thoughts

[carolynw]

Hi,

Has anyone had random horrible thoughts to set off an attack?
I was trying to sleep last night and random, not so nice, thoughts popped in to my head which then set me off thinking i was going mad and panicing. It took me over an hour to calm down.

Any ideas?

[Karen]

Hi Carolyn

This is extremely common indeed. Have a read of some of these posts:

Thoughts
Lets try to keep our thoughts in perspective (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=283)
Mind Games (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1789)
obsessive thoughts & anxiety (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3096)
Still suffering this damn "suggestive" thing.. (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4288)
How to CURE yourself ! The definitive guide here.. (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5357)
Its happening again ! (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6094)
Things to consider for success! (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6165)
[Link removed as post deleted]
Thoughts (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7187)
image projection in my mind (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7358)

Scary thoughts
obsessional negative thoughts (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3343)
what if I kill someone? (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1972)
Horrible thoughts (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5280)
Morbid thoughts (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5482)
just needing some reassurance i'm not alone (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6532)
Feeling lonely (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6820)
What's happening to me? (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7446)

Going mad fears
I'm new! (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3739)
http://www.nomorepanic.org.uk/lounge/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1299
Madness (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5154)
mentally ill?! worries (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5335)
Its happening again ! (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6094)
hearing voices (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7332)


Karen



Happiness is not a state to arrive at but a manner of travelling.

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough ~ Christine Cagney, Cagney & Lacey

[giddy]

Hi Carolyn - I find unwanted thoughts are my biggest problem at causing my anxiety - especially at night, like you. I think our minds are so exhausted by evening that its easier for them to take hold and harder to accept them for what they are - just thoughts!
Hope you managed some sleep.
love Helen

[sassy]

yes carol, when im tired and want to relax i start having terrible thoughts, then convince myself im going mad and need to be sectioned. the thoughts were the main reason i joined this site and since being here i have managed to cope with them better. sometimes i laugh when i start having them now as they are only thoughts and cannot do any harm. other times im able to change my thoughts to something happier or i work out what ive got planned for the next day.
just keep telling yourself that they are thoughts..nothing more. if you were going mad, you wouldnt be able to sit here and tell us.
xx

[ollie35]

Yes Carolyn,

I went through the same, here is what was able to help me.

Time is a great healer, especially concerning this condition. I allowed them to flow in and flow out and I didn’t react. When I did this, I noticed the scary thoughts seem to lose their scary edge. Stop fighting them, just say: come if you wish, I am ready for you. Do not be thrown by these symptoms or this experience. Once you begin to recover, the mind and body settle down and these overwhelming thoughts disappear, along with the anxiety condition.

Don’t ever tell yourself that you must not think these thoughts. Let all thoughts come; do not run away from any of them; see them for what they are, just thoughts, exaggerated because of the way you feel. They can do you no harm and they mean nothing. They won’t be around when you recover, so pay them no respect. The best way to alleviate these intrusive thoughts is to allow them their space by NOT trying to force them out.

Why not try following a negative/scary thought through and ask yourself, what’s the worst thing that could happen? Then ask yourself if it is really going to happen? Is this thought rational in any way? If you do this, you may find an answer to a thought you have been so frightened off, so that next time these thoughts enter your head, deep down inside there will be a part of you that can see them for what they really are and let them go.

Hope this helps.

Take care
Paul

[emster]

Hi!
i dont think random nasty thoughts when youre tired + trying to get to sleep are anything to worry about, i get them and sometimes just when i'm closing my eyes i get some nasty, strange and disturbing picture in front of my eyes and i used to be really frightened by them too, i'd never admit having them to anyone in case they thought i'd lost the plot, but then one day i told my boyfreind about it and he said it happens to him too sometimes but it doesnt really bother him much, i know hes perfectly sane and he doesnt even suffer from panic or anxiety at all to any degree and since then other perfectly normal people have told me it happens to them too, so this made me feel loads better about it and they dont scare me at all anymore cos now i know its perfectly normal and happens to everyone and isnt even exclusively a symptom of my anxiety problems. so i think the secret is to just ignore them, not think about them too much + not let them upset you (perhaps easier said than done?)
does this help at all?

[emster]

Just like to add that i think the reason most people who have them arent that bothered by them is because theyre not generally anxious and so the thoughts dont scare them and so they find them easier to brush them off and forget them

[jackie]

carolyn i , and many people , feel that anxiety and panic are the after effects of wrong and negative thinking

you are so right that wrong thinking and fear sets these horrible things off and constant bad thinking keep them coming, that is without a doubt

jackie

[carolynw]

Thank you all for your replies, i'm feeling much better about it all now.

Its nice to know i'm not alone with all this and not going mad!!! Its not really something i feel i can openly discuss and feel so much better for knowing i'm not the only one who gets these horrible thoughts.

I will try to remember all your advice if this happens again and hopefully i'll be better able to cope with it.

Thanks again
Carolyn x

[Rennie1989]

I get these thoughts too but they only set off some symptoms of an attack, not a full attack. I just take deep breathes and try to focus my mind on other things, works 80% of the time.

Scooties Back

[alexis]

I have to agree this is one of the worst symptoms I had/have. When I was receiving councelling we worked on it a lot, she said just think if it went to court what was the worst thing which could happen, well I took it through to the worse thing, lol. Now when they come 95% of the time I think that and it would be thrown out before I got through the door, they are nasty and awful but try to work thro them and dismiss them, it worked for me, after all they are only thoughts.xx