Intrusive thoughts are words or images that are unwanted in your mind. They're often encroaching. They have little to do with what you're doing or with reality. And the unsettling thoughts can seem loud, demanding your attention. It may be hard to believe even when others tell you a thought isn't real or doesn't mean anything. They might be uncomfortable, but you'll learn they don't mean anything.
Study after study after study has shown that everyone has intrusive thoughts from time to time. Random, unwanted, disturbing thoughts are the norm, and everybody sometimes has intrusive thoughts. Healthy people, average people, anxious people, calm people, and OCD all have them. Most people brush them off. But for people with ADHD, ASD, OCPD, OCD anxiety disorders or overthinkers, intrusive thoughts can feel very intense, and then the way they respond to the intrusive thoughts can make them look different from others.
What Are the few Most Common Intrusive Thoughts?
Self-Doubts and Mistakes- For example, "What if I'm not good at my job?" "What if I made a mistake?" This is fear of doing something embarrassing, like shouting, pushing someone, etc.; it's thoughts of, like, "What if I cheat on my spouse?" "What if I don't love my wife, even though she means the world to me?" It's these just persistent doubts.
Intrusive Thoughts of Self-Harm or others - These are thoughts like, "What if I kill myself?" "What if I jump off this building?" "What if I crash my car on purpose?" Or if while you're holding a knife, "What if I lose control?" "What if I cut myself?" With intrusive thoughts, you don't want to hurt yourself. "What if I push someone off the stairs?" or, while you're holding a knife, "What if I stab someone?" "What if I push someone in front of a car? The thought frightens you. But if the thought keeps coming back, it can be distressing.
Sexual Thoughts - fears that you have or that you will touch someone inappropriately, visualizing someone naked, and fearful thoughts about gender or sexual identity—for example, persistent thoughts of being gay despite being straight.
Immoral or Religiously Blasphemous -These are thoughts like, "What if I sinned?" "What if I'm not 100% honest?" "What if I break this religious rule?" This subset of OCD is called scrupulosity.
Contamination/Health Fears-. These are things like, "What if my hands have germs?" "What if I have cancer?" "What if I have COVID?" "What if I have HIV?" and then also fear of sticky substances, bodily fluids, household cleaners, and thoughts like, "What if I contaminate someone else?" unwanted thoughts of past trauma include bad memories and flashbacks. These are connected more to actual events and PTSD than to just random thoughts, so that's why they're in their category.
What Can You Do About Intrusive Thoughts?
So, those are the few most common intrusive thoughts that people have.
So, when it comes to intrusive thoughts, the first thing to remember is that having them doesn't mean anything to you. Again, most people have intrusive and unwanted thoughts. The difference with OCD or any other disorder is how you react to them. So, having these thoughts doesn't mean there's something wrong with you. One difference between someone healthy and someone with OCD or overthinking is they will start to worry, "What does this thought mean about me? Does it mean I'm violent?" And they'll get stuck in this cycle of trying to suppress, resist, or control thoughts. But the way the brain works, whatever we pay attention to, makes it louder.
So, those fearful attempts to control those thoughts make them feel more substantial. Having a thought doesn't mean you'll act on it. Therapists who specialize in these disorders spend much of their day doing exposure therapy with clients. So, they'll take a client who thinks, "What if I push someone down the stairs?" and take that client to a stairway and stand with their back to the client. But then no action is taken. But this process works. Exposure response prevention. It's uncomfortable at first. Your anxiety will go up. But then your brain will learn that the thoughts aren't dangerous and will diminish over time. There's a significant difference between dwelling on a thought because you relish it and having a thought in over and over because you're scared of it. The second thing to do with intrusive thoughts is just dangerous feeding them. Carl Jung said, "What you resist not only persists but will grow in size." So, you can learn to separate yourself from your thoughts, notice them, and let them pass by. This includes skills like cognitive diffusion, mindfulness, and willingness. And Taking Charge of Intrusive Thoughts', you can learn how to do that there. Let us work together and learn how to manage intrusive thoughts and overthinking.