I knew it all along!

I have mentioned before about the emotional turmoil we can all have and the constant state of not waiting for but expecting the other shoe to drop. It is something I struggle with a lot. Basically I am talking about the “I knew it” phenomenon. 

I would like to chat about how we can unconsciously misinterpret situations in order to make them fit a certain perception. I believe this is especially profound when it comes to our health. For me, because I have long term and ongoing heart health issues it has caused me to have heightened sensitivity to what is happening in my body. The intrusive negative thoughts that pop into my head somehow turn into predictions that something's going to go wrong. I'm so hyper-aware of every little twinge, every little thud, every little sensation that I maybe haven't felt before that my mind is off and galloping towards that “I knew it” scenario. In other words these feelings become a self fulfilling prophecy. 

It is like when you think about someone and then you either bump into them or they may even call for a chat. But really there will have been times where you thought of them with no interaction but your brain subconsciously forgets these times. 

(Going to get a bit technical here - sorry) but the way I understand it is that basically our psyche can affect our perception and our inner bias kicks in. (Impressive huh 😆). 

Another example of this type of unconscious behavior would be where you are watching a football match (especially if it involves a family member). You don't want the opposing team to win so believe they will behave in an unsportsmanlike way unlike your own team who, of course, wouldn't do anything discourteous 😇. 

According to the experts this is called the "I knew it" phenomenon: After an event happens, you convince yourself that you predicted it all along.

Others call it the hindsight bias and it is an established experience. Though it doesn't always make it any easier to deal with, I do have to say that for me, knowing that it is a recognised and acknowledged condition does help. Why? Because it means it's not a personal failing in me or that I really do have ESP and can see into the future 😆. Rather it's just a normal predictable quirk that is in all of us. 

I suppose what I am saying is because of our hyper-sensitive state of mind it is easy to misconstrue or misread something innocent into something much more. 

This brings to mind a story about my dad from a number of years ago. Now, to give context to the story a couple of things to know about my dad was that he was what you would call a bit of a “bodge it and scarper” when it came to DIY and he was slightly deaf (though he was loathed to admit the latter). It was in the days before cars automatically came fitted with alarms so he decided he would fit his own 😬. Fast forward a few weeks and he was out in the car by himself when he heard the “nee-naw” of an ambulance. Now he kept checking his mirrors ready to pull over to let the ambulance pass but couldn't see anything. Though he did notice a number of pedestrians looking at him and the car. It was only after he had been driving for about 5 minutes that he realised that it was in fact his new car alarm trumpeting away! Needless to say when he came home not only did he take out the alarm but he also booked himself in for a hearing test 😊. It still makes me laugh to think about it. I hope it might make you smile too. 



Thank you for reading and a virtual hug to you all.


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