JasonB
08-09-08, 11:12
With regards to intrusive thoughts....
There may be a moral dimension to the response, for example: 'I am bad for having such thoughts and urges which I shouldnt be having.
Interpreting thoughts in this way has the effect of increasing the feelings of threat and responsibility, as you then try too hard to prevent yourself from having these 'harmful' thoughts.
Needless to say, it is not that you shouldn't be having such thoughts. On the contrary, as a human being you should be having such thoughts. You would be abnormal if you didn't have intrusive thoughts. The difference between you and others who do not have OCD is the meaning you attach to the intrusive thoughts, the frequency and distress associated with the thoughts, and the way in which you respond to them.
As many of us also suffer from anxiety and panic, I think that our sense of fear, and panic is a lot higher than those that "don't have OCD."
Which makes the thoughts a lot more disturbing, and hence we obsess over them, and they then become deep-rooted in our psyche.
But I think they can easily be stopped/reduced.
The first thing to do is realise that they are normal to have, but that we have no reason to worry. When we stop worrying, we stop thinking/having the thoughts.
A lot of what makes an intrusive thought obsessional, is our anxiety in the fact that it might return. Then.. when we feel anxious we try and prevent the thought... "Dont think that bad thing... :scared15:"
And by that point is too late. And its our anxiety that fuels intrusive thoughts. So don't work on trying to stop the thought. Work on the anxiety surrounding it.
Sometimes the thought will occur without anxiety. But then the key is to not react with anxiety. Because that set the wheels in motion to make the thought obsessional.
There may be a moral dimension to the response, for example: 'I am bad for having such thoughts and urges which I shouldnt be having.
Interpreting thoughts in this way has the effect of increasing the feelings of threat and responsibility, as you then try too hard to prevent yourself from having these 'harmful' thoughts.
Needless to say, it is not that you shouldn't be having such thoughts. On the contrary, as a human being you should be having such thoughts. You would be abnormal if you didn't have intrusive thoughts. The difference between you and others who do not have OCD is the meaning you attach to the intrusive thoughts, the frequency and distress associated with the thoughts, and the way in which you respond to them.
As many of us also suffer from anxiety and panic, I think that our sense of fear, and panic is a lot higher than those that "don't have OCD."
Which makes the thoughts a lot more disturbing, and hence we obsess over them, and they then become deep-rooted in our psyche.
But I think they can easily be stopped/reduced.
The first thing to do is realise that they are normal to have, but that we have no reason to worry. When we stop worrying, we stop thinking/having the thoughts.
A lot of what makes an intrusive thought obsessional, is our anxiety in the fact that it might return. Then.. when we feel anxious we try and prevent the thought... "Dont think that bad thing... :scared15:"
And by that point is too late. And its our anxiety that fuels intrusive thoughts. So don't work on trying to stop the thought. Work on the anxiety surrounding it.
Sometimes the thought will occur without anxiety. But then the key is to not react with anxiety. Because that set the wheels in motion to make the thought obsessional.