English Translation
It’s just your imagination.
Should せい be thought of as meaning “the fault” of 気？Or, should 気のせい be thought of as a phrase of its own?
@ericaw
気のせい is a frequent expression but not an idiom. It’s just a literal combination of 気 + particle の + せい.
Examples of 〜のせい:
台風のせいでコンサートが中止になった = The concert was cancelled due to the typhoon.
お前のせいで、全員遅刻じゃないか！ = All of us would be late because of you, stupid!
Examples of 気:
メアリーは細かいことを気にしすぎる性格だ = Mary worries too much about tedious stuff.
道を渡るときは車に気をつけましょう = You should be careful when you cross a street.
最近、トムから連絡がなかったので、気にかけていました。そうですか。入院してたのですね。= I was concerned about Tom not contacting me lately. Ah, he was hospitalized. Makes sense.
So, 気 of 気にする etc. basically means “to emotionally pay attention to”. It’s not so rational.
気のせいだよ, therefore, means “You had a wrong hunch. That is why you had a wrong idea.” For example, you “sensed” someone breaking into your house through a window. So you assumed it was a ghost. The idea is nonsense, so other people say to you that 気のせいだよ.
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