Fear Of Killing Someone: Symptoms And Causes Of This Psychological Alteration
Obsessive thoughts are among the psychological disorders most frequently experienced by people who come to psychotherapy. Although they do not technically constitute a mental illness, they can be the symptom of one of them, as well as present a wide variety of forms.
In this sense, some people may suffer at some point in their lives from the obsessive worry that they are going to kill someone in a moment of lack of control, an intrusive thought that has to do with the fear of “going crazy.”
In this article I will talk about the fear of killing someone as a psychological alteration that may be a reason to seek professional psychotherapeutic help.
It is relatively common that, at certain moments, disturbing images about what we could do if we did not control our actions pass through our minds.
However, for other people these types of negative thoughts They stay in your head for a certain time in the form of obsessive and recurring thoughts.something that has a very notable influence on your mental health and on an emotional, social, family or work level.
The fear of killing someone is a psychological alteration that some people suffer in their daily lives and that can be placed within the category of obsessive thoughts. In some extreme cases, they lead the person to suffer suicidal ideation, since They begin to consider death as the only resource to protect their loved ones..
This type of recurring thought can affect any person regardless of their life circumstances, socioeconomic position or family situation, and is usually associated with high levels of stress, the fact of having developed a trauma, or other alterations studied by psychiatry and psychology. clinic.
The fear of killing someone It is an alteration that can be treated effectively by a qualified psychological professional.and despite the catastrophic thoughts that usually emerge in those who suffer from it, it does not have to be the prelude to a disconnection from reality or a psychotic pathology associated with schizophrenia.
Characteristics
The fear of killing someone is a very specific type of obsession, an intrusive thought that sometimes the person cannot get out of their head.
This obsessive phenomenon is associated with high levels of discomfort or anxiety, and in these cases, the affected person seeks at all times certainty that he has not lost his mind and real guarantees that that thought will never be put into practice. That is, he adopts a defensive attitude, trying to maintain control at all times, and testing his sanity.
This means that in ambiguous situations in which one’s own judgment cannot be “validated” by oneself, the person considers the worst possible scenario, which only alters their emotional state and further distorts their perception of what happens to him.
Thus, these types of obsessive thoughts They become stronger in the person’s mind the more effort they put into getting it out of their head..
Some other fears related to killing someone can be the fear of going crazy, of suicide, of running over someone, etc.
Possible causes
As I have anticipated, there are many causes that can lead to the appearance of this type of fear or recurring thought; Below we will see the most common ones.
1. Exposure to high levels of anxiety
Living with high levels of anxiety caused by everyday lifewhether in the personal, social or work sphere, is one of the main causes that explain the appearance of this type of obsessive thoughts.
Both anxiety and stress are true generators of worry, emotional or psychological discomfort and also obsessions that in the long run can decisively affect the mental health of the person who suffers from them.
The same way, having recently experienced a highly anxious or even traumatic situation It can also have an effect of emotional imbalance on the person to the point of becoming obsessed with very specific negative thoughts, such as killing someone.
2. Life transitions
Another cause of stress, anxiety or discomfort is usually the very important life transitions that occur in a person’s life at a given time.
These types of experiences or stages of change They are usually related to the death of a loved one, the birth of a child, or some important change at work.whether promotion or loss thereof.
Some important experiences can consciously or unconsciously leave a mark on the person and this mark often generates an emotional imbalance that can have very relevant causes for their mental health.
3. Know a close case
Knowing first-hand about a crime in which one person has killed another or simply seeing these types of events on the news, for some people it can be a great shock or a deep trauma.
In fact, some of the aforementioned obsessive thoughts have their origin in situations that the person has experienced and about which they become obsessed.
You may be interested: “5 signs of poor mental health that you should not ignore”
4. Detect any of your own symptoms
Some people can generate obsessive thinking simply by reading information on the Internet on the subject, informing themselves about the symptoms of a specific disease or detecting in themselves some type of real or imagined cognitive alteration. This leads to the “self-diagnosis” trap. by people without training in mental health.
This type of intellectual mechanism frequently occurs in people with some level of hypochondria or predisposition to suggestion, and they can often develop the fear of killing someone or any other obsessive fear.
Related article: “Hypochondria: causes, symptoms and possible treatments”
Little sleep over several days and weeks is often related to certain psychological, physical or cognitive alterations. That’s why lack of sleep can also be a possible cause of strange or unusual thinking patterns.
Likewise, some unhealthy habits such as eating little or poorly, not exercising or having a non-existent social life can also favor the appearance of negative obsessive thoughts, since when the body is weakened the mind is also affected and it is difficult to focus on the most objective and rational interpretation of the facts.
6. Substance abuse
Finally, it is worth emphasizing how substance abuse of all kinds can also very negatively affect a person’s mental health and be the beginning of a series of negative, maladaptive and recurring thoughts.
Cannabis is one of the substances most associated with the appearance of psychological disorders associated with paranoia and transient delusions.but the recurrent use of other classic or designer drugs also clearly affects the brain of the person who consumes them and can cause these types of thoughts to appear.
Related article: “Marijuana: science reveals its long-term effects on the brain”
Treatment
The fear of killing someone can be treated through psychotherapy; Psychologists have techniques and strategies that help people question their biases and confront anxiety and intrusive thoughts without giving them more power than they have, so that they end up extinguishing themselves and leaving just as they came.
If you are interested in having this type of psychological assistance, contact us; in Azor & Associates We serve people of all ages and offer in-person and online sessions.
