Breath is the Center

Breathing plays a central role in our lives. It is directly responsible for keeping us alive. Without breathing, our lives would very quickly come to an end. We would not be able to sleep at night if we had to constantly check that we were still breathing. Even a brief pause in breathing immediately triggers fears for our survival.

As soon as we become aware of the life-sustaining function of breathing by noticing our own breathing, our ego, which otherwise feels responsible for our survival, recedes. We realize that we owe everything that makes us who we are—our talents, our strengths, our potential—to a greater power. With this realization, our ego immediately becomes less important, and its impatience, neediness, and reactivity fade into the background. Almost without our doing anything, it is replaced by an attitude of gratitude, contentment, and devotion.

In the immediate awareness of our breath, everything that is right now seems good to us just as it is. For nothing stands between us and the present unfolding of events. We are inside of what is happening right now, and what is happening right now is inside of us. So in these experiences, the difference between inside and outside disappears.

Goodness, Truth, and Beauty

In the consciousness of acceptance and being in harmony with reality, we are connected to the eminent qualities of goodness, truth, and beauty, not in an abstract way, but as an implicit experience, as something inherent in the experience of breathing. For when we dwell in the moment, everything we need is there—inhaling, exhaling. It becomes intuitively clear to us what is good, true, and beautiful. In reflection, we can see that evil, falsehood, and ugliness can only take space in our consciousness when we fall out of this unity with the moment.

Through breath awareness, we know how to interact with other people so that we can feel comfortable and secure while also giving them a sense of security and trust. We know what is necessary and how we must behave so that people can live together in respect, dignity, and peace. It is evident to us what is good and what is evil, what benefits us and what causes harm. We understand intuitively that doing evil causes us the most harm. We recognize that acting morally is exactly what we want to do. We see that good action is the simplest and gives us the greatest joy.

In breath awareness, we are directly connected to the truth. For the breath in the moment is the true reality of that moment. There is nothing untrue about a breath. We understand that it is our duty to stand up for the truth again and again. Truth holds the community together, which can agree on a common interpretation of reality in its light. Spreading untruths, for example to gain personal advantage, is damaging to the community and therefore also self-damaging.

There is something beautiful in every breath if we consciously perceive it. It offers us the chance to discover the beauty of this very moment in life by accepting it as it is. Then it reveals itself in its uniqueness and fullness. By taking a step further, we become aware of the beauty in all people and things. Art begins with inhalation. Our first breath was the first intake of information from a world that was still completely foreign to us, through which we became part of it. Since that event, we have had the opportunity to find in every breath the desire for new things and the readiness for surprises, the basis for science and art. Thanks to our breath, we are all potential scientists and artists.

Confidence in Life

Breathing gives us confidence in life. When we surrender to it, we notice that it continues to flow, whatever external and internal challenges life throws at us. Sometimes it may falter when we are in shock. But eventually the blockage dissolves and the breath continues to flow, leading us out of the frightening situation and then onward, from one moment to the next, continuously and tirelessly. It contains the message that life always goes on, even when situations sometimes seem hopeless. It whispers to us to keep going instead of giving up when things seem difficult or uncomfortable. And it gives us a feeling of liberation when we return to calmer waters.

Connection between Inside and Outside

Breathing connects us with reality inside and outside ourselves. With breath awareness, we are automatically in touch with our inner perception and feel ourselves. We perceive how we are feeling at the moment, what emotions are present, and what mood prevails. Breathing also informs us about the reality around us. We take in the temperature, and smells give us an impression of the state and mood of external reality. When we are aware of our breathing, we are always in the present reality and not in thoughts that have to do with either the past or the future.

The Time of Breathing

In connection with the flow of breath, we are therefore in the present moment. Breathing shows us a completely different experience of time than thinking, which meanders and oscillates between the past and the future on a linear timeline. The experience of time through breathing is one that has more to do with eternity and timelessness than with linearity. For it is the direct experience of change itself, without a variable content.

We grow with time. Every breath makes us richer, richer in experience and insight. We realize that life is a continuous process of learning and expanding, that we have the opportunity to get to know and understand more and more aspects of reality. So we come closer and closer to reality when we seize these opportunities: to be inspired by reality, when we breathe it in with curiosity.

