Intrusive Thoughts
Intrusive thoughts are any thoughts and images that distress and worry you. Obsessions are also called intrusive thoughts or intrusive images. An insatiable curiosity can also lead to compulsive behaviour, the behaviours you do in response to unwanted thoughts.
These thoughts may feel like they reflect poorly upon you. It is our goal to get you to see the different sides of these people and to make you realize that they may be simple-minded and do not reflect your true self.
What Are Intrusive Thoughts?
A disruptive thought enters your consciousness without notice or prompting, with content that is alarming, disconcerting, or just plain strange.
These thoughts are inevitable for everyone, but for some people, they become “stuck” and cause them a great deal of stress
Is It Normal To Have Intrusive Thoughts?
From one person to the next, we each have our interests, relationships, careers, abilities, and lifestyles. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is the disturbance caused by intrusive thoughts. Each victim is affected differently by this mental illness. Many people assume that hand washing and company are all there is to it. As much as there are commonalities in all instances, individual manifestations are influenced by various anxieties, which are based on what the person experiences in his or her life. Consequently, OCD is classifiable into distinct subtypes. Such classifications do not represent diagnoses. These are labels or categories for the many ways that OCD can be expressed.
Here Is A List Of Intrusive Thoughts
Although psychologists have theories regarding why intrusive thoughts suddenly pop into our heads, we don’t know for certain why they appear.
Lynn Somerstein (2016) recommends that intrusive thoughts being frequent or recurring may be a sign that something isn’t right or difficult in a person’s life.
They are probably trying to contain their anger over relationship problems, stress at work, or frustrations related to parenting. The problem nevertheless finds other ways to become visible, instead of remaining politely buried.
Unexpected thoughts may not have a reason behind them. Sometimes they occur by chance. Sometimes thoughts just pop into your head. As quickly as they appear, they evaporate.
Moreover, intrusive thoughts can be caused by mental illnesses such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Other health issues that might be causing intrusive thoughts to include:
- Parkinson’s disease
- brain injury
- dementia
If you have intrusive thoughts like these you may have an underlying cause.
- A brief moment cannot last forever
- as it keeps popping back into your mind
- overtime, causing distress
- that leads to a feeling of needing to control what you think
Mental health changes should not be taken lightly. These symptoms are also signs of mental illness:
- thought patterns that change
- obsessive thoughts
- about disturbing images
If you are having these thoughts, you should seek out a diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible so that you can start feeling better.
Types Of Intrusive Thoughts
There are many types of intrusive thoughts, including sexual, religious, aggressive or other types. Homosexuals can be obsessive about their sexuality.
There can be anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorders behind these symptoms.
Religious Thoughts
Religious people and figures are often seen as objects of inappropriate sexual thoughts. During prayer or worship, swearing is common. A strong urge to behave inappropriately during the period of offerings. It is often challenging to peer into the innocent minds of those with whom I work. Peering at those people may be extra than likely to signify that they must be mentally ill if they have such an outlook in their lives.
Sexual Thoughts
A sexual obsession is an intrusive thought or image of “touching, kissing, fondling, or raping” “strangers, coworkers, mothers, fathers, children, grandchildren, siblings, or religious figures,” with either “heterosexual or homosexual content.”
It is usually associated with extreme arousal that makes these thoughts extraordinarily distressing. The concept of performing an act, even if you have not done it, can cause you to feel arousal.
Aggressive Thoughts
Those suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorders may also have aggressive thoughts. It is common to imagine that someone is doing violent/aggressive things when they are having these thoughts.
Violent Thoughts
Intense thoughts about harming others or oneself can also occur with violent obsessions. Usually, they are caused by obsessive-compulsive disorders. You may have thoughts about harming a child, jumping off a high bridge or through a tall structure, doing the daredevil thing, running in front of a car, or pushing everyone aside.
Here Are A Few Common Non-secular Obsessions
- Adorable images or thoughts during prayer or meditation.
- Sexual thoughts about saints, Christ, and spiritual figures.
- Constant, intrusive, and repetitive blasphemy.
- A fear of forgetting to pray or misreciting it.
- The feeling of possessiveness.
- Sins and breakages of spiritual law, or the incorrect presentation of a ritual.
- In the course of spiritual offerings, urges to commit blasphemy or to say blasphemous phrases.
Psychiatric Disorders Including Intrusive Thoughts
While it is perfectly normal to experience intrusive thoughts now and then, if these intrusive thoughts keep coming back to you or if you dwell on them, you may be suffering from one of the disorders we discussed earlier.
Six disorders that are characterized by intrusive thoughts will be presented in this section:
- Depression
- ADHD
- Anxiety
- TSD
- OCD
- Bipolar Disorder
1- Intrusive Thoughts & Depression
People with depression may also be affected by intrusive thoughts when they suffer from anxiety or OCD.
Intrusive thoughts which are specifically depressive tend to cause depression, especially when they repeat repeatedly. Rumination is the act of repetitively thinking about depression. Ruminations are behaviours or thoughts that people focus on and address like a dog with a bone. Despite numerous attempts at finding a solution, they never really succeed (Smith, 2017).
2- Intrusive Thoughts and ADHD
Everyone with ADHD, or anyone who knows someone with ADHD, should recognize that last bit.
Paying attention is one of the most common symptoms of ADHD even when distractions are not obvious. The focus seems to be one of the biggest problems with ADHD. Those suffering from the disorder are also frequently plagued by persistent, intrusive or disturbing thoughts.
3- Intrusive Thoughts and Anxiety
OCD sufferers are more likely to experience intrusive thoughts that are graphic, violent, or inappropriate, while people suffering from anxiety are more likely to experience less intense (but still unwanted) intrusive thoughts.
Individuals suffering from anxiety disorders such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) might become concerned for the safety of their loved ones. People with social anxiety or social phobia may have difficulty moving on from mistakes or embarrassing remarks in the past (Calm Clinic, n.d.).
4- Intrusive Thoughts and PTSD
Intrusive thoughts are possible for people suffering from PTSD, but the thoughts tend to be directly related to the trauma itself rather than general speculations about what might have happened.
5- Intrusive Thoughts and OCD
OCD sufferers are all afflicted with intrusive thoughts, which are a common symptom of the disorder.
According to Dr Robert L. Leahy (2009):
You have some unpleasant feelings or thoughts. Is there something weird, disgusting, bizarre, or unwanted going on in my head?’”
Leahy describes negative evaluations of one’s thoughts as feeling bad for having them — you feel bad for thinking them, and you are entitled to them.
Whether you decide to control and shun these thoughts or get others to reassure you, you have a responsibility to address these thoughts.
6- Intrusive Thoughts and Bipolar Disorder
People with bipolar disorder may also experience intrusive thoughts, obsessions, and intrusive thoughts. The general belief is that a fifth of those with bipolar disorder suffers from intrusive thoughts and obsessions (Flanigan, 2017).
A person suffering from bipolar disorder can become trapped in a hamster wheel of obsessions, getting caught up in a new one every week or even every day-and ruminating on it until another issue arises (Flanigan, 2017).