The dangers of getting into astrology when you have OCD.
I'm not a particularly spiritual person, but there are times in my life when I've attempted to be. At seven, my parents bought me worry dolls to try and quell my anxieties. I dutifully whispered to them and tucked them under my pillow, expecting my neuroses to be assuaged. Around that time, my nana bought me a good luck necklace that I obsessively wore, screaming if I misplaced it.
OCD takes many forms, but it often comprises magical thinking related to an obsession; in my case, those obsessions included: fire, death, my friends hating me, and just about anything else my brain latched onto. What followed was the compulsion: the action I performed to"stop" the thing from happening and thus ridding myself of the intrusive thought.
For much of my life, I have felt alone with my OCD, but I now know that I'm not alone with my OCD or with my inclination toward magical thinking. I spoke to Alice, who told me that she's been superstitious for as long as she can remember. Simple things, like seeing a single magpie, will ruin her entire day. Alice's struggle started from reading a book which detailed superstitions, from holding your breath when you walk past a cemetery to never changing your bed on a Friday.
I also spoke to experts to determine the link between OCD and believing in these things. Is there ever a healthy way to approach it? Or, am I just clouded by my own negative experiences? David Veale, a psychologist, told me that"all religion is often a form of magical thinking, with beliefs about being able to influence events by thinking or praying. You could add astrology or witchcraft to this list, as ways for a person feel more in control and certain about the future.
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