Superstitions: We Don't Believe...But We Still Do Them

The word superstition originally was used to describe an excessive fear of supernatural forces. Today the description of superstition is: 

A belief or behavior meant to influence luck or avoid harm, without scientific proof.  This doesn’t mean they are meaningless, because Psychologically Superstitions give us something very real. They give us a sense of control, and you know WE humans do not like uncertainty. We like to feel like we have some say in what happens next, even when we don’t. We hope, sometimes without realizing it, that if we do the “thing” the right way, everything will turn out ok.

You know that space between hope and fear? that is where superstition lives, and I want to explore it along with you.

Most superstitions trace back to ancient cultures trying to make sense of the world they could not explain. 

Before science, before medicine, before we understood weather or illness or coincidence, people creating meaning through patterns:

They believed that:

_spirits lived in nature

_words had power

_and people believed that certain actions could protect them, or harm them, So those beliefs became superstitions, and over time  those superstitions turned into rituals. 

Even though we have science, data, and explanations for almost everything, superstitions haven’t disappeared, they have adapted, you see them everywhere now, just in different forms:

Instead of…

*The Black Cats Superstition

*Walking under a Ladder is bad luck

*And Broken Mirror

Superstitions new modern form is: We hear them in the way we "speak".

We now say things like:

_Don’t jinx it

_ that’s bad karma

_just my luck

_that’s a sign

We have modernized our language, but the behavior is exactly the same.

Today, people don’t use superstitions in the way they were originally intended. People  once believed that superstitions could actually influence outcomes-like prevent harm or bring good luck- but in modern times, they are less about changing what happens- and more about helping us feel calm, grounded and alittle more control in uncertain moments. This doesn’t mean they are useless- instead  they function more as: 

*a tool for managing anxiety

* creating a sense of  control as I mentioned

*and they are used to mentally prepare us for something important.

 Superstitions today have become small rituals that help us feel calm-

Maybe that’s why they have lasted.

Superstitions stick around for 3 reasons:

#1  As humans We look for patterns,

#2- We seek control & comfort  in uncertainty, 

 #3-we are drawn to meaning & mystery- even when we know it might not be real- we don’t fully believe in them-but we also don’t fully let them go.

They have survived centuries, across cultures and  across generations, not because people are irrational, but because they serve real psychological functions: reducing anxiety, creating routine, and binding communities together. Superstitions are in a sense , humanities oldest coping mechanism. The specific beliefs change with culture and era, but the underlying need never really does change.

We all want to feel safe- in control- and we want to believe that our actions matter- So we knock on wood- cross our fingers, and say things “just in case”. Again; Not because we fully believe, but because a small part of us still wonders…what if it does work??

Enjoy!

Joanne Demers

The Aging Mask- A Lifestyle Medicine Podcast

(949) 236-1529

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