Am I really in control?

[Hivenburs]

Are we all genuinely in control of our thoughts? Especially when we are anxious.. I am always afraid that im not actually in control.. It really does feel that way sometimes

[Fishmanpa]

IMO, no, and that's the very definition of anxiety, OCD, HA, depression etc. The rational thoughts are there and you can hear them but they seem to be just out of reach.

I also believe that with therapy and meds if needed, one can learn to control the spirals of irrationality when they happen.

Positive thoughts

[MyNameIsTerry]

I want to be careful here because your post is a bit vague.

If you are asking whether you could act out a thought without control because of anxiety, no, you have full control. The conscious mind is the executive function which chooses to act or not. Intrusive thoughts don't make people act, they have to choose to act on them.

If you are asking whether you can control thoughts to stop them coming in the first place, no, you can't. Intrusive thoughts will actually worsen if you try to. There are studies backing this. Think of the polar bear example, you tell yourself not to think of one and so you start thinking of one. You are telling your mind to work harder whereas if you had not bothered, it wouldn't have even committed more processing to it to generate it. There is also emerging science into "Mind Pops" too which we can't control as they will simply be triggered by something we hear, see, smell, etc.