{"id":21944,"date":"2024-03-29T05:37:28","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T04:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/?p=21944"},"modified":"2024-03-29T05:45:29","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T04:45:29","slug":"tips-for-intrusive-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/tips-for-intrusive-thoughts\/","title":{"rendered":"Practical Tools for Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you ever feel like your brain is being invaded by strange or distressing thoughts that pop out of nowhere, often at the most inconvenient times? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our minds are extremely complex mechanisms that are not entirely within our control, and there are many reasons why we may have unwanted thoughts that feel out of character or against what you personally believe or would ever act upon. Some examples of intrusive thoughts include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Harming yourself<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Harming someone close to you<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Doing something extremely violent, such as throwing a rock at somebody<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sexually graphic fantasies that don\u2019t arouse you<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Picturing yourself or your loved ones dying<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Catching an illness<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although it may feel extremely distressing, especially when the thoughts are recurrent, know that they are probably not reflective of who you are as a person or what you actually want to do. In fact, typically the opposite is true &#8211; these thoughts come up so frequently because they seem so unacceptable, alien, and the opposite of your character that your brain struggles to process them. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Often, people who have such thoughts are sensitive and gentle. For example, people who love life may picture throwing themselves off a cliff when they see one, or think about what would happen if they drove their car off the road.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unless diagnosed by a mental health professional, these thoughts are not usually significant messages or red flags. However, people who have these thoughts may have other mental health conditions such as anxiety, OCD, and PTSD. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consult with a mental health professional if you believe you need help for a mental health disorder, and they can also give you additional tools to cope with these thoguhts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tips For Handling Intrusive Thoughts<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019ve established that intrusive thoughts are not necessarily reflective of who you are as a person, and don\u2019t connote any special message from your subconscious. Now that you know it\u2019s impossible to completely eliminate intrusive thoughts, here are some ways to handle them when they come along.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cognitive Behavioral Therapy\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For people who feel like intrusive thoughts are severely impacting their life, Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, may help. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.apa.org\/ptsd-guideline\/patients-and-families\/cognitive-behavioral\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CBT<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a type of psychotherapy that can help treat different kinds of thought disorders by pinpointing your intrusive thoughts and teaching you how to process and reframe them so they don\u2019t affect you as much.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Focusing on being in the present<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Intrusive thoughts can cause a person to obsess about the past or the future rather than living in the present reality. Learning how to ground yourself in the present moment can help you stop focusing on the negative (which isn\u2019t happening now or hasn\u2019t happened yet) and distance yourself from these thoughts.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learning to be more mindful through meditation<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Part of being grounded in the present is being mindful of yourself, your surroundings, and your internal workings without starting a domino effect of judgements or emotions. Meditation is a technique to become more mindful that you can practice anywhere, anytime &#8211; all you need is somewhere quiet and a few minutes. You can try taking a class, or download one of the many meditation apps available to help guide you if you\u2019re a beginner.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use active coping mechanisms<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our brains can tell extremely convincing stories that feel like reality when they are anything but, causing intrusive thoughts that only exist in your mind to take on an outsized power. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dictionary.apa.org\/active-coping\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Active coping mechanisms<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> involve dealing with stress through action rather than internal obsession. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some active coping mechanisms include solving problems, seeking social support, finding information, planning activities, changing environments, and reframing the meaning of the problem in a way that is optimal to your function.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Externalizing the thought through active coping mechanisms like journaling, therapy, or even speaking it out loud to yourself can help you reframe the thought and cope with stress that may be causing it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enjoy nature<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Time spent in nature has been <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.apa.org\/monitor\/2020\/04\/nurtured-nature\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">proven<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to sharpen cognitive abilities and improve mental health. Clear your mind and break a downward spiral of thoughts by taking a stroll in the park or going for a trail run.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spend time doing things that you enjoy<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everybody has activities that help calm them down or bring them to a better state of mind. For example, if you enjoy gardening, spending some time with your garden when you can\u2019t keep intrusive thoughts out of your mind may bring some clarity. Whether it\u2019s exercise, playing games with friends, or cooking, spending time doing things that bring you joy can help break a cycle of rumination.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be curious about the thought<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oftentimes when we try to banish a thought from our mind, it causes us to obsess about it even more. Rather than making a judgment about your thoughts and what they mean, try approaching them from a place of curiosity to see how your body responds and what you were doing when that thought popped up. Distressing thoughts are not necessarily subconscious cues, but could be your brain\u2019s way of processing something you\u2019re going through.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you ever feel like your brain is being invaded by strange or distressing thoughts that pop out of nowhere, often at the most inconvenient times? Our minds are extremely&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":21751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[393],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.12 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Practical Tools for Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Intrusive thoughts can be distressing and recurrent. 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