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Intrusive Thoughts: Why We Sometimes Suddenly Think Terrible Things
Intrusive thoughts can cause us to become frightened of ourselves
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Intrusive thoughts come out of nowhere, scare us and we want them to go away quickly. Where they come from and how we can deal with them.
Although such intrusive thoughts can relate to anything, their content is usually violent, sexually inappropriate, or disturbing. They often violate the values and norms of the person having such thoughts. For those affected, these thoughts trigger fear, shame or even feelings of guilt. And that’s why they don’t talk about it.
It can be difficult to deal with such thoughts. According to Harvard Medical School, those affected tend to want to dissect and analyze thoughts down to the smallest detail. They hold on to him. However, this can increase feelings of fear, shame or self-doubt.
Intrusive thoughts: How we recognize them
Exactly how such thoughts arise is not entirely clear. But they mainly occur in stressful times. It is related to the need to have control over one’s own environment, explains psychiatrist Dr. Sue Varma told CNN.
According to Harvard Medical School, intrusive thoughts can be identified by these characteristics:
- The thought is unusual for the person and is very different from everyday thoughts.
- The thought is disturbing and the person concerned would like to banish it from their mind.
- The thought is possible difficult to control and comes up again and again – even if those affected would like to forget it.
Intrusive thoughts can be disturbing and unpleasant. According to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA), such intrusive thoughts say nothing about personality – and do not mean that people with such thoughts have a dark side. It is not an impulse that those affected want to pursue. It is more of a sign that those affected want to control their lives.
How to deal with terrible thoughts
How to deal with intrusive thoughts:
- The intrusive thought as identify such. It doesn’t define who you are.
- Anyone who has such a thought should accept him and don’t push him away.
- Anyone who has intrusive thoughts themselves should do so don’t judge.
- With an intrusive thought, it may be that he always returns – you have to accept this.
- Those affected should Allow thoughtsdon’t push him away and let him go again.
- It can help with that to continue activitythat you were doing when the thought arose.
However, if intrusive thoughts limit your life, this is a sign that those affected should seek professional help. For example, if you no longer drive a car for fear of actually running someone over, or no longer visit your family for fear of being violent towards them. At this point, the line has been crossed between a nuisance and a psychological condition for which those affected need professional help, Sue Varma told CNN.
Sources: Harvard Medical School, CNN, ADAA