a friend has got me so worried

[tricia56]

I suffer with intrusive thoughts and a friend I know has suffers with metal health for a long time and to cut a long story short a few weeks she couldn't stop wording about the births of her two young children and one morning she work up and she said that her mind told her to jump of a bridge .she is getting help now but yesterday she came to see me and she told me everything that happened and because she knew that I get intrusive thoughts and to promise her that if I get a intrusive thought to get on the fine strait away or tell someonebecause if I don't then in the end if I don't tell any one then I will act on them. I tried to tell her that this is not true as the are just thoughts and I am in control not my thoughts. But she said they are not just thoughts and it was her mind telling her to do it which is completely different from thoughts so now ive got myself in a mess with worried and thinking is she right in wat she is saying and will that happen to me if I don't tell anyone I'm having a intrusive thought,so now I can't stop worrying if she is right on way she is saying
Sorry for posting again but I just need someones advice if they can .

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi Tricia,

You were completely right about it, intrusive thoughts are just thoughts sent from the subconscious to the conscious mind. The conscious mind has full control over whether to act on them or not.

Intrusive thoughts are part of OCD, although all people get them as proven in studies, but anyone with anxiety can experience them regardless. I still have some very specific ones that I deal with but I've got rid of most of mine otherwise. In OCD it is considered very rare for anyone to act on their intrusive thoughts and this is because they are classed as "ego dystonic" which basically means they are the opposite of our true character, our beliefs, etc and this is why they scare or disgust us.

I've had the jumping off a bridge ones when I was walking over a bridge. I've had ones to walk into speeding traffic. I used to have them to harm people whether strangers or family and even wishing harm on them as opposed to seeing an image of harm. But they are just thoughts as you told your friend.

Here is another thing to consider though. When we are falling asleep, or within the first 2 hours of sleep, or when we are waking, we can experience various unusual cognitive, optical, auditory and physical phenomenon. One of these is hearing voices in our heads. This is known as Hypnopompia when waking and Hypnagogia for the falling asleep states. These are known to science as normal processes our minds go through during these states and a lot of people can experience them. They are not part of anxiety but anxiety can mean a higher possibility of experiencing them.

So, is it possible that your friend experienced something like that and because it was a voice she took it as a stronger command than her usual intrusive thoughts? I'm just wondering with you saying she had just woken up.

You see people raising threads about these natural mind states because they fear they are hearing voices and becoming Schizophrenic but they are well documented in these sleep transition states.

Please don't worry, you won't act on your intrusive thoughts. You proved that with your response to your friend for one. Remember that intrusive thoughts are sent to the conscious mind because the subconscious is unable to understand what to do with them and needs a decision from the conscious mind.

[tricia56]

Thk u terry for getting bk to me and feel better now you explained to me and said I was right and not my friend. I just couldn't get it out my head that she was right in wat she said ,I don't know why I seem to have a tendency to sort of believe that that person must be right in wat they say even tho deep down I know they are wrong, and seem to dwell on wat they said which makes me get more anxious and worry more not sure if that just part of anxiety or not.