Psychological defenses and belief in the supernatural: boundaries between maladaptive avoidance and constructive coping

this article examines the phenomenon of belief in the supernatural (religious beliefs, esoteric practices, magical thinking) as a possible mechanism of psychological defense or an element of coping strategies. The relevance of this topic is tied to the fact that during periods of crisis and heightened anxiety, people often resort to irrational explanatory models in order to reduce their subjective sense of uncertainty and existential anxiety. Drawing on psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioral, and existential approaches, the article discusses the mechanisms by which belief in the supernatural can serve both a maladaptive role (escape from reality, avoidance) and a constructive one (support, search for meaning, tension reduction). The paper proposes a distinction between unconscious defenses and conscious coping strategies, and highlights the need for an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approach to exploring this phenomenon. The authors emphasize that further empirical verification may clarify the boundaries of adaptability of “magical” beliefs and their relationship with classic psychological defenses (repression, denial, projection, etc.).

psychological defenses, magical thinking, belief in the supernatural, coping strategies, existential anxiety, irrational beliefs