Have you ever had something enter your mind that you don’t think about, something that made you shocked or even disgusted? You’re not alone. They are common among most individuals.
“More than 6 million Americans suffer from unwanted intrusive thoughts.” – Anxiety and Depression Association of America.
Intrusive thoughts refer to those thoughts that pop up in the mind without the person being aware of them, and normally they are not desired. These can be violent, sexual phobic, mere fears, mere scary, or just plain creepy.
What are Intrusive Thoughts?
Intrusive thoughts refer to thoughts or images, which appear in one’s mind undesiring or unfavorable for the individual. They may be rather provoking and are usually the very things that one would want to avoid thinking of at all costs. These thoughts can be of any kind or form and can include thinking about hurting oneself, committing violence, having sexual thoughts or other such disturbing thoughts.
Common Types of Intrusive Thoughts
Intrusive thoughts can take many forms. Some common intrusive thoughts types include:
- Violent thoughts: Imagining harm coming to yourself or others.
- Sexual thoughts: Inappropriate or unwanted sexual imagery.
- Frightening thoughts: Fearful scenarios or phobias.
- Disgusting thoughts: Ideas that you find revolting.
- Embarrassing or shameful thoughts: Thoughts that make you feel ashamed.
- Amoral or blasphemous thoughts: Particularly for those who are religious, thoughts that go against moral or religious beliefs.
Are Intrusive Thoughts Normal?
Yes, intrusive and contaminative thoughts are normal and not signs of severe schizophrenia, as some might think. These are particularly common and are particularly prevalent during some stages of human life.
While the most intrusive thoughts are simple passing thoughts that can easily pop up in your mind, the effects can be long-term for some. It forms, then dissolves, and can exist for years without the subject having to make any effort to influence it.
However, if you feel you need help with intrusive thoughts, you can consider online counseling services. This will be a quick way to deal with intrusive thoughts.
Impact of Intrusive Thoughts on Mental Health
It is important to note that sometimes intrusive thoughts may be upsetting or unwanted and they become a problem when they are recurrent. If your mind begins to entertain such ideas, it is possible to develop anxieties that interfere with day-to-day living.
These are just some of the mental disorders that can feature obtrusive thoughts into a person’s mind:
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Recurrent thoughts about a particular object or idea that cannot be ignored, and which provokes anxiety.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Trauma reminder or trauma flashback, which are intrusive memories or thoughts linked to the traumatic event.
- Eating Disorders: Attitudes about food and body shape, and the process of consuming or avoiding specific edible substances.
- Postpartum Depression or Anxiety: Postpartum thoughts: a conceptual review of pervasive themes.
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder: In this case, it is chronic anxiety in so far as it encompasses intrusive thoughts.
What Causes Intrusive Thoughts?
Specifically, intrusive thoughts are found to relate in some way to stressful events. Common triggers include:
- Disruptions to normal routines: Routines are comfortable to follow, and any shift in this docket may bring uneasiness.
- Lack of sleep: There is some truth to the thought that if one is stressed, they might get less sleep, which in turn increases stress and thus leads to more intrusive thoughts.
- Hormonal changes: Mood swings which are common during pregnancy, or menopause, may also cause intrusive thoughts.
- Stress and Vulnerability: Because of big life transitions, including having a new baby or changing house, one feels so insecure that he may experience intrusive thoughts. Furthermore, one’s regular become sensitized to harm by watching or listening to distressing news such as shooting events or threats to one’s health.
If you had a trauma in the past and have intrusive thoughts about it, you should consider taking online trauma therapy to feel better.
Are Intrusive Thoughts Harmful?
Misconceptions: Specifically, several people who reported having intrusive thoughts are concerned about being a dangerous individual to themselves or others. This is a misconception. To think that no matter how terrifying your thoughts are, you will not be bound to turn them into reality.
Study Findings: Similarly, studies have demonstrated that even patients diagnosed with OCD who experience violent obsessions are no more likely to be harmed than mentally stable populations. Self-critical, intrusive thoughts are the main proxy of a person’s main values and fears in their life.
Example: For example, parents may develop obsessive thoughts that they wish to suffocate their newborns. This does not mean that they wish to cause any harm to their children; instead, it reveals much about the feelings and bond that they have with their child.
Although intrusive thoughts are normal, there are cases when they can cause mental distress. If you feel in this manner, you can contact us for individual psychotherapy.
How to Stop Intrusive Thoughts?
Here are some techniques to deal with intrusive thoughts:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT is a useful tool for dealing with compulsions and considering intrusive thoughts. It helps you to familiarize yourself with some of the methods of overcoming such thoughts and shrinking their influence gradually. If you don’t try to fight it, or push it away, you can avert your thoughts from shifting into overload by just bringing your awareness back to the present moment.
- Mindfulness Techniques: Mindfulness can also be of help to one. If an intrusive scary thought comes into our mind, we should accept it non-judgmentally. Then, lightly scan through what you are currently doing in the process.
- Medications: Some treatments for intrusive thoughts involve taking usual pills, such as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), for mental health disorders that may be causing the thoughts. This is because these drugs can assist in lessening the severity of the thoughts observed in patients with the disorder and enhance the total health of the individual.
Other than these techniques, individual counseling can also benefit as therapists can help explore your thoughts better and help you understand the situation.
