Co-Intrusive thoughts

I don’t know how to explain this so I’ll do it to the best of my ability. Does anyone experience “co-intrusive” thoughts that try to negatively support the initial intrusive thought? Example: Me: “Thank God I never acted on (scary intrusive thought) & I’m getting better!” Intrusive thought: “What a shame you didn’t” These types of things send me into a spiral. It makes me think that it could lead to a desire instead of staying a fear. Like an intrusive disappointment that I didn’t follow through with the thought? It’s been a long fear/obsession & I think my OCD is trying to trick me that the only satisfaction would be to act on the thought. (I know that’s bs) But IS that why it sends me the negative co-intrusive thoughts? That’s the only explanation that makes sense. Then I wonder is it something else? Am I a grenade waiting to explode??? I simply cannot relax in any moment because I think what’s the use if I’m just going to (xyz) one day?

Tea and Honey

Date posted: 21w

It sounds like you need to treat the co-intrusive thoughts just like any other intrusive thoughts. It sounds like you are wanting to attribute meaning to the "co-intrusive" thoughts. However, they have no meaning. They are just more intrusive thoughts like anything else. They are meaningingless. Therefore, you need to just treat with the ERP just like anything else.

Tea and Honey

Date posted: 21w

hahaha, that was a colossal misspelling of meaningless in there, lol

_IDK_0023

Date posted: 21w

@Tea and Honey It’s so kind you took the time to reach out. I appreciate that a lot as I’ve been dreading the fear of no one understanding. The thing is, I’ve been studying & training this subtype like crazy (as if it were school) But that one thing alarmed me. Everything’s been adding up. Everything’s been making sense, except that one thing. I simply do not know how to deal with it or brush it off because it doesn’t make sense to me just like everything else. I understand we can’t pick apart the thoughts & our brain but like this specific one is alarming.. however I will try to practice meaningless & uncertainty

_IDK_0023

Date posted: 21w

@Tea and Honey I want to treat it as an intrusive thought but it simply does not feel like an intrusive thought. Intrusive thoughts are nothing to me and don’t scare me as much, But this one thing feels so bad and alarming I simply don’t even know what to call it. I just wanna figure it out so I can relax. Unless figuring it out is a compulsion? I don’t know. It’s all so complex and overwhelming.

Tea and Honey

Date posted: 21w

@Anonymous This is how OCD works. You feel like you have it all figured out, and then the OCD will twist something slightly and make you feel like it’s a new and different thing. However, it’s just the same thing repackaged in a slightly different way. Your co-intrusive thoughts are just intrusive thoughts. You can treat them the same way (considering them meaningless). If you start practicing that, should get easier and easier. You need to resist the temptation to figure it all out. Don’t try to figure it out. That is a trap. Even though you will have some level of uncertainty, you need to trust the process here. Label these co-intrusive thoughts as regular intrusive thoughts, and treat them like all your other intrusive thoughts. They are not different.

Tea and Honey

Date posted: 21w

@Tea and Honey It won’t feel safe, but just keep practicing it!!!!!

_IDK_0023

Date posted: 21w

@Tea and Honey Thank you so much this helped me a lot. I’ve caged it up thinking there was something wrong with me. I appreciate you 😊

Tea and Honey

Date posted: 21w

@Anonymous I so so so so understand how OCD can do this to do. It has done this to me too. I really hear you on this. But everything is okay!!!!

FaithSheagren

Date posted: 24w

Intrusive thoughts about intrusive thoughts

Hi everyone. I’ve been doing therapy for about two months now and I would say it’s slowly helping me a lot. I explained to her the breathing techniques and “sitting in the anxiety for a bit” and I feel like those are helping. But then my therapist said “don’t sit in the thought because then you might act on it”. I don’t “sit in the thought” but rather i sit in the anxiety to comdition my brain into thinking it’s not a threat. But ever since yesterday, my therapy appointment, I’ve been really shooken up. Even though I don’t “sit in the thought” I feel like a bad person that she even had to bring it up even though I explained it wrong. I’m so upset I feel like I just took 3000 steps back from my progress and this little thing is really scaring me. Am I a bad person? I don’t want to act on any of my thoughts and it scares me so bad I hate living.

VoiceInYourHead

Date posted: 24w

Intrusive Thoughts During “Me-Time”

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

Anonymous

Date posted: 17w

Can intrusive thoughts be intentional thinking

I wanted to ask if it is possible to purposely think of an intrusive thought and then shifting your mind instantly to something else? Is it still an intrusive thought if you have been thinking of it 'purposely' for a second? I dont know how else to explain it, but it felt like I was purposely thinking of it. Anyone else had similar experience what happened during intimate moments like masturbation I feel so ashamed cuz the thoughts are so bad they're either about family members children and stuff like that it feels like I think it I just want to know if I'm not alone I feel like a monster because it feels like I thought these things or like I did think these things and I don't know what to do I feel so ashamed and grossed I need help I just want to know if anyone had a similar experience to shed light on because I don't know I feel so isolated

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Co-Intrusive thoughts

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