The Path to Simplicity

The breath leads us to simplicity. It is thinking that creates complexity. When it becomes too much for us, simply focusing on the breath is enough to recognize what is important and what is unimportant, what to do and what not to do. The truth of the breath is always simple and at the same time obvious. Where thinking creates doubt, the breath shows us clarity. Where thinking becomes confused, the breath opens our eyes. By breathing consciously, we interrupt our wild thoughts and find our way back to ourselves.

Integration on All Levels

The breath integrates us on all levels of our being. It is involved in all the life-sustaining functions of our body. It keeps processes running, not only by constantly supplying the necessary oxygen, but also by keeping the body moving, day and night. Even when life retreats to its absolute minimum during deep sleep, breathing continues. Even when the body (with the exception of eye movements) freezes during the REM phases of sleep, the respiratory muscles continue to work. We can use the voluntary control of breathing to strengthen our health. This is because “proper” breathing is the guarantee of a sustainably healthy organism.

Breathing accompanies and supports our emotional life. Every emotion has its own breathing pattern with which it can shape its course. Emotions therefore use breathing to unfold and find expression. We can also regulate our emotions through our breathing. On the one hand, breathing helps us to calm emotions that trouble us because of their intensity; on the other hand, it helps us to access emotions that are locked away inside us but still weigh heavily on us. For some, it is important to find access to their anger so that they no longer have to put up with everything in their lives. For others, access to feelings of grief and emotional pain is blocked, and they fall into sorrow and depression; breathing can help them to let their feelings of grief flow, thereby providing relief and regaining vitality.

The First Gateway to the Spiritual World

The breath is the first gateway to the spiritual world. Every meditation is conscious breathing, and conscious breathing is meditation. Focusing on the breath is focusing on what constitutes our inner self, on the spiritual within us. We discover who we are in the breath, again and again, as soon as we become aware of our breath.

Breath itself is not a thing, nor is it a process, but rather that which manifests itself in breathing. Just as the spirit manifests itself in the processes of reality, breath takes shape in every breath. Without “the breath,” breathing is a purely mechanical process. However, this view is only possible for an uninvolved observer. For the person breathing, it is always the breath that is activated by breathing. This also applies to the breath of an observing person.

Just as there is no matter without immateriality, there is no breathing without breath. More precisely, materiality presents itself only in abstract form, that is, as something extracted, something torn from a whole for specific purposes. When we observe breathing from an external point of view, we separate the spiritual aspect of it in order to gain insights or make interventions that we would not otherwise be able to achieve. Free from any purpose, it is solely the breath that flows in every act of breathing and that fills every act of breathing.

Breathing therefore plays a leading role at all levels of our being. It also constantly connects these levels so that they do not appear as distinguishable aspects of our being, but are experienced as a whole. Every breath is simultaneously and inseparably physical, emotional, and spiritual. Breath awareness is therefore always physical, mental, and spiritual. In it, there is no distinction between these aspects; they are one in the breath, which means that we are one with ourselves in the breath. In it, there is also no distinction between the inner world and the outer world, so we are one with the world as a whole.

Further reading:
Respiratory Philosophy in Brief

Essential Limitations of Online Training in Breath Therapy

Training courses in "breathwork" or breath therapy are increasingly being offered either partially or entirely online. This format is logistically simpler and more cost-effective for organizers, as it eliminates the need for travel arrangements and venue rentals, while allowing for arbitrarily large group sizes. Prospective participants are also drawn to the perceived convenience and financial savings of completing a training program from the comfort of their own homes.

However, there are compelling reasons to question the suitability of online formats for breathwork training. In essence, the information exchange that is essential for guiding a breath session is significantly impaired in digital communication compared to in-person interaction. For anyone aspiring to master the art of facilitating breath sessions, the online format presents substantial limitations, which will be elaborated upon in the following sections.

Direct Experience of the Breath

The breath itself guides the sequence and internal process of a breath session. This can only be perceived directly when the facilitator is physically present with the breather, who is sitting nearby. A shared experiential field emerges from this proximity—one in which a dense, complex web of information is exchanged on multiple levels. This field is vastly richer when both parties are physically co-present and breathing together than when interaction is mediated through a screen and microphone.

The Complexity of the Communicative Field

Every communicative act includes unconscious, nonverbal components, which represent the largest and most significant portion of transmitted information. In breath therapy, spoken language plays only a minor role; the essential connection between client and therapist takes place primarily on the nonverbal level. When both persons breathe, a field of resonance is created in which the therapist receives signals from the breathing person via her body – a dimension that is only effective to a very limited extent in online sessions.

