It\u2019s a myth that a myth is necessarily untrue. See what I did there? But bear with me, because myths are important for mental health.<\/p>\n
We often think of myths as traditional, often ancient, sacred stories. Stories believed to be true that explain natural events or the origins of the world through narratives featuring gods, supernatural beings, or heroes.<\/p>\n
Myths have come to mean curious explanations that \u2018primitive\u2019 people held for natural phenomena before the enlightenment of science granted us superior understanding.<\/p>\n
Unlike ordinary fiction, these stories were once accepted as true within the cultures that created them. They were used to make sense of the unknown.<\/p>\n
Common modern myths (untruths that are widely believed to be true) include:<\/p>\n
And yet myths \u2013 or mythos<\/em>, a body of myths \u2013 certainly can <\/em>be based in truth.<\/p>\n Believing science has \u2018all the answers\u2019 is a myth that clearly has some <\/em>truth. It\u2019s a narrative, a set of beliefs that inform opinion, thoughts, feelings, and actions. Yet \u2018science will save us all and be our ultimate salvation\u2019 is as religious psychologically <\/em>as any \u2018primitive\u2019 religion.<\/p>\n Myths are narratives that we use to explain how life, the universe, and everything works. And myths matter.<\/p>\n It\u2019s myths that cause political or religious-based killings, such as the Stalinist purges or witches being burned at the stake.<\/p>\n Yet we seldom stop to think about<\/a> the accepted narratives we live by. Many myths have come to be seen as \u2018self-evident\u2019 and obvious truths rather than as <\/em>myths.<\/p>\n Low self-esteem<\/a> can be seen as myth. So too can cynicism and pessimism<\/a>, as well as their opposite, optimism and unwavering trust in the \u2018goodness of humanity\u2019.<\/p>\n We all live by many unexamined myths \u2013 aspects of reality that we’ve come to see as \u2018self-evident\u2019. Some are imprinted onto us by the accident of where and when we are born, often posing as individually arrived-at \u2018truths\u2019. But others are personal, perhaps emotionally based myths that we form to make sense of what may be a painful reality.<\/p>\nLiving by narrative<\/h3>\n
Personal emotional myths<\/h3>\n