You may have noticed while scrolling through TikTok and other social platforms that many people are suddenly having conversations about intrusive thoughts. However, the people doing the talking might be getting the definition wrong. While some use the phrase to describe random impulses like flicking the lights on and off repeatedly or shouting in a library, that’s not really what the term means.
Intrusive thoughts are really more about unpleasant images or emotions that feel strange or disturbing. According to clinical psychologist Lauren Cook, PhD, “Intrusive thoughts are often involuntary, but they become repetitive and obsessive, with the same feedback loop playing repeatedly in your head.” Putting an even finer point on it, psychiatrist Gail Saltz MD adds, “They feel sticky because they’re disturbing and you often can’t get rid of them.”
Examples of such thoughts include:
- Germs or infections
- Violence or aggression
- Sex or sexuality
- Completing tasks or doing them correctly
- Immorality or blasphemy
While intrusive thoughts are quite common and experienced by 94% of the population, the ones that are particularly disturbing and ongoing could be linked to things like:
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Eating disorders
- Depression
So how do you stop these thoughts?
There are various types of therapies that can help break these types of feedback loops including:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): This method teaches you to change your behaviors, and in turn, change how it you deal with your feelings.
- Exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP): This approach has you sit with the anxiety and face your fears as you process them in real-time.
- Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): This method helps you figure out how to still "lead a valuable and meaningful life so that your anxiety, depression, or intrusive thoughts are not running the show,” according to Dr. Cook.
Meanwhile, therapy could be coupled with medication like SSRIs which work by balancing out the serotonin in your brain. Dr. Salz says, “Almost any of the SSRIs are known to be used and effective for intrusive thoughts because they will diminish the thoughts enough for you to really engage in exposure therapy and make further progress.”
Source: Women's Health
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