The Limited Field of Vision

Digital communication restricts the flow of information. The facilitator’s view of the breather is typically fragmented—either focused solely on the face or on the whole body at the expense of a detailed view of facial expression. These perspectives are two-dimensional and partial, lacking the holistic visual engagement necessary for subtle observation. It is not possible, for example, to intuitively shift one's gaze to focus on minute diaphragmatic movements. In contrast, live sessions allow the facilitator to adjust their visual focus fluidly and immediately, depending on what is needed in the moment.

As a result, important physical cues—such as early signs of tetany, indicated by cramped hands—may go unnoticed online, simply because the hands are not visible. Subtle changes in skin coloration or tone, which often reflect shifts in blood circulation and emotional state, are also difficult to discern. These details, easily perceived in person, are often missed in digital sessions.

Reduced Acoustic Perception

Acoustic fidelity is also compromised in digital formats. Breathing sounds—especially soft or subtle ones—may not transmit accurately, leading the facilitator to mistakenly believe the breather has paused or stopped breathing altogether. In physical proximity, however, even the faintest respiratory activity can be heard, seen, or felt.

A high-quality breath session relies on the facilitator’s ability to perceive the client’s breathing through multiple sensory channels—auditory, visual, and tactile. Online, the auditory and visual channels are diminished, and tactile perception is entirely absent.

Insufficient Information for Somatic Tracking

Effective facilitation requires access to a wide spectrum of sensory information, not in the sense of quantity alone, but of perceptual richness. The subconscious mind of the facilitator draws upon this pool of impressions to make intuitive, context-sensitive decisions. Online-only experience restricts these perceptual channels, which may result in a lowered capacity for meaningful guidance. Opportunities for therapeutic depth that would naturally arise in live sessions may remain unrecognized or untapped.

Training Intuition

Intuition is not an esoteric gift but a highly refined cognitive process that integrates complex and sometimes contradictory inputs into meaningful impressions and appropriate responses. In breathwork training, intuition is honed through repeated real-world experience, supported by feedback—often nonverbal—from clients. While intuition can be developed to some extent in online settings, the reduced volume and quality of perceptual information limits this development. Only extensive in-person training can compensate for this deficit.

Depth of Experience

Unguided breath sessions are generally less profound than those facilitated by an attentive presence. To engage with deeper layers of the psyche, individuals must feel safe—and this sense of safety is significantly enhanced by the actual presence of another person. These deeper layers often harbor early relational wounds. Healing requires a new relational experience, embodied by a benevolent, attentive other.

Virtual presence cannot offer the same sense of security. It may even reinforce earlier patterns of neglect or emotional unavailability, particularly if the facilitator is present only in part—visually and aurally, but not physically. This ambivalence may echo childhood experiences with caregivers who were inconsistently present, potentially reinforcing rather than healing attachment wounds.

If the breathwork training consists solely of online sessions, it is likely that many areas of the psyche that would otherwise come to light in live breathing sessions will never surface. In a virtual space, it is much easier to hide one's own dark sides, and resistance to confronting unpleasant feelings will prevail. However, it is particularly important for training that these aspects of the personality come to light so that clients can later be guided through these areas of the psyche with confidence.

Trainees are thus doubly disadvantaged: They neither experience the full depth of their own processes, nor are they exposed to those of others. They also cannot learn from the experiences of others with deep processes. This lack of exposure undermines their capacity to hold space for future clients navigating similarly profound material.

Touch and Physical Interventions

Physical touch is a sensitive yet integral component of breathwork. The ability to discern when and how to use touch—and to be aware of one’s own boundaries and comfort with physical contact—cannot be taught theoretically. These are skills that require in-the-moment feedback and lived, embodied experience. They can only be cultivated through live interaction within a carefully held training environment.

Shared Breath and Somatic Resonance

When two people share a physical space, they also share the air they breathe. Air, far from being a neutral medium, carries olfactory, thermal, and kinesthetic information. Breathing the same air generates a subtle yet powerful sense of connection. When breathing synchronizes, interpersonal resonance intensifies.

None of this is possible in a digital format. At best, breath can be heard, but not felt, not smelled, not shared. The sensory richness of shared breathwork cannot be approximated through virtual means.

