#Examples of intrusive thoughts ocd how to#

There’s a big difference between dwelling on a thought because you relish it and having a thought pop in over and over because you’re scared of it. Just because you think something doesn’t mean it’s true, and it doesn’t mean you’ll act on it, especially if it’s a distressing thought for you. But then your brain will learn that the thoughts aren’t actually dangerous, and they’ll diminish over time.

#Examples of intrusive thoughts ocd how to#

If you’re experiencing OCD or anxiety, of course I recommend working with a licensed professional who knows how to use exposure therapy.īut this process works. Or they’ll hand knives to someone with thoughts of cutting someone.īy the way, I am not necessarily saying that you should try exposure therapy on your own. And, you know, the thought probably pops up, but then no action is taken. So they’ll take a client who has the thought like, “What if I push someone down the stairs?” and they’ll take that client to a stairway, and they’ll stand with their back to the client. Therapists who specialize in OCD treatment spend much of their day doing exposure therapy with clients. Having a thought doesn’t mean you’ll act on it. So those fearful attempts to control those thoughts just makes them feel stronger and stronger. One difference between someone who’s healthy and someone with OCD is that someone with OCD will start to worry, “What does this thought mean about me? Does it mean I’m a pedophile? Does it mean I’m violent?” And they’ll get stuck in this cycle of trying to suppress or resist or control thoughts.īut the way the brain works, whatever we give attention to the brain makes louder. So having these thoughts doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. Researchers studied 777 college students in 13 countries and found that 94 of them had experienced unwanted or intrusive thoughts in the last three months. The difference with OCD is how you react to them. Again, most people have intrusive and unwanted thoughts. So when it comes to intrusive thoughts, the first thing to remember is that having them doesn’t mean anything about you. So now let’s just talk briefly about what you can do about them. So those are the six most common intrusive thoughts that people have. Most people just brush them off.īut for people with OCD or anxiety disorders, intrusive thoughts can feel very intense, and then the way they respond to the intrusive thoughts can make them louder. Healthy people, average people, anxious people, calm people, people with OCD - they all have them. Random, unwanted, disturbing thoughts are actually the norm, and almost everybody has intrusive thoughts at some time. Study after study after study has shown that almost everyone has intrusive thoughts from time to time. Maybe you think that if they really knew how dark your thoughts were they’d be horrified.Īnd while intrusive thoughts can be really uncomfortable, you’re going to learn that they don’t mean anything about you. And these thoughts might make you wonder if you’re secretly a terrible person.

And the thoughts that are distressing can seem really loud, demanding your attention.Įven when other people tell you that a thought isn’t true or it doesn’t mean anything, the thought may feel so disgusting that it’s hard to believe them. They have little to do with what you’re doing or with reality. Intrusive thoughts are words or images that pop into your mind unwanted.

So let’s talk about the six most common types of intrusive thoughts and what you can do about them. So when I read this piece of feedback, I knew that I needed to make a YouTube video because there are probably a lot of people out there who feel the same way as this student, people who secretly fear that they are terrible human beings for having disturbing thoughts. For the first time since I’ve started having intrusive thoughts, I feel like I’m normal and there is hope.” I was never sure if people were just placating me when saying that these thoughts are normal, but to have someone stating examples really made me believe that for the first time. “When Kat stated specific intrusive thought examples, I sobbed because there are some I’ve told my therapist and some I thought were too bad to even speak aloud. Like, check out this comment from the student in the Intrusive Thoughts course where Dr. A lot of people are afraid that they’re broken or disgusting if they have an intrusive thought.