The most important thing to remember is that thinking something doesn’t mean you’re capable of doing it. If you think about mowing down some pedestrians, you must be a murderer or a psychopath, right? However, some people will fixate on thoughts like this and give them meaning, particularly those with conditions such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). They can be shocking and appalling, but most of us know they mean nothing, and we’re able to brush them off.
Intrusive thoughts are often what we call ‘ego dystonic’: they are the opposite of what we actually want and intend to do. Our thinking is also what enables humans to be creative, imaginative and innovative. They have a practical purpose: keeping us safe by helping us anticipate and prevent problems and dangers, and to plan ahead and remember things we might have forgotten. Having random thoughts is a perfectly natural human phenomenon. Intrusive thoughts are perfectly normal These reminders, also called flashbacks, might come in the form of sounds or images, and you’ll experience the same physical symptoms you did back then – for example, an elevated heart rate. Following a traumatic incident, the brain can be hardwired to remind you of it. If someone has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) they can have intrusive thoughts about the event that caused it – which could be observing or being in an accident or natural disaster, being mugged or raped, or going through a significant life event such as a divorce. Milder forms of intrusive thoughts come in the form of our own critical voice: the one in our heads that tells us things like ‘You’ll never get that job, you’re not good enough’, ‘You’re going to look stupid if you do that’, or ‘They don’t like you and they’re talking about you behind your back’. Equally common are blasphemous thoughts or inappropriate thoughts about sex. New mothers often think about their baby coming to harm. These types of thoughts often come in the form of images where a person might imagine driving their car through a crowd of people, harming or killing another person or imagining a loved one fatally injured or dead. One of the most common types of intrusive thought relates to concerns about safety or risk. The unwelcome thoughts we have can be in the form of images, sounds, or statements.
While harmless in themselves, they can have a negative effect on our quality of life, and sometimes affect the way we behave. People who have symptoms of anxiety or depression are most likely to have intrusive thoughts, but they can happen to anyone. They’re often repetitive – with the same kind of thought cropping up again and again – and they can be disturbing or even distressing.
Intrusive thoughts are unwanted thoughts that can pop into our heads without warning, at any time.
0 kommentar(er)
