Why is he called as a "psychic"?

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  1. Venkatachari M profile image86
    Venkatachari Mposted 8 years ago

    Why is he called as a "psychic"?

    Whenever I hear the word "psychic" it does not struck to my mind that it is used to refer to a man of supernatural powers, who can foresee things.
    I always think of a mental patient or lunatic. Just like "Oh! he is a psychic".
    So, I am worried why this word "psychic" is being used to refer to a person of future vision. There should be some other name to refer to such extraordinary people, like soothsayer or saint or any other noun.

  2. integrater profile image61
    integraterposted 8 years ago

    Psychic is derived from greek word  psychikos. Psychikos means "of human mind or sou"l. A pyschic is somebody who "claims" to know about things we cannot sense using are normal senses(Extra Sensory Perceptions). We can say that these ESP's might be a function of human mind or soul (meaning of our psyche).Hence the usage seems correct.
    BUT
    In many countries, seeking help from a psychiatrist is looked down upon;such a person is usually labelled as a "Mad/Insane/Mental/lunatic" who must be institutionalised in a mental hospital. The word psychic "sounds" very close to psychiatrist;two  words are related. An association might be made(not by all people all the time) between the word psychic , pychiatrist, lunatic asylum and mental patient. Hence the misunderstanding.

    1. Venkatachari M profile image86
      Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for the reply. I am happy to see that I am not totally wrong in associating this word in that other sense. You have cleared my doubts.

  3. Ericdierker profile image44
    Ericdierkerposted 8 years ago

    In American slang we use the word "psycho" to refer to someone who is crazy. Probably it came from shortening psychopath and/or psychotic but the origin is not that important. I have never heard the word psychic to refer to someone who is crazy. It sounds to me like someone got the word wrong here and it transferred to the English speakers where you are located.
    Maybe it comes from Great Britain or Australia but it is not generally used here to refer to crazy, although most folks do find most proclaimed psychics crazy. I would not suggest putting it down on a job application in normal circumstances.

    1. Venkatachari M profile image86
      Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      But, I used to regard psycho and psychic as synonyms and that is why I feel using this word very embarrassing.

  4. Phyllis Doyle profile image92
    Phyllis Doyleposted 8 years ago

    The word "psychic" refers to a person who has clairvoyant powers or ESP. Some notable psychics are Edgar Cayce, Sylvia Brown, Uri Gellar and John Edward.

    Psychic does not refer to mentally ill patients or psychiatrists. A psychic is like the ancient seers and prophets who knew the art of divination. Nostradamus (1503 - 1566) was a seer and could predict the future. Many of his predictions have come true.

    1. Venkatachari M profile image86
      Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for the clarification with examples.

  5. Sparklea profile image61
    Sparkleaposted 8 years ago

    Phyllis Burns is 100 percent accurate with her definition of psychic.  They are NOT mentally ill.  I have been to psychic parties, classes, and seen a few privately.  They definitely have a gift. 
    At a party of about 15 women sitting in a circle, she went around the room and called on each one of us.  She did not know our names at all, or anything about us.
    I asked her about my father who died when I was 11 years old and how much I still missed him.  She said, "Your father is addressing someone by the name of LYNNE."  LYNNE is my twin sister!  How would she have known that?  She also said 'is there a Melissa' that you know?  Yes, there was, she was a friend of my daughter's.  I do believe in psychics, not all of them, but I have had some experiences with them that I KNOW they could not have known.  Thanks for a great question.  Sparklea

    1. Venkatachari M profile image86
      Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Glad to read your experiences. I also had some experiences of my own with such seers. We refer to them as astrologer, seer, soothsayer, like that.

 
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