Wondering how to deal with thoughts

[The_raven_blade]

I have obsessive thoughts an I want to block them out, I'm wondering does anyone else have these problems ?

[diane07]

Hi The_raven_blade

We just wanted to welcome you aboard to NMP. We hope you enjoy your stay here and get all the support and advice you need.

Please take some time to read the website articles on the left as well for loads of advice and tips.

[Stormsky]

Obsessive intrusive thoughts are usually the complete opposite of who you are... i had them about harming family.pets and myself.... and i would never harm a fly, let alone those i love.... thats why they scare and disgust us so much, because they are false thoughts, and not who we are...
People that want to harm would actually enjoy the thoughts , not be upset by them... so for me, when they came, i just said to them, im not interested, i dont wish to harm anyone, i dont believe you, and your boring me now,,,, you cant block them, the more you try , the more they come.... thoughts only keep coming because of the importance you give to them....
dont be scared, let them in, rationlise with them that they are false...and then distract by go do something.....

[granny number 4]

i agree with you the thoughts r really horrible and mine was of suicide and that i wanted my grandaughter dead it freaked me out why her and not someone i dont like im the typoe of person that woudnt harm as fly and im a auxiliary nurse and love my job when i feel down the thoughts come back but then they go i agree with you everything you say and i hope that it has helped

[The_raven_blade]

they come when I look at certain things an then as if a thought springs into my head an then I think Im going to become something even though I wont, it makes you believe its going to happen doesnt it ?

So I have to distract myself from it ?

[Stormsky]

Yes the thoughts are scary...but its your fear of them that make them important...and makes them keep coming...
once youve told the thoughts your not interested and told them you dont believe them as its not who you are, you then need to go do something to distract yourself, anything really that stops you thinking... go clean something, go watch something on tv, anything that distracts from thinking

[The_raven_blade]

thanks for the advice I will have to put my mind at rest, its just a habbit of thinking thought I guess aint it ?

thanks for this, really grateful

[Stormsky]

Like i say, these thoughts are false and not who you are.... you wouldnt be posting on here if you enjoyed the thoughts would you?
so therefore they are just false and you dont believe them, and that way can let them go.
I dont think they come because of habit... intrusive thoughts just come, you dont intentially think about these horrible thoughts... they just pop in your head from no where, which is why the scare us so much.... as in, why did i have the thought, where did it come from..... but if you dont rationalise with them and tell them you dont believe them, then you cant seem to get rid of them...
if your having the same thought over and over, then i guess you are spending time intentially still thinking about it, and not letting it go, so that could become habitual...thinking all the time about the initial intrusive thought you had can become habitual i mean.

[The_raven_blade]

Yeah your right, I hate the thoughts, and I'm just dwelling on them. So turning over a new thinking pattern is the best !

[Stormsky]

Exactly you are dwelling on them and rethinking them over and over, trying to anaylse why why why....
You now know the thoughts are untrue, they are not real, they are not who you are, they disgust you... therefore they have no importance to you anymore, they are not in your best interests to spend time thinking about...
Just tell yourself that....

[The_raven_blade]

honestly thanks for this, what you just stated thats what Im exactly doing :) thanks for this, I analysed it way to much an let it get to deep

[Stormsky]

You go round in circles, when theres no answer to be found... you cant find an answer as to why you have these thoughts... so youve believed that they must be true, because you believed you chose to think of them....
but they are just intrusive thoughts that just come from no where... caused by ocd and anx... i recall i was just sitting watching tv, when the sudden thought of harming my mum entered my head.... i was shocked and neally sick... i did not intentially think this thought... it just popped in.... luckily, i read up on intrusive thoughts straight away and managed to let them go pretty quick.... i did for ages get thoughts of killing myself though, i couldnt pick up a kitchen knife without having the thought pop in....but i just said to myself...'thanks for the thought, but i actually dont want to die, so you may as well go away...... and now i dont get any intrusive thoughts.... im no longer scared of them, so dont get them
I guess that was a habit, as in because i always got them every time i picked up a knife, that it became habit that they came every time then.

[The_raven_blade]

yeah certain objects do bring them thoughts into your head out of the random, that is exactly what your saying is what Im going through, and as you mentioned with the tele an then bam you have a thought, out of the blue, its a habit of the mind. Im going to get my will power back an get this over an done with

[caroline-j]

I experience intrusive thoughts on a daily basis, and find them very, very, very hard to block them out.
The thoughts i have of harming someone, ie family or friends, feel so real, but i dont think i would act on it, and havnt done yet.
The thoughts are not the main problem for me, its the physical symptons they cause, ie chest pains, palpatations, shakeyness, aching limbs, headaches, nausea, knots in stomach, tearfulness and shortness of breath.
The most annoying part of all this for me, is when im in bed in the evening, i feel that i have wasted the whole day, worrying about my thoughts, that i never act upon and never want to. Tho i know these thoughts will still be there when i wake up and i know i will have to go thru it all again, its just so draining.
Im having CBT very soon, has anyone else found this works for them with intrusive thoughts like mine.
would love to hear about any experiences of success or failure of CBT.
thanks for reading, love to hear about any experiences.

[monika]

Caroline - I have not had CBT, but I have had A LOT of experience with intrusive thoughts lol, and honestly I'm doing so much better with them. The thought that I would harm family members in the past was excruciating. And even if I could convince myself I wouldn't do it in that moment, I'd always say Oh but in the future I might just lose it and do it! It just got to the point where I said to myself if I was crazy, I would have done it already...I've had these thoughts for years and nothings happened nor will it ever. My rational side kicked in and I knew inside I would never harm anyone in reality...but my mind used to create the most horrible scenarios and situations..gah.
These are just thoughts after all, imaginary notions that exist nowhere really, yet have the power to garner such a strong reaction from us.
To OP, the physical symptoms suck, so you have to try to have the thought and not physically react to them. i know when I would get a thought like that, I'd get a jolt of nervousness in my stomach and then my heart would race. I had to practice thinking these thoughts and reacting calmly to them. No, this does not mean you like the thought now, it just means you're desensitizing yourself to the power of the thought and not letting it get to you. Make it as if you're thinking about shoes or toast or something...just a random thought that has no effect on you!
Cheers, xx

[PanchoGoz]

I experience intrusive thoughts on a daily basis, and find them very, very, very hard to block them out.
The thoughts i have of harming someone, ie family or friends, feel so real, but i dont think i would act on it, and havnt done yet.
The thoughts are not the main problem for me, its the physical symptons they cause, ie chest pains, palpatations, shakeyness, aching limbs, headaches, nausea, knots in stomach, tearfulness and shortness of breath.
The most annoying part of all this for me, is when im in bed in the evening, i feel that i have wasted the whole day, worrying about my thoughts, that i never act upon and never want to. Tho i know these thoughts will still be there when i wake up and i know i will have to go thru it all again, its just so draining.
Im having CBT very soon, has anyone else found this works for them with intrusive thoughts like mine.
would love to hear about any experiences of success or failure of CBT.
thanks for reading, love to hear about any experiences.

CBT is seen as a highly successful option for learning what kinds of thoughts are unhelpful and how to deal with them. For example, you saying you have wasted the day is "catastrophising". You have to do your homework that they give you in CBT for it to work. See how it goes for you.

[caroline-j]

Hi Monika and PanchGoz
Thanks for taking time to read and reply to my post, both comments are really helpfull, im so hoping cbt training will help me look and analise things in a different way.

Take care both xx