Have you ever just wanted to give up because you were having intrusive thoughts that would not leave you alone? Although, it’s twice as bad when you have them along with anxiety. Usually the these thoughts cause the anxiety. You feel like you’re going mad.
You may become so disoriented from these thoughts that you fall victim to them which may lead to a panic attack. After all, you don’t have to stand there and let the thoughts take over. Dismiss the ideas and know that they are not true. Therefore, take a siesta if you have to. Remind yourself it’s just a thought (even though you don’t know why it is there), and you are NOT going to act on it.
Altogether, intrusive thoughts are ideas and images that come to mind uninvited and typically unwanted. “They can range from a thought that makes you feel a little bit uneasy to being wholly disturbing,” says psychiatrist Lauren Edwards, MD. “And usually, it’s the last thing you want to think about.”
Anxiety and Intrusive Thoughts
Intrusive thoughts are thought to affect some six million Americans, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.
Sometimes these thoughts are associated with a mental health disorder, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, where thoughts become so bothersome that they prompt repetitive behaviors or compulsions to try to prevent them from occurring. In In fact, they are also common in post-traumatic stress disorder, which can be triggered by a life-threatening or extremely stressful event, such as an accident or violent attack. But many people who experience these thoughts don’t have a mental health disorder.
Intrusive thoughts are often triggered by stress or anxiety. They may also be a short-term problem brought on by biological factors, such as hormone shifts. For example, a woman might experience an uptick in intrusive thoughts after the birth of a child.
Any life stressor, if big enough, can increase your risk of having these thoughts.
While intrusive thoughts may be disturbing, they aren’t harmful or mean that you have a secret desire to do the things that popped into your mind.
Types of Intrusive Thoughts
Let’s look at a few different types of intrusive thoughts, and what they might mean.
Thinking about hurting yourself or someone else.
It’s just a random thought that pops into your head. But you might be afraid that deep down inside, part of you does want to act out, and that’s why you’re thinking about it so much.
Intrusive sexual thoughts.
Remember that thoughts are just thoughts—even if the thoughts are shocking or frequent, they don’t define who you are as a person.
Negative self-talk.
When you’re feeling down, it’s easy to get stuck on thoughts like “I’m such a loser,” or “I’ll never amount to anything.” Hence, the emotion behind these thoughts can be so strong that they feel like facts, rather than intrusive thoughts.
Delusional thoughts.
In sum, if your thoughts are bizarre or defensive, you might be experiencing signs of psychosis.
Impulsive Thoughts
Impulsive thoughts refer to sudden, involuntary ideas or urges that lead to impulsive behaviors. In short, these are spontaneous thoughts that push you towards immediate actions without considering the consequences.
Examples of impulsive thoughts include an unexpected urge to buy something unnecessary, a sudden desire to eat junk food while dieting, or the impulse to say something inappropriate in a social setting.
Therefore, these thoughts can significantly influence behaviors as they tend to bypass rational thinking and lead to immediate action. This impulsivity can result in negative outcomes such as financial troubles, health issues,
Unlike intrusive thoughts, impulsive thoughts are sudden urges or thoughts that lead to impulsive actions, without thinking through the consequences. For example, an impulsive thought could be going to a store and seeing a bag that you really like. Consequently, then you buy it without considering whether you can really afford it. Intrusive thoughts tend to be more emotionally disturbing and repetitive than impulsive thoughts, which only last for a short while.
Both impulsive and intrusive thoughts can be unpleasant, however it’s important that we distinguish between the two so we don’t confuse or minimize another person’s experience.
Violent Intrusive Thoughts
Violent, intrusive thoughts can be a symptom of OCD, and can occur at any time. Of course, most people experience unwanted, disturbing thoughts at some point in life. For example, you might take a knife out of the dishwasher and have an image of the knife stabbing your significant other. It’s just that in a non-OCD brain, this thought isn’t just dismissed as disturbing but irrelevant and meaningless. But, for those with harm-centered intrusive thoughts, the brain malfunctions, explains Patricia Celan, MD, a postgraduate psychiatry resident at Dalhousie University in Canada.
In people like myself, these harm-based thoughts have significance. They take on new meanings. In general, this can lead to high levels of anxiety, compulsions, and rituals to diffuse the presumed dangerous thoughts, adds Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD, a clinical psychologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts
In addition to medication, therapy, and hypnosis, there are some self-help methods to lessen your symptoms and improve your quality of life when dealing with thesethoughts.
Seif and Winston (2018) suggest taking these 7 steps to change your attitude and overcome intrusive thoughts:
- Firstly, label these thoughts as “intrusive thoughts;”
- Remind yourself that these thoughts are automatic and not up to you;
- Accept and allow the thoughts into your mind. Do not try to push them away;
- Fourthly, float, and practice allowing time to pass;
- Remember that less is more. Pause. Give yourself time. There is no urgency;
- Expect the thoughts to come back again;
- Continue whatever you were doing prior to the intrusive thought while allowing the anxiety to be present.
- Finally, further, the researchers warn that you should do your best not to:
Engage with the thoughts in any way;
Push the thoughts out of your mind;
Try to figure out what your thoughts “mean;”
Check to see if this is “working” to get rid of the thoughts.
On a related note, the Northpoint Recovery center—an organization which provides those struggling with substance abuse and/or other mood disorders—lists 5 non-medication and non-therapy tips to dealing with your intrusive thoughts:
- Firstly, understand why intrusive thoughts bother you, on a deep level.
- Attend to the intrusive thoughts; accept them and allow them in, then allow them to move on.
- Additionaly, don’t fear the thoughts; thoughts are just that—thoughts. Don’t let them become more than that.
- Take intrusive thoughts less personally, and let go of your emotional reaction to them.
- Finally, stop changing your behaviors to align with your obsessions or compulsions; it won’t help in the long run (2017).
Conclusion
So, how do you get rid of unwanted intrusive thought? Dealing with intrusive thoughts can be challenging. When they do pop into your brain, sometimes your surprised because of the nature of the thought. In essense, it might be an impulse thought or even hurting someone. CBT is good at rearranging your thoughts and even makes you realize that they were fleeting thoughts…nothing else.
Still, you think you’re a bad person for having these thoughts. Sometimes life and stressors get in the way and block our view of what’s really going on. I similar fashion, it’s kind of like standing in front of those distorted mirrors at carnivals. They make you look distorted and you laugh at yourself. Therefore, Once you back away from the mirror, you’re normal again. Intrusive thought are like that mirror, they present something that won’t necessarily happen.
Well, that going to do it for me. I started writing this at 3 am because I couldn’t sleep. Hope you got more rest than me. Until next time…
Articles
-What are Intrusive Thoughts?
-Anxiety and Intrusive Thoughts
-Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts
https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/unwanted-intrusive-thoughts
Have a Good One,
Cindee Murphy, One Voice in the Sea of a Crowd
“I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it.” —Harry Emerson Fosdick (July 1970)
Related Posts
Mindfulness For Anxiety(Opens in a new browser tab)
Types Of OCD(Opens in a new browser tab)
Different Types Of Compulsions (OCD)(Opens in a new browser tab)
OCD Intrusive Thoughts(Opens in a new browser tab)
References
https://positivepsychology.com/intrusive-thoughts/#self-intrusive-thoughts
https://www.parents.com/health/mental/harm-ocd-journey/
https://screening.mhanational.org/content/types-intrusive-thoughts/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/managing-intrusive-thoughts
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