- Date posted
- 1y
Intrusive thoughts
Does anyone have any advice for intrusive thoughts and "what ifs"? How can I try to care less?
Does anyone have any advice for intrusive thoughts and "what ifs"? How can I try to care less?
All I know is for a couple years I have desensitized myself to my intrusive thoughts by looking at them with curiosity instead of facts. I would literally just be like “interesting. Oh well” when I would get an intrusive thought instead of battling it or trying to make it stop. Even for the worst ones. It was so hard but it was what my therapist told me to do. Over time, I started noticing I was having them less bc I wasn’t alarming my brain to be afraid of them anymore. Now I still get them occasionally but they pass so much quicker and don’t rule my life as bad. Hope this helps you!
@EFFMYOCD I loved this, thank you!
I did this too! Just let the thoughts be there even if they were terrible. I used to have dreams too, and i dreamt i even liked it. Did the same thing, worked.
Do you ever try to answer the what if questions, like exposing yourself to the reality you fear, and then coming up w a solution?
@charissepisces2021 I usually get random what ifs and sometimes they are so bad like what if I did this and I don’t know if I did or not. They usually are pretty bad so trying to expose myself to them is pretty hard. I’m going to try to just not focus on the thought.
@charissepisces2021 Do you have any tips?
Simple, don’t engage. Focus on literally anything else, don’t try to suppress the thought but just acknowledge and move on. If you experience anxiety because of them, that’s okay it’ll pass, just don’t interact with the thought.
@Mikecicle thank you!!
OK, this might sound really dumb, but when you guys get intrusive thoughts, do they just come once and then go away? I’ve heard that repeatedly thinking about an intrusive thought is considered ‘checking,’ but it doesn’t feel like I have any control over how many times it comes up in my head. It’s not like I’m trying to check anything—it just keeps showing up, almost like it’s terrorizing me every time. I can’t seem to stop it from looping, stop remembering it, or prevent it from coming up. Every time it does, I feel horrified, and I already know it’s going to horrify me. I don’t think I’m actively trying to see if my feelings have changed, so is this still considered checking? How do other people get an intrusive thought and just move on? Doesn’t it pop up a million times for them too? I always thought that was normal, but now I’m hearing this could be a compulsion, and I feel really confused, scared, and lost. Is this why my OCD feels so extreme? Because I really don’t feel like I can control how many times the thought pops up.
How do I stop letting my intrusive thoughts control me? Ive been having them for almost a year, once I graduated, become more isolated and lost more friends they've become worse. I feel like when I had friends and was still going to school they weren't as bad probably because I was living more so I didn't take them as seriously. But now that Im home all day and alone they've gotten worse and it feels like they're starting to control my life. Theres times where Im on social media and eventually I forget about them but then when I realize I forgot about them they come back. Sometimes the thought just lingers it doesn't even just pop in my head and go away. I can't tell anyone in my family because they'd judge me for the thoughts and they don't really believe in mental illnesses. I also sometimes think of what other people may think of me if they knew the thoughts I had and it makes it worse. How do I stop letting these thoughts control/trigger me and stop reacting or feeling some type of way about them.
What's a piece of advice you give when someone has constantly intrusive thoughts and ruminations that won't stop? Interested to see what you tell others.....more on this when I see some replies!!!
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