Emotional Support Sisters

Intrusive thoughts. If you know you know. Unless you don’t know. If that’s the case, here is a great definition of intrusive thoughts:

“Intrusive thoughts are unwanted thoughts, images, impulses, or urges that can occur spontaneously or that can be cued by external/internal stimuli. Typically, these thoughts are distressing (hence “intrusive”) and tend to reoccur. They are predominantly associated with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but they are often seen amongst the symptoms of other anxiety disorders. Common themes of intrusive thoughts include (but are not limited to): harm/violence, sexuality/sexual behaviors, religion, and making mistakes/causing accidents. Such themes generally provoke emotional distress, particularly when they are perceived as being out-of-character or against the person’s respective values.”

https://theocdandanxietycenter.com/intrusive-thoughts/#:~:text=Intrusive%20thoughts%20are%20unwanted%20thoughts,%E2%80%9D)%20and%20tend%20to%20reoccur.

I have struggled with intrusive thoughts since adolescence, and it was hard not to think that I was a terrible person. Nobody told me intrusive thoughts were part of my mental illness. I only made this discovery last year – in the past, I’ve felt guilty, unworthy, and dishonest (let’s be real, I still struggle with these feelings) just for having these strange thoughts pop into my head for no reason. It’s hard to distinguish an intrusive thought from your own thoughts and therefore your worth… because it’s all in your brain! 

Anxiety and OCD are hard enough without disturbing thoughts creeping in and making you feel awful about yourself. I confided in a few people about this struggle when I was younger and they would tell me that your mind is a stage – you just have to let the thoughts come and go and then move on. Looking back I appreciate their willingness to hear me out and give me advice, but sometimes it felt like when you’re having an anxiety attack and somebody tells you to just stop worrying. It doesn’t work. So my next question really should’ve been how do I deal with and move on from these thoughts when they do come?

Here are some ways that I have found useful when it comes to dealing with intrusive thoughts:

• Listen to music/audiobooks/podcasts that I enjoy

• Telling someone I trust about my intrusive thought

• Keeping my anxiety and depression at bay by taking my medicine, self-care, and getting enough sleep. I get intrusions much more when I am having a depression and anxiety flare-up.

Since I’m not an expert, here is a great resource I found on dealing with intrusive thoughts from health.Harvard.edu:

“When these thoughts emerge, try taking the following steps:

1. Identify the thought as intrusive. “Think to yourself, ‘that’s just an intrusive thought; it’s not how I think, it’s not what I believe, and it’s not what I want to do,’” says Dr. Williams.

2. Don’t fight with it. When you have an intrusive thought, just accept it. “Don’t try to make it go away.”

3. Don’t judge yourself. Know that having a strange or disturbing thought doesn’t indicate that something is wrong with you.”

https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/managing-intrusive-thoughts

Also, I want to emphasize that there is a difference between INTRUSIVE thoughts and IMPULSIVE thoughts. Please read this article I found if you’re wondering what the difference is. It also gives some more insight into the mind of someone experiencing intrusive thoughts.

I hope this helps!

– Rae