Magical thinking in narratives of adolescent cutters

Abstract

Adolescents sometimes cut themselves to relieve distress; however, the mechanism is unknown. Previous studies have linked self‐injury to deficits in processing emotions symbolically through language. To investigate expressive language of adolescent cutters, the authors analyzed 100 narratives posted on the Internet. Most narratives (n = 66) displayed idiosyncratic use of language indicating poor differentiation between the real and the symbolic, such as blood substituting for negative emotions, which can then be released from the self; or emotional pain magically transforming into physical pain, which can then be managed. This kind of magical thinking correlated with cutting to relieve distress, to see blood, and to feel pain, but negatively correlated with complex representation of people, understanding social causality, and self‐esteem. The results suggest that magical thinking represents a pre‐symbolic mental state that processes and organizes distressing emotions through body schema. Magical thinking thus provides a plausible mechanism for why cutting works.

The Relationship Between Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury and Suicidal Ideation

“…This might include humanistic approaches, such as person‐centered counseling, or postmodern approaches, such as narrative therapy. Narrative therapy, in particular, may be beneficial because other researchers have found that the majority of individuals who self‐injure engage in magical thinking, which is defined as “pre‐symbolic language that lacks differentiation between the real and the symbolic signifier and signified” (Gregory & Mustata, 2012, p. 1047). More specifically, they found that individuals who self‐injured see NSSI as a magical substitute for emotion regulation, have a split between perceptions of the external and internal person, and experience a transformation of objects or process of self‐injury.…”

Clinical Validity of a Dimensional Assessment of Self- and Interpersonal Functioning in Adolescent Inpatients

“…Some studies have examined the SCORS-G with adolescent samples (Bambery & Porcerelli, 2006; Porcerelli, Cogan, & Bambery, 2011; Conway, Oster, & McCarthy, 2010; Gramache, Diguer, Laverdiere, & Rousseau, 2012; Gregory & Mustata, 2012). For example, the SCORS-G has been used to identify subtypes of adolescent sexual offenders (Gramache et al, 2012), and to understand self and interpersonal processes with adolescents who engage in cutting behavior (Gregory & Mustata, 2012).…”

“…For example, the SCORS-G has been used to identify subtypes of adolescent sexual offenders (Gramache et al, 2012), and to understand self and interpersonal processes with adolescents who engage in cutting behavior (Gregory & Mustata, 2012). …”

The Magical Life and Creative Works of Paulo Coelho: A Psychobiographical Investigation

“…Coelho does not differentiate between the real and the symbolic worlds (Gregory & Mustata, 2012). Coelho is a very good example of someone integrating magical thinking into real world experience and using it actively to forward his career.…”

“…Other research shows that females, intuitive thinkers and gamblers tend towards magical thinking more often than others might do (Caldwell-Harris, Wilson, LoTempio, & Beit-Hallahmi, 2011;Hutson, 2012;Karcher et al, 2014;Savage et al, 2014). In these cases, however, magical thinking often correlates with poor differentiation between the real and the symbolic worlds: "magical thinking represents a pre-symbolic mental state that processes and organizes distressing emotions through body schema" (Gregory & Mustata, 2012, p. 1045. Magical thinking is manifested by the following: (1) ascription of power to symbols (symbolic influence) or to the remote consequences of actions (doing y will let x happen); (2) acceptance of the reality of psychic phenomena (influencing the thoughts of others); (3) belief in the eternality of souls and that anthropomorphism is real (attribution of human qualities to non-human things); and (4) the belief that everything happens for a reason and purpose (Sierra et al, 2015).…”