The Importance of Presence in Transference Dynamics

In any therapeutic modality, transference and countertransference can arise—projections that reveal deep relational patterns. These phenomena are crucial to therapeutic insight and healing, but require rich informational exchange to be recognized and addressed. The impoverished data stream of online communication makes it more difficult to perceive and work with these dynamics.

Integration and Closure

Especially after intense experiences, integration is a vital part of the breathwork process. Clients need to feel held, reassured, and not left alone. A physically present facilitator can provide this essential reassurance through subtle but powerful forms of co-regulation. In contrast, virtual presence often cannot meet this need, and in some cases may even trigger feelings of abandonment, thus risking retraumatization rather than supporting integration.

Technical Vulnerabilities

Online sessions are vulnerable to technical disruptions. A frozen screen or lost connection in the middle of an emotionally charged breathing session can have serious consequences. The sudden loss of a facilitator’s presence may unconsciously evoke abandonment trauma or attachment rupture. Even less dramatic disruptions can break immersion, trigger frustration, and reduce the therapeutic value of the session for both client and facilitator.

Regression and the Return to Adult Consciousness

Breathing processes often induce regressive states in which individuals revisit early developmental stages. In such states, the breather may become highly dependent on the facilitator. The facilitator, in turn, must guide the process with great sensitivity, helping the breather to reestablish adult consciousness at the appropriate time. This delicate task requires close attunement, which is much more effective in physical proximity, where verbal and nonverbal cues can be perceived and responded to instantly and holistically.

Group Dynamics and Shared Space

In live training, the group space itself becomes a meaningful container. It functions as a ritual environment, a space of collective safety, or even as a symbolic womb that facilitates regressive and prenatal experiences. Virtual spaces, by contrast, can only offer a pale imitation of such richness.

The group field—which contributes significantly to individual breathwork processes—is greatly diminished in online settings. The screens remain sterile; shared breath and bodily resonance are absent. Trainees who have only participated in online group sessions miss out on essential experiences that inform both individual and group facilitation.

The Value of Embodied Experience

Training to become a breathwork facilitator involves absorbing diverse types of sensory, emotional, and cognitive information. These impressions are stored in the unconscious and form the foundation for intuitive action. High-quality facilitation depends on the depth and breadth of real-world experience. If a person has only practiced virtually, their ability to respond to complex client needs will be inherently limited.

Theory Versus Practice

Theoretical content may be well-suited to online presentation . However, the practical aspects of breathwork—reading body language, tuning into intuitive impressions, applying touch, and sharing breath—can only be learned through direct, embodied experience. Those who have only trained online will require substantial in-person practice to compensate for what was missed, particularly in terms of mutual breathing experiences, observational skill development, and the subtleties of nonverbal communication.

Online Sessions with Clients

Conducting online sessions with clients is indeed possible—provided the therapist has received adequate in-person training. This prior experience allows the facilitator to interpret subtle cues effectively and maintain presence, even through a screen. Trust established during previous live sessions can carry over into virtual settings, supporting continuity and effectiveness. Still, online sessions are likely to be less emotionally and somatically profound than those conducted in person.

A practitioner who has trained holistically in live formats can adapt to constrained formats such as online work. The reverse is not true. Those who have only experienced virtual training are unlikely to competently facilitate live sessions, as they lack the embodied understanding of full-spectrum interpersonal dynamics. This embodied competence cannot fully substitute for embodied experience; it must be lived, felt, and practiced repeatedly.

Respiratory Philosophy in Brief

Breath is the beginning and the end. The arc of every human life is initiated by breath and ends with breath. Conceived and born of breathing human beings, the first breath sets in after birth and marks the beginning of independent life. Breathing continues until the last exhalation.

This realization forms the starting point for respiratory philosophy. In what follows, I refer to Petri Berendtson, a leading representative of this philosophical approach. He calls his approach a phenomenological ontology of breathing. He sees human life not only as “being-in-the-world”, as Martin Heidegger put it, but much more fundamentally as “breathing-in-the-world”. The encounter with being is always an encounter with the breath, or rather, this encounter takes place in the breath. Thus, the breath is being, in which the experience of being takes place.

Consequently, in the breath the act of being takes place, before any perception (which is at the center of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology) and before any thinking (according to Descartes). We breathe even when we perceive nothing (e.g. in deep sleep) or when we think nothing. This breathing “being-in-the-world” happens before any consciousness and reflection, and every consciousness and reflection is breathing. Thus, in Merleau-Ponty's respiratory philosophy, “perceptive faith” (foi perceptive) becomes breathing faith. This faith has nothing to do with religion. Rather, it denotes a preconscious conviction that the world is there, confirmed with every breath. The realization that there is a world is always at the same time the realization that it is a breathing world in which we exist by breathing. Breathing faith is not a mere psychological phenomenon, but an existential structure – we only exist through and with the air, which becomes our source of life through breathing.

