{"id":101303,"date":"2019-02-12T11:00:01","date_gmt":"2019-02-12T11:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=101303"},"modified":"2023-03-09T13:47:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-09T13:47:00","slug":"what-are-intrusive-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-are-intrusive-thoughts.htm","title":{"rendered":"What Are Intrusive Thoughts? And How Can You Manage Them?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"what<\/a>

By: fady habib<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

by Andrea M. Darcy<\/span><\/p>\n

Worry that you are a terrible person because of the things that run through your head? Do you wish you could control your intrusive thoughts, but feel at a loss?<\/em><\/p>\n

What are intrusive thoughts?<\/h2>\n

An intrusive thought is a thought, urge, or visual that flashes into your mind unbidden, and that you find upsetting and unwanted. But you can\u2019t seem to stop it coming or control it.<\/p>\n

Intrusive thoughts are often outside of your<\/strong> personal values<\/a> and morals, and can be angry, sexual, agressive, or even violent.<\/p>\n

We all have a shadow side<\/a>, and we all actually experience intrusive thoughts now and then.<\/strong> We are so furious we imagine someone else dead, visualise our workplace blowing up, or even have a terrible thought about hurting our own child. Guilt<\/a> hits, our rage subsides, and the thought stops.<\/p>\n

But for some of us the thought doesn’t stop, it keeps coming\u00a0<\/strong>until we feel haunted. You might even start using compulsive behaviour, like counting, tapping, or hand washing, to try to control the thoughts. If your intrusive thinking is affecting your day-to-day life and capacity to cope? It can be a sign of a mental health<\/a> issue or disorder.<\/p>\n

[Worry your thoughts are out of control, really need someone to talk to? Find a therapist you like at a price you can afford on our booking site<\/span><\/a>, and get the help you deserve.]<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Am I a bad person for having intrusive thoughts?<\/h2>\n

No you are not. A thought is a thought, Again, we all have terrible, dark thoughts now and then. It\u2019s part of being human. Most of us never act on such thoughts.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you are in a religion that has rigid ideas on what is right and wrong, you might<\/strong> suffer terrible guilt<\/a> and shame<\/a> over intrusive thoughts. Unfortunately, guilt tends to make the intrusive thoughts stronger, and you feel worse. So it\u2019s up to you to decide if you feel that your version of \u201cGod\u201d really wants you to suffer so much for thoughts that you are never going to act on.<\/p>\n

**If you do feel you might act on an intrusive thought, or find yourself taking actions to do so, reach out for help<\/a> immediately.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Intrusive thoughts vs negative thoughts<\/h2>\n
\"intrusive<\/a>

By: Jenn Traver<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Is there a difference? If we are talking psychological definitions, yes.<\/p>\n

Intrusive thoughts are ones we hear loud and clear.<\/strong> They can feel like the voice of someone else running through our head, saying things we are not ready to accept we can feel, if we are still in denial of our shadow<\/a>. And intrusive thoughts tend to be exaggerated — really cruel, agressive, sexual<\/a>, or even violent.<\/p>\n

Negative thoughts<\/a>, on the other hand, tend to hum along in the background like a radio we don\u2019t <\/strong>realise we left on. It\u2019s only when we decide to tune in that we realise we are constantly putting ourselves down<\/a> or thinking in black and white, dramatic ways. If we were raised with negative parents, or were always put down by a caregiver, we might not even realise our thoughts are negative, we are so used to pessimism.<\/p>\n

What intrusive and negative thoughts have in common is that they are both just thoughts and both can be changed with therapy<\/strong>. Cognitive behavioural therapy<\/a>, a short-term psychotherapy, focuses just on helping you gain control of your thinking<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What psychological issues are connected to intrusive thoughts?<\/h2>\n

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) <\/a>is most commonly connected to intrusive thoughts. In an effort to control unwanted thoughts you start to practice compulsive behaviours like hand washing or counting.<\/p>\n

But there are several other mental health issues that involve intrusive thinking, such as:<\/p>\n