An intrusive thought arises, chemicals are released, and an emotional response followsāall in a lightning-fast sequence.
That emotional response is strongly tied to a pattern.
When we begin to separate the twoāthought and physical/emotional response (the physical being a chemical release of adrenaline and cortisol, the stress hormones)āwe can start to use neuroplasticity. These are the brainās wiring pathwaysāthey send signals and interpret them.
Iāll give an example.
As a child, someone is bitten by a dog. A neuronal connection forms. These pathways are created through experience, somewhat like a road. The signal begins from that experienceāone side says dogs are bad, the other says be afraid of dogs.
With repeated bad experiences, that road gets more traffic and widens. It begins to perceive all dogs as bad and to fear all dogs.
At that point, the thought has gone further than logic would allow if applied with practice.
The best practice is exposure.
With positive experiences with safe dogs, a new neuronal pathway forms. It says: not all dogs are bad, donāt be afraid of all dogs.
At first, itās a small road. But the more good experiences someone has, the wider it becomes and the more traffic goes down it.
The old road is still thereāit formed for a reasonābut it begins to narrow. Less and less of those old signals fire off.
This is why exposure to our fears is so important, and why ERP and similar therapies are helpful.
Anxiety and the chemical release that comes with it follow a pattern:
Thought ā chemical response ā emotional response.
With OCD, anxiety, depression, and other disorders that trigger these chemical releases, the response can happen incredibly quickly. Years of these patterns create automatic reactions. Itās not just OCDāmany people with intrusive thoughts or related conditions experience this same rapid cascade: thought, chemical response, emotional response. Everything runs on these patterns, and they sink in from childhood, from repeated practice, and from trauma. But once we see that these patterns exist, we can begin to interrupt them and reshape them. Neuroplasticity offers us a way out. Once we catch the thought and the physical response, we recognise weāre not stuckāwe can practice new pathways.
When a thought arises, chemicals are released, and together they create a āwholeā feeling.
Panic attacks work the same way. The body pumps blood, releases chemicals, and prepares us to run or fight.
Many of us see anxiety as something horribleāan enemy. Itās not.
From ancient times, humans and animals have always scanned for danger. Animals still do. At any moment, they can feel fear and have a chemical response to escape or fight.
Ancient humans had many dangers. Some people were āwatchersāāthey stayed alert, scanning for threats to protect others. Without them, humans may not have survived.
Anxiety is actually a friend.
But in the modern world, it can become over-wiredātoo sensitive, constantly scanning for danger where there isnāt any.
When I learned anxiety wasnāt my enemy, but a friend trying to helpājust misguidedāI stopped hating it.
And when I stopped fighting it, it became less powerful.
I had to learn that it tells me things that arenāt always true. Thatās hard at first. It gives you a strong feeling that something is wrongāthat doom is here.
But it starts with a thought.
We can learn to catch the physical response and separate it from the thought, recognising the body is trying to help by giving us energy.
An OCD thought arises. We get the response, and then we want to avoid it. For many, that means doing rituals to self-soothe.
But those rituals are band-aids. They actually keep us stuck.
Give your OCD a name. Separate it from āme.ā You are not your disorder.
I often say: āmaybe, maybe not.ā
A thought is just a thought. Thinking something doesnāt make it real.
We canāt stop thoughts. They come and go as they please.
Trying to push them away gives them more power.
The mind is like a clear blue sky. Thoughts are clouds.
Are the clouds the sky?
Donāt be afraid of the chemical response. Itās trying to help.
Recognise that thoughts can be doubtedāeven when weāre used to believing them.
Try this: think about making something catch fire with your mind. You quickly see you canāt. Itās a simple way to show that thoughts are just thoughts.
Mindfulness helps. Mindfulness is the practice of bringing your attention to the present moment without judgment. It means noticing thoughts, sensations, and emotions as they arise, and letting them come and go, like clouds in the sky.
One last example.
Youāre driving, and someone cuts you off and nearly takes you off the road. Theyāre unaware and drive off.
A thought arises. A chain of thoughts follows. Chemicals are released, and an emotional response occurs.
āThat was dangerous. I could have been killed.ā
Fear and anger arise. Our bodies join in, and we experience a whole world inside ourselves.
Thereās a valid reason for that feeling.
Now imagine this: moments later, someone walks up and hands you a briefcase filled with money. Itās yours.
How long does the anger stay?
It dissolves. A new feeling arises.
Where did the anger go?
That awful feeling shifts into something else.
It felt permanent, solid, and real before.
The nature of thoughts is that they arise and pass. How long they stay depends on usāon rumination or where we place our focus.
Intrusive thoughts arise on their own. But we give them energy that allows them to persist. Even compulsions give them energy.
So the root of it is this: observe the thought.
āOh, itās that thought again.ā
Notice the body responseāheart racing, trembling, sweating. Recognise these are separate.
Bring your focus to the body. Let it settle. Slow your breathing. Relax your muscles.
Adrenaline and cortisol only last for a while.
Then, when youāre able, return to the thought.
Thoughts are clouds.
We have to give up the idea that our thoughts are always truthful. Theyāre a paintbrush, and the mind is the canvas.
Donāt help hold the brush.
Recognise youāve been through this before. While itās not pleasant, it does pass.
We have to see the impermanence in it.
This thought and this feeling are not permanent states.
Even in the darkest moments, there are brief gaps where it isnāt exactly the same.
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