In breathing, we experience that inside and outside cannot be strictly separated. A breathing being-in-the-world is characterized by a constant merging of inside and outside. The incoming and outgoing air is both one's own and foreign, always intermingled. With each breath, the inside becomes the outside and the outside becomes the inside. Life is a dynamic process of exchange in which breathing is the fundamental organizing principle and forms the medium in which everything takes place. We are in the world in every moment and the world is in us, through the air that flows in and out of us. The air we take in changes us, and we change the world around us with the air we exhale.

Breathing in the world is an embodied way of being, because breathing is a physiological process that cannot take place without a body. On the other hand, the breathing process of life is not limited to a physical process, but also contains an immaterial component. For every breath is an exchange of information. Every air molecule that enters our body through breathing contains information that is received and processed in us; every exhaled particle, in turn, enters the external world and unfolds its effect there. We are aware of this information content of air when we perceive odors, but it contains many more other dimensions, most of which we are unaware of and which nevertheless have an effect on us.

In Eastern philosophies, these invisible energies play an important role, whether as qi in Taoism or as prana in Hinduism. Both of these terms are closely related to breathing. Thus, respiratory philosophy also combines Western and Eastern traditions of thought.

Conspiracy Theories and the Suitability for Reality

In the realm of relative truths, there is no clear and absolutely valid distinction between right or wrong. Rather, it is a matter of examining whether a particular theory comes close to reality, so that its application in practice is successful or not. In this regard, the approach of science has proven to be excellent because, through the constant development and refinement of methods of truth testing, it has produced many theories that could then be applied and implemented. We can think of every modern technical device, including the one on which this text is being written, as the result of thousands of practical theories, the application of which has produced usable results. Other theories, such as that of a flat Earth, may have a certain plausibility for some people, but they have not contributed to the development of a single technical device or effective medication. At best, they are gimmicks of the human mind with a certain entertainment value without any practical consequence.

There are important qualitative differences in the closeness of a theory to reality: the closer it is to reality, the higher its practical applicability and the more useful it is for progress. This equation applies not only to physical hypotheses, but also to those in economics, psychology or sociology. For example, studies on the suffering of individuals with gender identities that deviate from the binary scheme have led to more tolerance (incidentally, the new US administration no longer allows such studies to be funded by the state). Studies on the increasing concentration of wealth in an ever-dwindling upper class have led to a redistribution from top to bottom in some countries (although the current US administration is using them for a redistribution from bottom to top). Studies on the hole in the ozone layer led to a worldwide ban on chlorofluorocarbons in the 1980s (at that time without any interference from conspiracy theories, as is unfortunately the case with climate change).

Conspiracy theories and their distance to reality

Even if belief in conspiracies is not a delusion, although it contains delusional elements, it is still not grounded in reality. This is because it draws its appeal from fantasies rather than from a reality check. These fantasies are generated by fears and promise a way out of adversity by naming the perpetrators of evil. If a conspiracy theory manages to address collective sources of fear, it will easily find followers. The group of conspiracy believers experiences a subjective relief of fear because they have gained some control over the threat by recognizing the apparent cause of their fear. In the social environment, however, the new theory ignites new fears. Who would have thought, for example, that electrodes would be introduced into the body through vaccinations? The socially harmful power of these beliefs lies in such fantasies, which in many cases is consciously used by those who instigate them.

Conspiracy theories are therefore not only far from reality, they also have destabilizing effects on society, and can even lead to catastrophic forms of inhumanity. The historically most influential of these theories is probably that of the Jewish world conspiracy. It was widely disseminated by the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”, which was written by anti-Semites at the beginning of the 20th century. This fictitious text has incited many right-wing extremists and groups to hatred of Jews, thus paving the way for the mass extermination of Jews under the National Socialists.

