Is it the case that the psychological reliance on certain objects derives from their semiotic potency, in that they comfort us against our own internal fears, anxieties, beliefs, and uncertainties, regardless of their impotence in reality?

I began to suspect this when I felt compelled to wear a ring rather than do the actual hard work of open communication and vulnerability in a certain relationship. It didn't even make me feel better, though I did it for weeks, and changed nothing.