Intrusive Thoughts: Why They Appear And How To Manage Them
Have you ever found yourself immersed in a loop of thoughts that you can’t get out of? Have you experienced the unpleasant feeling of not being able to “expel” an idea that harms you from your mind? Like a catchy song, do you feel unable to think clearly because the background melody of some repetitive thought is continually playing?
If you think these examples explain your situation, it is very possible that you are a habitual victim of intrusive thoughts Below we will see what exactly they are.
Obsessions are intrusive, repetitive and disturbing thoughts that remain in our minds for long periods despite attempts to fight or flee from them. They are those intrusive thoughts that we do not want to have, because we are aware of their uselessness/dysfunctionality and yet they end up coming to us again and again, disturbing our calm and making it difficult to concentrate.
If we do not work on them**, these intrusive thoughts can end up becoming the axis of our lives**, because while we put all our attention on them, we exclude the reality that surrounds us. We feel unable to redirect our attention towards other stimuli because obsessive thinking governs everything. Thinking and rethinking things is perhaps one of the most frequent problems in our society, being a source of problems of anxiety, suffering, incapacity…
How are obsessions generated?
Obsessions appear because people have developed the illusion of absolute controllability. We want to have everything under our control because we have not learned to tolerate uncertainty, but This illusion collapses again and again when we see that certain circumstances in life are uncontrollable for example illnesses or other people’s behavior.
Obsessive thoughts can also appear when we find ourselves in the situation of having to make a decision and not knowing what to choose within the possibilities. We think about it for days, months or even years, falling into the trap of immobilizing obsession, without realizing that not deciding is already deciding.
Giorgio Nardone He explains in his book “I Think Therefore I Suffer” that doubts are the springboard that launches our creative thinking, but also the spring of obsessive thinking. In the first case, doubt is dominated and oriented, leading to the discovery of new thoughts. In the second, it is fought and repressed, and becomes the tyrant that persecutes thought.
Since it is very likely that we will never be certain that the decision we make is the right one, it is advisable to take the time strictly necessary to evaluate the pros and cons and then decide, taking responsibility for the fact that we may have made a mistake and learning how to do it. give up the path we have decided not to take.
Dispute between thoughts
Our conscious being tends to rationally reject those intrusive thoughts that disturb us It is normal, since if you stop to think you will realize that there are enough stressful events for us to live with constant discomfort if our attention cannot be disengaged from them.
Therefore, it is likely that at times a struggle will break out between rational thoughts and irrational or uncomfortable thoughts. On the one hand, those uncomfortable thoughts, being “forbidden” They have a lot of potential when it comes to attracting our attention On the other hand, the part of thoughts and sensations that we can tolerate does not have to be strong enough to “cover” our entire reality, without leaving gaps.
However, the paradox occurs that thinking that we do not want to think about something is already focusing our attention on it, and the frustration appears of wanting to erase a thought from our mind and obtain the opposite effect: strengthening it.
Obsessive thoughts are a symptom that warns us of something. That is why one of the first steps should be to pull the thread (alone if we are qualified, or in the company of a trained professional). to discover where they come from and why they are maintained and to be able to work on it from the root
If we do not do so, the cause that pushes those intrusive thoughts into our consciousness will continue to do so, and not only that, but little by little we will succumb to the force of stress. Therefore, we must go beyond the immediate symptoms and look for causes that explain this phenomenon.
In addition to this, we can use a series of Tactics to Manage Intrusive Thoughts Appropriately and reduce its impact on our lives.
1. Disengagement from thoughts
Discover and accept that you are not your thoughts. You don’t decide what comes to your mind or not, but You can select what interests you and want to keep, and send the rest to the SPAM folder
When the thought appears, there is no use fighting against it, because it will become stronger. Find out why that thing appears in your mind and then decide if it’s best for you to focus on it. If not, say goodbye and visualize it leaving.
It is an exercise that requires effort and training, and it is normal that at first you see that the results are not what you expected or that it is difficult for you to disengage. But if you work constantly you will discover that they eventually lose strength and disappear.
Carrying out activities that promote concentration, attention and self-control.
Training your mind in techniques such as meditation, yoga or Mindfulness will help you gain self-control over your own thoughts and you will learn to focus your attention on other areas when recurring thoughts appear.
Thoughts are energy, and It is much easier to control them when we have released excess energy that our body generates. Therefore, performing daily physical exercise will help us have a clearer and more relaxed mind and the intensity of recurring thoughts will decrease.
3. Daily dedication to thinking about the disturbing thought
If you have been thinking about a certain thought for a long time, and you don’t feel able to just abandon it, dedicate 15 minutes a day, always at the same time and in the same place, to think solely and exclusively about it. You can take notes and leave your reflections in writing to increase productivity, but as soon as the alarm goes off that warns you that the quarter of an hour has passed, you can’t think about the topic again until the next day.
4. Avoid continually talking about recurring thoughts
Continuously seeking peace of mind or people’s opinions is a double-edged sword On the other hand, it produces temporary tranquility or “relief,” but on the other hand, it encourages and reinforces the maintenance of the problem as well as the feeling that we are not capable of solving it on our own, which generates feelings of low self-esteem and interpersonal dependency.
When is it necessary to contact a professional?
If recurring thoughts have become a vicious obsessive cycle that you cannot let go of, they affect your daily life and considerably reduce your quality of life, It is recommended that you visit a specialist with whom you can analyze your situation discover the causes of the appearance and maintenance of obsessions, and learn tools that will allow you to learn to think in a healthier and more effective way on your own.