Many conspiracy theories, modeled on the “Protocols”, see the “actual” world domination in the hands of a few conspirators (Illuminati, Bilderbergers, Jesuits, Deep State, financial oligarchy, WHO, etc.) or in individuals (George Soros, Bill Gates, etc.). Instead of working for change in politics, the causes of social disadvantage and injustice are sought where they cannot be neutralized. This is because the conspirators seem to be powerful and well hidden, so they can at best be fought in their proxies, but can never definitively be defeated. That is why many conspiracy theories persist for long periods of time – the one about the Jewish conspiracy goes back to the Middle Ages. Those stories that emerged around the Corona pandemic are still active or keep resurfacing.

The more unrealistic a conspiracy theory is, the greater the effort required to explain and justify it, and thus also one's own attachment to the theory. The further a conspiracy theory is from reality and fact, the more aggressive it becomes in order to assert and secure its own position against challenges. It also excuses the anger and hatred that are necessary because the danger would be so great and because there is so much destruction in the danger that it can only be met by counter-violence. Conspiracy theories are therefore always aggressively charged. That is why they do not connect, but divide. Because they only allow for one paranoid reaction: to be in favor of it or against. And anyone who is against is automatically in cahoots with the conspirators and must also be fought.

Realistic and unrealistic theories

Theories, on the other hand, that are derived from reality are characterized by their practicality. In the technical field, functioning devices and machines are created, and in the social field, social bonds are strengthened and inclusion is promoted instead of exclusion. This creates more security for more people, reduces individual and collective fears and creates positive prospects for the future.

Theories that are far from reality, i.e. contain a high proportion of fantasy, have the opposite effect. They promote regression, social division, aggression and violence.

Further reading:
Is Believing in Conspiracy Theories Normal or Delusional?

Is Believing in Conspiracy Theories Normal or Delusional?

About half of the American population believes in one or another conspiracy theory. One third of the German population believes that “politicians and other leaders are only puppets of the powers behind them”. Conspiracy theories are so widespread that it makes no sense to describe these forms of belief as pathological. Even if some of these theories seem so abstruse that it is difficult to understand why people fall for such nonsense. However, it is also not particularly reasonable to disdain people who are not on the same wavelength of your world view.

But perhaps conspiracy theorists are simply less intelligent. The researchers did find that they consider themselves less intelligent and prefer simple solutions to complex problems, but the data collected is too weak to attribute conspiracy belief to lower intelligence. Conspiracy belief is a widespread and therefore fairly normal phenomenon (Stelzer p. 191). Although those who do not believe in conspiracies often consider those who do to be abnormal and crazy, the phenomenon is so common that it cannot be a sign of mental disorder.

Paranoia and conspiracy theories

Conspiracy theories contain paranoid elements, but they must still be distinguished from other forms of delusion. What they have in common is that they have a mentally relieving function. Having an explanation for disturbing developments in the world reduces anxiety and has a relaxing effect. Events in the world are only predictable to a very limited extent, and all that is unforeseeable, always carries potential dangers. So to feel safe, we need reliable forecasts. Where these cannot be found elsewhere, conspiracy theories take their place.

Bob Brotherton writes: “When things happen to us purely by chance, we have little hope of understanding, predicting, or controlling our destiny. Believing that someone, somewhere, is in control – even if that someone does not have our best interests at heart – is better than thinking that the course of our lives is dictated solely by chance. In contrast to a faceless randomness, you can possibly put a stop to recognizable enemies, can cope with them or at least understand them.” (p. 110)

Conspiracy theories are easy to understand and reduce the confusion and complexity of the world. They are not successful because of the validity of their content, but because of their ability to resolve contradictions with certain plausibility. They may refer to facts, but only to those that cannot be refuted, and they place facts in contexts that are arbitrarily chosen and cannot be verified. But having a feeling of control reduces stress and as one researcher on the subject put it: “Better the devil you know than a world you don't know”. That is why people often cling to a conspiracy theory in the same way that the mentally ill cling to their delusions. The conviction becomes the center of the sense of meaning and must then be maintained at all costs, because otherwise there is a danger that everything will be in doubt and the insecurity and thus the fear will become overwhelming.

In this context, the American psychologist Leon Festinger, who invented the term cognitive dissonance, studied a UFO cult that claimed to have been picked up by spaceships in the night of December 20–21, 1954 (see also: the world was supposed to end on December 21, 2012...) and thus would be saved from an impending flood disaster. The event did not occur, and some have fallen away from the cult, but for others, the conviction has become more entrenched. Psychotic patients report that they do not want to give up their obsessive thoughts because otherwise the fear becomes too strong; the UFO believers, who continued to believe that they were the chosen ones, told a similar story. So there is always an emotional need behind such beliefs. Depending on the intensity of this need, the belief plays an important role and the better are its benefit on a psychological level. Studies have shown that the tendency towards conspiracy theories is increased by stressful life events. Traumatic experiences create strong internal fears, combined with a sense of helplessness and a loss of control, and belief systems can at least partially alleviate this stress.

