What are INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS and why do they appear

Has it ever happened to you that, for no reason, an unpleasant or strange thought comes to your mind? These are intrusive thoughts, which are a class of thoughts that, although completely unfounded, can generate great concern. There are intrusive thoughts of different types, depending on their content.

Also, although there are both positive and negative intrusive thinking, in this article we will focus on the latter. Well, these are the ones that generate the most consequences and concerns when they appear, becoming serious obsessions if you do not learn how to treat them, something that we will tell you below. Do you want to know the types of intrusive thoughts and why they appear? Here, in this Psychology-Online article, we detail all the important data about intrusive thoughts.

Index

1. What are intrusive thoughts
2. Types of intrusive thoughts
3. Why do intrusive thoughts appear
4. How to beat intrusive thoughts

Intrusive thoughts are also nicknamed unfounded thoughts. This is mainly due to the fact that they are thoughts that are unfounded or are really unjustified since there is no real reason to think that.

Generally speaking of negative intrusive thoughts, since they are the ones that most concern and draw the attention of those who "suffer" them. These types of thoughts are especially common in people with OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), depression or ADHD (Attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity) .

The problem comes when these thoughts, which if they arise in a timely manner we ignore and do not have much importance, become an obsession. That's when they start to limit and condition life of the people who have them, assuming a serious problem.

Intrusive thoughts usually come in the form of vivid images or memories, as well as thoughts that are very powerful, feeling like true certainties.

As we have already mentioned, intrusive thoughts are generally spoken of when they are unpleasant, their content being somewhat negative. In psychology the following types of intrusive thinking are distinguished, depending on its content:

• Aggressive: are those thoughts that refer to harming others or ourselves. Some examples are thinking about hurting yourself, pushing or assaulting someone in any way, without any cause for it.
• Ideas that go against one's own values: such as those referring to the religious or spiritual, political or family sphere.
• Sexual thoughts: based on desire and erotic fantasies, especially with people with whom it would be morally reprehensible to maintain this type of relationship.

An important characteristic of this type of thinking is that they are usually egodistonic, which means that they generate discomfort and confusion in the person who experiences them. When the appearance of these negative intrusive thoughts does not cause uneasiness or discomfort to the person, it may be psychotic symptoms.

When this type of thought appears, usually the concern is based on the fact that it is not something normal, which indicates the existence of a problem.

Normally we worry because this makes us think that there is some type of mental alteration, resulting in this obsession more harmful and damaging. Also, in older people, the fear is usually that cognitive impairments and deficits are developing that alter the normal functioning of the mind. On the other hand, moral values ​​come into play, because when they go against their own values, these thoughts can be very disturbing.

However, it is important not to give too much importance to these thoughts, because normally, giving them too much attention only causes these to occur more frequently, becoming an obsession, which is overwhelming and very frustrating.

There is a higher prevalence of intrusive thoughts in the following disorders:

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): This is an anxiety disorder, referred to the constant and recurrent appearance of intrusive thoughts. In addition, compulsions, repetitive behaviors and many fears and worries appear, which generate discomfort and nervousness in the individual. In this case, the most frequent intrusive thoughts are those referring to harming others, those of sexual content, or those that are self-injurious or suicidal.

• Post traumatic stress: which appears after a traumatic situation that generates a shock in the person. In these cases, the intrusive thoughts are usually related to the trauma or event that has generated that state.
• Anxiety disorders: In this disorder, people feel fear, restlessness, intense and excessive worries about their life and that of those around them. In this case, the intrusive thoughts often consist of thoughts about one's own death or accidents, tragic events, or the arrival of illness.
• Depression: based on a deep feeling of sadness, melancholy and dejection. Suicidal thoughts or thoughts about self-harm appear very frequently in depression.
• Postpartum depression: a remarkable percentage of women who have just given birth experience depression, due to strong hormonal changes that pregnancy and childbirth generate in the body, giving a great imbalance. In these women there are many intrusive thoughts about harming their own babies, which generate intense discomfort. In this case, they may be drive phobia.

The first thing to do when we detect the presence of intrusive thoughts is to try keep calmThese thoughts do not have to be important, as they are usually based on unfounded concerns, with no real basis.

But if you insist on ignoring them, that is when you will become obsessed the most, because it is practically impossible to actively ignore a thought. Therefore, many experts recommend the observe those thoughts, without analyzing them or giving them too much thought, like watching them go by, without giving them more importance and practically laughing at them. Well, as we have said, having no basis, we will not achieve anything by focusing and obsessing over them.

It is also essential that if we detect that we are given these types of thinking in certain situations, we never avoid them. Well, by avoiding these contexts, we will be giving too much importance to intrusive thoughts, letting them dominate us.

On the other hand, we have to see if to deal with the worry that intrusive thoughts can provoke, we are developing manias. It is quite common for this to happen, as it is a mechanism to deal with anxiety, but in the long run it causes more harm than good, the best thing being to prevent its appearance.

There are some techniques that have proven to be very effective against intrusive thoughts. For example, him mindfulness or others types of meditation They help a lot, as well as providing multiple benefits at different levels. Some examples of strategies to deal with intrusive thoughts can be:

• Think of intrusive thoughts as clouds that pass through a blue sky or like blowflies that we have around and that we can endure until they get tired and go away.
• Figuring out that intrusive thoughts are like noise, the more you focus on it and try to ignore it, the more it bothers you.
• Treat intrusive thoughts from the position of observers, as if they were a movie, without being anything related to us.
• Relativize thoughts And be aware that whoever arrives does not mean that he will stay, he will pass and his passage will not cause any consequence.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to What are intrusive thoughts and why do they appear, we recommend that you enter our category of Cognitive psychology.

• Baer, ​​L. (2001) The Imp of the Mind: Exploring the Silent Epidemic of Obsessive Bad Thoughts. New York, Dutton. ISBN 0-525-94562-8
• Julien D, O'Connor KP, Aardema F (April 2007). "Intrusive thoughts, obsessions, and appraisals in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a critical review". Clin Psychol Rev27 (3): 366-83. PMID 17240502. doi: 10.1016 / j.cpr.2006.12.004
• Winston, S. M., & Seif, M. N. (2017). Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts: A CBT-Based Guide to Getting Over Frightening, Obsessive, or Disturbing Thoughts. Recovered from https://play.google.com/store/books/details? id = gu4hDgAAQBAJ