Extrasensory perception (ESP) can feel captivating—especially for people navigating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)—but is scientifically unproven. If a belief in ESP is causing you feelings of distress or overwhelm, exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy can help disrupt the idea that your thoughts or actions control outcomes, breaking the OCD cycle.
There’s something captivating about the idea of extrasensory perception, or ESP—the ability to predict the future, read minds, or intuit knowledge we can’t otherwise gather from our physical senses. ESP is a common theme in many beloved books, movies, and TV shows, where characters use these abilities to solve problems, save lives, or uncover secrets. It’s understandable that the idea of ESP can seem appealing, and even believable.
However, ESP is not supported by science. No one can truly predict the future, nor can we control what happens through our thoughts. Still, for some people, ESP can feel very real. This is because our brains sometimes try to find patterns or create connections to make sense of uncertainty. For individuals navigating mental health conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), this process can become overwhelming, making it feel like thoughts or actions hold power over outcomes—even when they don’t.
Read on to learn more about why ESP can feel very real, and what to do when it makes life feel overwhelming.
What is extrasensory perception (ESP)?
Extrasensory perception, or ESP, is the belief that some people can acquire information beyond what you can typically glean from the five senses—such as predicting future events, reading someone’s mind, or sensing things that aren’t physically present. As Tracie Ibrahim, MA, LMFT, CST explains, the concept of ESP is like “having a crystal ball in your mind.” While ESP may feel real sometimes, it’s important to remember that there is no scientific evidence to support the idea that it exists.
Some of the most commonly discussed forms of ESP include:
- Mind reading (telepathy)
- Predicting the future (precognition)
- Sensing distant events (clairvoyance)
- Communicating with spirits (mediumship)
- The ability to move objects with the mind (psychokinesis)
These ideas can be captivating, but they remain unproven. However, for people experiencing certain mental health conditions, such as OCD, ESP can be especially intriguing.
Why do people believe in ESP?
The idea of ESP—being able to predict the future, read minds, or sense hidden dangers—can feel comforting, especially when life feels unpredictable. For many, ESP is appealing because it offers a sense of control in the face of uncertainty.
As Ibrahim explains, many people are drawn to ESP because they want to “control an outcome or make something happen.” She adds that belief in ESP can often be a response to anxiety, or it can stem from a desire to prevent bad things from happening.
This is part of why belief in ESP can feel so appealing to people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a mental health condition that thrives on uncertainty. OCD is defined by intrusive thoughts, sensations, images, feelings, or urges—called obsessions—that cause intense distress, and trigger compulsive mental or physical actions meant to provide temporary relief and/or prevent something bad from happening.
To manage the anxiety caused by uncertainty, people with OCD often search for patterns or meaning where none exists. It’s a way to feel a sense of control in response to distress. For example, someone might believe a specific action can prevent a specific outcome, even when there’s no logical link between the two. This discomfort can also drive people to seek answers in solutions that are unrealistic or imagined, like ESP. Certain subtypes of OCD, such as magical thinking OCD, tend to cause people to be especially interested in superstitious ideas, like ESP.
Magical thinking OCD
According to Ibrahim, magical thinking is a subtype of OCD characterized by the belief that your thoughts, actions, or rituals have the power to control events or outcomes in the real world. She says people with this subtype believe that “under a certain set of conditions or by doing some special thing, they can prevent harm or make something happen.” If you have magical thinking OCD, you might believe that your thoughts or actions have the power to influence other people or events, even if there’s no obvious logical connection between the two. It’s understandable that people with magical thinking OCD might latch onto the idea of ESP, which supports the belief that a single individual can control the fates of many others.
Examples of magical thinking OCD
Magical thinking OCD can show up in many different ways. Here are some examples:
- Believing your dreams can predict the future: A common fear with magical thinking is that dreams serve as premonitions. In order to prevent learning anything negative or scary, some people may engage in avoidance as a compulsion—forcing themselves to try to stay awake to avoid dreaming at all.
