They may also engage in compulsions, which are behaviors or rituals used to try and prevent a dreaded situation from happening. A person with OCD may try to ignore or suppress their intrusive thoughts. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): OCD is a mental health condition in which intrusive, or obsessive, thoughts cause a lot of anxiety. If you are going through a tough time, you may notice that you have more intrusive thoughts. Stress and anxiety: Having intrusive thoughts is typical when you’re facing stress and anxiety. The specific causes of intrusive thoughts can vary from person to person. It can be difficult to talk about these thoughts, which may prevent you from reaching out for help. Some people have intrusive thoughts about having sex with children, even though they would never act on these thoughts. You’re not alone if you have unwanted thoughts related to sexual acts that you consider taboo. Sometimes, these intrusive thoughts can be related to a past memory, like feeling embarrassed as a child, and fear that a similar thing could happen again. Your worries may be about shouting, saying, or doing something inappropriate in public. You may have recurring thoughts about embarrassing yourself in front of other people. Concerns about doing something embarrassing These intrusive thoughts can lead to obsessive concerns about your health and result in behaviors like excessive handwashing or avoiding other people. This could mean worrying about getting sick or spreading illness even when the risk is low. Worries about catching germs or a serious illnessĬoncerns about contamination - or germs - are common intrusive thoughts. However, the trigger might not always be that obvious. For example, a certain smell or place might bring up an unwanted memory. These intrusive thoughts are often triggered by something about the person’s environment. Some people experience unwanted intrusive thoughts related to past trauma. Unexpected reminders about painful past events Or they may cause you to doubt whether you:Ĥ. The doubts can be about big or small aspects of your life.įor example, intrusive thoughts might cause you to question your relationship or sexual orientation. Thoughts that cause doubtĭoubts are one of the most common types of intrusive thoughts. Violent intrusive thoughts can be disturbing if you are unable to brush them off. But having them can make you question yourself. These are likely not things that you want to do, and you probably feel upset by these thoughts. Intrusive thoughts about doing something illegal or doing something violent toward yourself or others are also common. Thoughts of doing something violent or illegal Thinking about your baby being hurt is understandably a scary thing for parents, who often feel terrible for having these thoughts. Nearly half of new parents experience this type of intrusive thought. Your thoughts may even be about accidentally or purposely harming your baby. If you’re a new parent, you may have experienced intrusive thoughts about your baby’s well-being. Seven common examples of unwanted intrusive thoughts are discussed below. There are many types of intrusive thoughts that can lead to feelings such as fear, shame, guilt, and distress. They may be violent, sexual, or otherwise go against your values. These negative thoughts are often about topics that you find disgusting, disturbing, or scary. But negative intrusive thoughts are the ones that tend to be the most upsetting. Intrusive thoughts can be about anything. You could even consider some of them “junk” thoughts, meaning they are random or meaningless. Not all those thoughts will be relevant or even accurate. The brain generates an estimated 6,200 thoughts per day. Nearly everyone has intrusive thoughts.Īll thoughts are the result of brain activity. Intrusive thoughts are unwanted thoughts that seem to pop up out of the blue. These are what’s known as intrusive thoughts. Other times, they linger and may become difficult to cope with. Sometimes, these unexpected thoughts pass right by. But every once in a while, a random thought will catch our attention. Most of them create a background hum that we don’t notice. Each day, the average person has thousands of thoughts.
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