Intrusive Thoughts
Have you ever had a thought that’s popped into your head, out of the blue, against your will?!
It’s probably an intrusive thought and something that we ALL experience. Sometimes these thoughts are really funny, other times inspiring and other times just odd or random. Some examples of intrusive thoughts are things like “I could run across that football pitch now”, “I could just trip up on those stairs”, “I could win the Olympics”, “I could throw that coffee over that person.” The list goes on! Intrusive thoughts are random thoughts that cross our minds and often we dismiss them as quickly as they come in.
Sometimes intrusive thoughts can be upsetting or disturbing. For example, we might have a thought of harming someone else, thoughts of becoming contaminated in some way, thoughts of having left the fire or taps running or intrusive thoughts of having sex with someone that you shouldn’t. These thoughts are sometimes harder to dismiss, and we can start to focus on them and question why we are having such thoughts and what they mean. Often thoughts like this are upsetting because they go against our own personal morals.
Let’s think about Laura…
Laura had her first baby in January and since then has started having intrusive thoughts about dropping her baby and harm coming the baby while it was in the bath. She reported that these thoughts can present as images in that she can see it ‘playing out.’ Laura started to focus on these thoughts and question what they meant. She started to believe that having the thoughts meant it was more likely that these terrible things would come true and therefore she needed to do everything in her power to ensure that they didn’t. As a result of the meaning she attached to these thoughts, she started to listen to them more. This made her feel more anxious, and she started to carry out lots of different safety checks day and night, which reinforced the focus on these unwanted thoughts. Lauras response to these intrusive thoughts could develop into symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
There are many meanings that we may attach to intrusive thoughts, which can make them re-occur more. A common one is: ‘I am bad for thinking this way, I need to stop the thoughts.’ Have you ever told yourself not to think about something? It’s difficult, right? That’s exactly what happens with intrusive thoughts in that when we try to control or stop them, they often seem to come back in full force. It’s like if you’ve ever tried to push a beach ball under water, it never stays down and just keeps popping back up again!
The good news is that these are just thoughts, and they are quite normal. Everyone experiences thoughts like this from time to time. They only become a problem when we start to focus our attention on them and attach certain meanings to them.
How do I manage these thoughts?
The simplest way is to recognise that these thoughts are just thoughts, they are quite normal and so we can allow them to come and go.
If you were sinking in quicksand, and you struggle and kick against it, you will sink much quicker. If, however, you allow yourself just to float and don’t fight against this, you are much more likely to survive. We can apply this to our thoughts; rather than pushing them out or fighting against them, try to ‘just let them be’. Notice them, tell yourself they are ‘just thoughts’ and allow them to pass.
Mindfulness to Thoughts: Consider your thoughts as trains. You are standing on the platform and trains pull into the station and leave the station every few minutes. You can choose to get on to the train and engage with the thought, or you can choose to remain on the platform and just observe them as they pass by. Try not to label them ‘good and bad’ thoughts, but instead label them as ‘just thoughts.’
If you are struggling with intrusive thoughts or symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and need some additional support, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is an evidence based intervention which can support you further.