Mental illnesses and conspiracy beliefs differ in that psychoses are individual and hardly comparable delusions and lead to social isolation, while conspiracy theories are always shared in groups of like-minded people and therefore also have a socially unifying function. You belong to the group of those who are particularly well informed and have understood something that others have not yet grasped in their naivety and delusion. Although paranoid individuals tend to be more prone to conspiracy theories, paranoids are primarily afraid of others who threaten them as individuals, e.g. enemy secret service agents who are hot on their heels. Conspiracy theories, on the other hand, locate the danger in “elites”, secret circles and groups of people, e.g. in the Jews. The danger is less for the individual than for society as a whole. The loss of control is related to them: the average person can no longer influence global development, while the conspirators have unlimited power. Conspiracy theories always have a missionary aspect: knowledge of them is supposed to save the world, which is in danger, and therefore it is important to win over as many fellow campaigners as possible. People suffering from delusions, on the other hand, usually feel alone with their suffering and often become socially isolated.

Conspiracy theories can therefore be understood as irrational delusions that are shared by others and serve to explain complex, threatening connections in a simple way. They are not an expression of mental illness, although paranoid people tend to believe in such theories more than the average person. The tendency to explain the world in an irrational way is part of the basic human makeup, or an important aspect of the way our brain works.

Those who believe in the theory link their sense of meaning and their identity to the belief, so the price of abandoning the theory by recognizing inconsistencies or contradictions would be high. For this reason, it is notoriously difficult to debate theories with conspiracy believers. Sometimes it even seems as if patiently discussing the issues and calmly presenting counter-arguments only hardens the other person's insistence on the correctness of their own position. This phenomenon is known as the backfire effect: The attempt to dissuade people from their possibly erroneous conviction causes them to cling even more to this conviction, so the attempt backfires.

However, some studies suggest that confrontation with information that contradicts one's own theory can lead to a certain softening and relativization of one's point of view. No delusional system is fundamentally unchangeable, and sometimes it is worth the effort of talking. The backfire effect occurs especially when it is not just about the correctness of the theory, but when commitment to a theory is important for belonging to a social group. The fear of falling out of the group of like-minded people is greater than the pursuit of truth.

A rational approach to irrationality

In psychotherapy, the fundamental aim is always to unravel fixed beliefs. It may be the conviction of being worthless or of being married to the wrong partner. It may be the belief that life has no meaning or that one's own appearance repels everyone else, etc. In this context, we repeatedly experience that the trusting and accepting attitude of the therapist creates the security to examine and abandon one's own assumptions about oneself, one's fellow human beings and the world. We learn to take a standpoint from which we can decide which convictions serve and benefit us and which harm us. By recognizing the feelings and dissolving the corresponding patterns behind the convictions, it becomes easier and easier for us to free ourselves from the fixed beliefs and theories that we have often adopted since early childhood.

We can also find our way out of the irrationality that repeatedly tempts us to distort and reduce our experience of reality without therapy. We have the ability to understand our irrationality in a rational way by examining where we hold on to beliefs that may be poorly founded or that we don't really need. We can be as critical of ourselves as we are of our fellow human beings, and we can always ask ourselves what would happen if we revised one or the other of our convictions. Beliefs are not facts, but hypotheses about reality that are never absolutely true, but always only more or less accurate. By examining ourselves, we gain an important degree of inner freedom.

If we understand our own irrationality in this way and are aware of it, then we are freer in our decision on how to deal with it. This would mean that we could commit ourselves not to harm others with our irrationality. It also helps to develop more tolerance by understanding that irrational explanatory models are always chosen for understandable reasons. This way, we no longer have to belittle others for their “cranks”. For we know our own weaknesses and short circuit reactions, which may seem crazy or disturbed to others.

Literature: 

Philipp Sterzer: Die Illusion der Vernunft. Warum wir von unseren Überzeugungen nicht zu überzeugt sein sollten. Berlin: Ullstein 2022

Bob Brotherton: Suspicious Minds. Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories. London: Bloomsbury Sigma 2016