Most of my intrusive thoughts ( most, not all) are in English rather than my mother tongue. Now I wonder if that actually means something. Like it is a fact that people tend to have different personalities talking in different languages. Now I wonder if the English speaker me is more anxious ? 🤔
Interesting that you say this. I never thought of my intrusive thoughts as speaking in any specific language. But now that I read this I think most of them are also in English (not my mother tongue) but perhaps some are in Italian (mother tongue) 🤔 and recently I’ve also been thinking that perhaps I need to find myself an Italian psychotherapist since I find myself more self-conscious when I express myself in Italian these days (it’s been 12 years since I’ve left my home country and I did my studies and therapeutic journey all in English). I do not have the answer or any certainty but I do believe there is a correlation between language and emotional processing, in the sense that expressing your feelings is key in the healing journey but who knows perhaps there would be different channels opening up if we were to use our native tongues in therapy!
Thank you for your response. I definitely agree with you. There is a correlation between language and emotional processing. Like how labeling emotions has with a word has a calming effect (apparently it reduces Reactivity in the amygdala). I also wonder if using different languages in therapy whould somehow affect recovery 🤔 I remember reading a research about how bilingual people behave and Express themselves differently while talking in different languages (it was English and Spanish) the tone, the voice, even the posture and body language changes.
@Caesarsalad I accidentally typed a useless "has" in there...
@Caesarsalad Yes exactly, you do sort of change your mannerism when switching languages but I wouldn’t say you completely change personality 🙈 either way I do think that it would perhaps trigger different processes to express childhood trauma or experiences with your mother tongue rather than with your acquired language of choice.
I love that you posted this and were able to find somebody else with a similar experience! I love that your post found this person, and they realized that they share a commonality with you that they otherwise wouldn't have noticed had they not came across your post. You guys were meant to find each other and I'm so glad that you did! This app and this community is awesome. I am not bilingual, but I just think it's great that you were able to get feedback from somebody else who is, and also lives with OCD. Best of luck to you both! People fighting this disorder are some of the strongest people. Also, I totally agree that you two might be on to something about language and emotional processing... imagine if you paved the way for psychological research studies?! Don't underestimate the value of sharing your story.
Thank you for your kind words 💖 I am also very happy I was able to find someone with the same experience.
I’ve been feeling a bit stressed lately because my intrusive thoughts aren’t causing as much anxiety as they used to. It almost feels like I’m becoming a little numb to them, and because of that, I’m able to engage with them a bit longer. I don’t feel the usual rush of anxiety to pull away, and in some strange way, I even find myself focusing on them for a few seconds, like I’m actively thinking about them. It’s really stressing me out because I feel like by not feeling that immediate discomfort or anxiety, I’m letting the thoughts stay longer or giving them more power. I feel like part of me almost wants them to be there, and I don’t know if that’s a bad sign? They don’t even feel intrusive. Has anyone else experienced this? I’m just worried that the lack of anxiety is the reason I’m interacting more with these thoughts that would normal scare me. I feel guilt about it later. I am currently withdrawing from medication so that may contribute to this but it’s not the first time I experience this :/
So I was enjoying some “me time” and had intrusive thoughts, but it felt like just for a second I liked it. Like I’m holding myself back from “enjoying” the thought. And the thoughts are related to things I was into when I was younger, but sometimes I feel like I might still like it even though 9/10 I wouldn’t give it a second thought. Is this common? Or is this just denial? Thanks
Hoping someone can answer this question 🙏 I have social anxiety so when I go out crowded places I have thoughts more like I feel people would be judging me etc but these thoughts don’t bother me so much & there not usually loud like my suicidal intrusive thoughts are. Now the only thing that concerns me is why are my s thoughts so loud and the most convincing when I could have a thought about anything else and I just forget it and move on? But with my s thoughts I get stuck on them and try to figure out what they mean , Is this a sign of OCD?
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