been the case, so I'm glad I live in more enlightened times.:grin:

Angela said:

What I meant is that if there is a continuum in terms of being anxiety prone, I'm probably more on the anxious side than the average person, but it's not incapacitating in any way. I don't have any phobias or anything like that; in fact, I'm pretty fearless when it comes to most physical things, except that lately big roller coaster rides don't seem to agree with me.etrified: I also quite like going to new places and having new experiences.

It just makes me a worrier, particularly where the people I love are concerned. You know, the kind of mother who doesn't really sleep soundly until the children pull into the driveway, and who starts to worry if they don't call after a long car trip. When they went off to school it was a blessing in a way. What I didn't know didn't bother me!:grin: Partly because of life experiences, I also tend to get anxious about the health of those I love. It also makes me a "planner". I like to cover all bases and rehearse all possibilities just to make sure nothing goes wrong. I do admit that before a particularly big day at work, or after a confrontation with someone I can get that little "flutter", but some deep breathing exercises and visualizing my favorite places usually do the trick.

I do know people who have "real" anxiety, and it's terrible. A dear friend of mine absolutely can't fly, for example, so if we're to travel together it always involves some exhausting car trip. Some people have to resort to medication on a daily basis, which isn't good, but needs must if they are to function.

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Actually Angela, there are a few things in your post I can directly relate to, as I`m sure a lot of women might also. I think by nature women are more prone to anxiety, and worry, as compared to men. I`m not saying men don`t worry, of course they do. The difference, I think, is when all is well and life is going good, men can accept that and go with it...women in the same situation, whilst grateful for it, still can find something to worry about.

Yes, I have seen As Good As It Gets. I`m not a fan of Jack Nicholson but I liked him in that.