![]() To recap: Intrusive thoughts are not revelations about your “unconscious” or “true desires.” They’re also not urges that will make you do anything against your will.Īfter understanding the nature of these thoughts, then comes a change in your relationship with them. Winston says treatment of intrusive thoughts consists of first understanding what the thoughts are and what they are not. Overcoming and coping with intrusive thoughts The reason intrusive thoughts get “stuck” is because they “do not fit with you, your values, how you see yourself or what matters to you.” Intrusive thoughts are so upsetting precisely because they are not who you really are. This thought morphs into “ What if this means I want to drop the baby?” “ Why can’t I keep this thought from happening?” and eventually “ Something is wrong with me.” Winston uses the example of a new mother who gets the intrusive thought of “ What if I drop the baby?” stuck in their head. One intrusive thought easily leads to a mental spiral of wondering whether intrusive thoughts somehow reveal your true self and hidden desires. It’s unsettling to get a sudden thought to do something you would never consciously think to do. So while the thoughts are powerful for the individual, they won’t necessarily lead to action. “The fuel that keeps them coming back is precisely these efforts to suppress or understand or banish them.”Ī key point to remember is that intrusive thoughts are not necessarily urges, but the emotional “whoosh” that Winston describes might make them feel that way. “Thoughts like this get stuck if you struggle against them, get entangled in what they might mean, or think that they need to be dealt with,” Winston explains. “These thoughts are abhorrent, shameful, or utterly out of character,” Winston says, “and they arrive with a ‘whoosh’ or jolt of emotion stuck to them.” These kinds of intrusive thoughts are instantly upsetting, and carry with them the strong urge to fight them off. Unfortunately, when an unwanted intrusive thought gets stuck and becomes repetitive, this “normal phenomenon” becomes a real issue. They’re a completely normal phenomenon, according to Winston. Most intrusive thoughts are of no importance and are forgotten within moments. Winston says that these thoughts - which intrude into your conscious thought seemingly out of nowhere - might be bizarre, unacceptable, taboo, absurd, and sometimes surprisingly creative. Here’s what to know about unwanted intrusive thoughts, and how you can deal with them. When I mentioned the “trendiness” of intrusive thoughts online, Winston recognised it immediately as the difference between “passing intrusive thoughts” and “stuck, unwanted intrusive thoughts.” While the former are a universal experience and often funny, the latter are no laughing matter and can be extremely frightening for the person experiencing them. Sally Winston, a licensed psychologist, founder and executive director of the Anxiety and Stress Disorders Institute of Maryland, and co-author of Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts. What can you do to overcome intrusive thoughts that are repulsive and upsetting? ![]() ![]() And here’s another.) While the term gets tossed around to explain funny, weird, and ultimately harmless thoughts, many unwanted intrusive thoughts are part of a serious mental disorder. ( Here’s a video that captures it pretty well. It’s trendy to use the term to refer to any sort of wacky, unwanted, or inexplicable thought. It’s impossible for me to walk over a bridge without thinking “ I’m going to chuck my phone into the water.” Luckily, I’ve never acted on this involuntary “intrusive thought.” And since I’m online all the time, I know I’m not alone in finding the humour in this sort of intrusive thought.
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