Intrusive thoughts!!!

[Sammy1988]

Hello everyone!

I'm looking for a little bit of information and help! I've been having intrusive (scary thoughts) for the last month or so,

They started when my anxiety was at it's highest, I've always been sensitive to people going crazy or harming themselves on the news ( no idea why) now the last month my thoughts all have a common theme "what if" I go crazy and harm myself... My dad died a year ago from a stroke but when he went to the doctors they told him he had "anxiety" turns out these were mini strokes as a warning.

I'm petrified of loosing my family/children which I think stems from my dad leaving us suddenly.

I spend most of my time on google looking for reassurance & can't seem to stop looking for reassurance from everyone else.

Does anyone else have this or have any ideas on how to stop the thoughts.


Many thanks :-)

---------- Post added at 15:55 ---------- Previous post was at 15:54 ----------

Also I'm petrified of what if I go crazy & in turn loose my georgouse little family xx

[Cambrian49]

Hi Sammy- I think this is something that lots of people go through especially if a loved one is ill etc.. From my experience talking to a counsellor helps and if you explain what's happening to a doctor u feel comfortable with he/she should refer you.

Kind Regards,

[Sammy1988]

Hi Cambrian good to know it's quite common! I hate intrusive thoughts I'm such a kind person xx

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi Sammy,

Do you have specific thoughts about harming yourself or others. This would be Harm OCD.

Do you have thoughts that if you thought something and now must cancel it out or something bad will happen or perhaps if you touched something wrong it could result in something bad happening to your family? This would be Magical Thinking OCD.

Or, do you mean that you have general thoughts that your anxiety could lead to something in the future e.g. if this carries on, I'm going mad and my family will suffer from it. This is more anxiety itself as opposed to the OCD forms and it's very common because we feel like we are losing our minds which could cause harm to the family unit.

Which do you think you are closer to?

Whatever the answer, look at Mindfulness meditation which has helped me greatly with my forms of OCD. It takes time to learn but it helps you to control your thoughts, to focus better and to let thoughts float through without emotional reaction. It is important that you don't react to these thoughts because science supports the fact that the areas of the brain that store memories, look for emotional content and then store those memories with the emotions so they can recall them later. It starts to become a cycle so you need to break it by giving yourself a break from this cycle and thats where Mindfulness can help.

You are not going crazy. We all think like that when we hit the worst stages if anxiety.

I'm very sorry to hear about your father. That sounds like a case of medical malpractice to me. The problem can be that if you are diagnosed with anxiety, anything that could fit into the range of those symptoms could be assumed by a lazy doctor. I get this with mine from time to time so I treat his advice differently these days. I don't think you should believe this is going to happen to you though but if its something that can be due to genetics, seek professional advice to get a proper answer to rule this out. If that persists, it may be that your anxiety has taken on a HA theme.

[Sammy1988]

Thank you so much for getting back to me,

It's mainly to do with what if I go crazy & harm myself, it's usually to do with stuff I've heard or seen on tv/news or be taken to a metal hospital, which in turn means loosing my family...

I'm thinking now you have said it sways more towards the anxiety type of thought.

[MyNameIsTerry]

It does sound more like an underlying anxiety as opposed to the OCD forms. I know I have felt this when my mood drops mostly because it just seems pointless.

It can't make you go crazy or carry out intrusive thoughts because these are all subconscious thoughts and its a scientific fact that the conscious part of the brain has the power of control over them. So, remember that, you are in control.

I think if you will see this dissipate if you tackle the anxiety itself. I found this with much of my OCD as well, CBT wasn't working by making a direct attack on it and I had to reduce my underlying GAD to see my OCD reduce. So, its very likely it would work on intrusive thoughts like yours that don't seem to be of the OCD forms.

[Emphyrio]

I experience harm OCD myself - it seems to occur when I feel physically agitated/anxious rather than the other way around. If I were completely relaxed (I haven't been truly relaxed for over a year) then the thoughts would not be an issue.

There are some good books for harm OCD - the Imp of the Mind is a good one.

PM me if you want to chat more about things.