How do get rid of intrusive thoughts?? And how do you know that they’re intrusive thoughts if you started thinking of them? Or if you feel like you’re the one who’s thinking of them rather than them just popping in your mind? Like if you’re looking for it, like you’re looking for trouble… Anyone else feel like this too?
Thank youu
@Amber. S. No worries. Would you like to talk about it?
Hey Amber, Honestly, from someone who’s been suffering with OCD for 10 years, it is no help trying to get rid of intrusive thoughts. I fully understand you when you are trying to understand if it’s you having the thoughts intentionally or if they just pop into your mind. It doesn’t even matter if they are intrusive or if you intentionally think of it, at the end of the day just remember it is JUST a thought. Literally, it is just words in your mind. It is meaningless, it has no power, and majority of thoughts are automatic (we genuinely have no control over what pops into our minds a lot of the time). I genuinely have only learnt this concept over the last year and I know what it feels like to have these unwanted thoughts go through your head which cause so much distress. One thing that is so difficult to do when you’re in the OCD cycle, but is so so crucial, is to learn to accept the presence of your thoughts (this means just to let them come into your mind and not respond/interact with them). Honestly, fighting them only makes them stronger mate. Also, a quick bit of advice, if the thoughts in your mind make you feel uneasy or distressed or upset etc, it is most definitely that they are just OCD trying to play tricks on you, as OCD latches on to what you care about most in order to get your attention. Just remember, OCD lies and the thoughts are meaningless! Hope this helped 🤞🏽🙏🏽
Great response! This is exactly how to beat OCD. The questions, the doubt, the reassurance seeking is all rumination which only feeds OCD and makes it stronger. Learn to control the rumination, not the thoughts. Good luck people xx
Theres a really good podcast that helped me when i first got diagnosed. Its called ‘The OCD Stories’ by Stuart Ralph. It might help answer a few of these questions :)
I guess, but i don’t really know what to say…
My ocd sometimes just feels like a thing i just can’t grasp properly, like i can’t tell whether it’s this or that sometimes
hey there, it sounds like you're going through a really tough time with intrusive thoughts. i totally get how confusing and distressing it can be, especially when it feels like you're the one 'looking for trouble'. you're not alone in feeling this way. 🤍 i'm battling a different ocd theme, but i've found some resources that might help you too. one thing that's really been a game-changer for me is the "unstuck ocd therapy tools" app. my local ocd support group recommended it, and it's designed to offer ai-personalized guidance and exercises exactly when you need them. also, the ocd reddit has been a great place for me to connect with others who really understand what it's like. hope this helps a bit!
i have this app and i love it.. just a shame that more folks in the OCD community dont know about it yet!!
Every highly anxious person has to cope with intrusive thoughts. Intrusive thoughts are frightening thoughts about what might happen to you or someone you care about, or what you might do to yourself or another person. They seem to come from outside of your control, and their content feels alien and threatening. For some people, intrusive thoughts are part and parcel of panic or intense anxiety. In these types of intrusive thoughts, it feels like the thoughts come about as a result of the anxiety, and they function to add more fear to the anxiety you are already experiencing. The intrusive thoughts keep the anxiety going, and maintain the fear-producing spiral. So, for example, you might think, “what if I have a heart attack?” in the midst of an anxiety attack. You are already in the altered state of consciousness that I call anxious thinking, and your thoughts feel likely to happen. However, there is another class of intrusive thoughts that I call intrusive obsessive thoughts. These thoughts seem to come from out of nowhere, arrive with a distressing whoosh, and cause a great deal of anxiety. The content of intrusive obsessive thoughts almost always focus on sexual or violent images. Here are typical examples of intrusive obsessive thoughts: “Killing someone. Torturing a pet animal. Stabbing a child. Throwing someone (or yourself) out of a window. Jumping onto a train track as the train comes into the station. Molesting a child. Raping someone. Taking off your clothes in public.” This is not a complete list, but it gives you a good feeling of the content of these thoughts. People who experience intrusive obsessive thoughts are afraid that they might commit the acts they picture in their mind. They might imagine hurting someone or committing an act of sexual violation. Intrusive obsessive thoughts can be very explicit, and most people are embarrassed and frightened of them. There are a number of myths about intrusive obsessive thoughts. The greatest myth is that having thoughts of a sexual or violent nature mean that you want to do the things that come into your mind.This is not true. You do not want to do the things that enter your mind when you have intrusive obsessive thoughts. In fact, the opposite is true. People with intrusive obsessive thoughts are gentle and non-violent. FULL ARTICLE: https://drmartinseif.com/intrusive-thoughts/
does any one else have an intrusive thought and you go over it in your head and try to see if you react in a good or bad way? i’ve been having bad intrusive thoughts but i sometimes have this feeling inside that i like it? and i feel it’s right and i agree inside but my other thoughts are saying no i hate it ?!
Does anyone know how to approach/handle intrusive thoughts without just suppressing them? They make me feel guilty even though they’re not my thoughts
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