- Saying specific phrases to keep your loved ones safe: Some people with magical thinking OCD believe that reciting specific words or phrases might protect their family from harm. This can result in verbal compulsions.
- Spinning in circles to prevent plane crashes: Ibrahim shares the story of a patient who believed that unless they spun in circles a certain number of times, airplanes all over the world would crash.
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“These rituals can feel so necessary that it’s hard for people to stop,” Ibrahim explains. “Even if they know, deep down, that what they’re doing isn’t logical, it’s incredibly distressing to imagine the consequences of not performing the ritual.”
These rituals can feel so necessary that it’s hard for people to stop. Even if they know, deep down, that what they’re doing isn’t logical, it’s incredibly distressing to imagine the consequences of not performing the ritual.
Tracie Ibrahim
Why it feels so urgent
For those experiencing magical thinking OCD, these compulsions often feel like life-or-death decisions. Skipping a ritual or avoiding a compulsion can create overwhelming fear and anxiety, even though there’s no logical connection between the action and the feared outcome.
For example, Ibrahim’s patient who engages in spinning feels like they can’t stop their ritual because they fear becoming responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people. The weight of this imagined responsibility makes the ritual feel absolutely necessary. Managing this level of perceived responsibility is incredibly debilitating.
Magical thinking OCD can cause intense feelings of overwhelm and significantly disrupt daily life, making even simple tasks feel impossible.
Find the right OCD therapist for you
All our therapists are licensed and trained in exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), the gold standard treatment for OCD.
How ERP therapy can help
If you are struggling with overwhelming thoughts about ESP, and think your beliefs may be influenced by magical thinking OCD, exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy can be extremely helpful. ERP is a treatment specifically designed for OCD that is highly effective. ERP addresses the OCD cycle by helping people face their fears in a safe, structured way. Instead of trying to banish distressing thoughts entirely, ERP focuses on teaching people how to respond differently—reducing the power of obsessions and compulsions over time.
When it comes to magical thinking OCD, ERP helps you confront the rituals or behaviors you feel compelled to perform, and teaches you that these actions are not connected to the outcomes you fear. As Ibrahim explains, “We get people to stop doing the ritual because it’s not logical, and then see if their particular worry happens or not.” For example, if you believe that locking your front door three times before you leave the house is preventing something catastrophic—such as your loved ones experiencing harm—ERP would challenge this belief by encouraging you to stop your compulsion and observe what happens.
Ibrahim says ERP therapy also might include considering whether, “if you do this thing every day for the rest of their lives,” you’ll prevent all of your loved ones from ever dying. In her experience, this is a difficult question to answer, but most people eventually admit that their family will still pass away eventually, someday. Understanding that you don’t have total control over your loved one’s lives can help you begin to see that your rituals aren’t actually dictating other people’s fates. In time, you can start to break free from the distressing cycle of magical thinking, and find relief in letting go of that imagined responsibility. In this way, ERP provides the tools to live with uncertainty.
Embracing uncertainty going forward
Moving away from magical thinking or belief in ESP may not be easy—especially when it feels like these rituals or thoughts are offering protection against frightening outcomes. However, accepting uncertainty is the best path to mental peace—and it’s entirely achievable through ERP therapy. It’s okay to feel hesitant or scared about giving up your rituals, or your belief in ESP. Just know that you won’t be alone in this process, and with the right support, freedom from magical thinking is possible.
Key takeaways
- ESP feels real but isn’t scientifically proven. While the idea of predicting the future or reading minds is captivating, there’s no evidence to support the existence of ESP.
- OCD thrives on uncertainty, causing people to seek out patterns or connections that can help establish a false sense of control—making concepts like ESP appealing.
- Magical thinking OCD creates false connections. This subtype of OCD can make you feel like your thoughts or actions hold the power to control outcomes, or prevent harm—even when there’s no logical link.
- ERP therapy helps break the cycle. ERP empowers people to face their fears, stop rituals, and learn that their thoughts or actions don’t control outcomes.
