What Are Intrusive Thoughts And What Can We Do About Them?
Intrusive thoughts are unwanted thoughts or images that enter our consciousness often without any prior warning. We tend to find these thoughts quite distressing, alarming and disturbing and they often cause us to feel guilt, fear and shame.
While intrusive thoughts can trigger a range of negative emotions, there is some good news … They are normal! Almost everyone experiences intrusive thought at some point or another, in fact many of us experience them quite regularly! It is not the thoughts themselves that cause us to feel this way, it is our perception about these thoughts.
Why do we experience intrusive thoughts?
While many people with anxiety disorders experience intrusive thoughts, we tend to forget that anxiety itself is a normal emotion and this anxiety is where many of our intrusive thoughts tend to stem from. Anxiety is a natural response that our brain has evolved to keep us safe; we are constantly aware of any dangers in our environment and ready to respond to them through our fight or flight response system should we need to. As we do this, we are subconsciously filtering through a number of thoughts in our daily lives … on occasion one of these thoughts might elicit some sort of anxiety response such as fear or worry, bringing this thought to the forefront of our minds. However, what happens next is the true determinant of how it affects us.
Take the example of envisioning yourself pushing a cyclist off their bike in the middle of the road. Person A might have this thought and immediately become overwhelmed with feelings of guilt. They might worry that they are a bad person, they may wonder whether they are capable of carrying out such a horrific act and they might ruminate about what this thought really means. Person B on the other hand, might have this thought, acknowledge that while it was a scary thought, it really means nothing and does not define who they are as a person. They might thereafter let it go and carry on with their everyday life.Person A is likely to feel anxious and obsess over this thought; they may even avoid driving in areas with bike lanes because of the fear that they may do something horrible to a cyclist, while person B is likely to carry on living their life with no change in their behaviours as a consequence of this thought whatsoever.
These obsessions over negative or anxiety provoking thoughts and behaviours carried out in response to them is commonly seen in people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (through the obsessions over the thought and the compulsions or seemingly unnecessary actions they take to ease their anxieties about this thought), however can occur in anyone.
So what should we do about intrusive thoughts? Here are some tips
Understand: Understand that thoughts are not reality, they do not define who you are, and they do not hold any power over what you do. They are simply one of the many thousands of thoughts that cross your mind on a daily basis.
Don’t avoid the thought: I want you to NOT think about ice cream … now I want you to NOT read what is on this page … did it work? Probably not! Trying not to think about something just doesn’t work in reality; in fact it can often leave us thinking about the thing we are trying not to think about even more! If you are finding it difficult to stop ruminating on this thought however, you might give the following tips a go too …
Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness can take many different forms; however, it is essentially a state in which we are able to acknowledge our thoughts, feelings and sensations in the present moment without judgement. We can do this through focusing on our breath, grounding techniques (such as using our five senses), progressive muscle relaxation or working our way through a guided meditation. While mindfulness sounds simple in theory it can be quite tricky to get a handle on in reality … as always, the more we practice the better we will become in using this skill!
Positive self-affirmations: These are positive statements that remind us of the qualities we possess … for example, when we get caught up in feelings of guilt or apprehension over our thoughts, we might remind ourselves that “I am kind, I am loving, I am helpful, I am caring, I am safe, I am a good person ”.
Get stuck into an activity: Doing something you love, or something that requires concentration such as a crossword puzzle, speaking to a friend or cooking something new can be a great way to shift your mind away from anxiety provoking or distressing thoughts.
Thought Diffusion: This goes back to the idea that thoughts are just thoughts. We can sing them in a funny voice, we can write them in squiggly letters, we can even thank our mind for the thought and for its attempt at keeping us safe. The thought is still the same … but suddenly it doesn’t seem so real and scary anymore.
Seek Support: Support from a mental health practitioner can be an invaluable tool in working through these intrusive thoughts. Therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can be particularly helpful however a range of other techniques can be helpful in equipping you with the skills to get past these intrusive thoughts.