Obsessions (unwanted intrusive thoughts) and compulsions can be signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Compulsions are behaviors or rituals used to try and prevent a dreaded situation from happening. This can lead to distress, anxiety, and mental health issues.įor example, you might try to “cancel out” unwanted thoughts and fears with compulsions. Instead, you might judge them or take action to avoid or “disprove” the thoughts. But they can become a problem if they’re “sticky” and you can’t ignore them. Intrusive thoughts on their own aren’t a mental health issue. When do intrusive thoughts become a mental health issue? It can be difficult to talk about intrusive sexual thoughts, which may prevent you from reaching out for help. Some people have intrusive thoughts about having sex with children, even though they would never act on the thoughts. You’re not alone if you have unwanted thoughts related to sexual acts you consider taboo. Sometimes the intrusive thoughts can be related to a past memory - like feeling embarrassed as a child. Your intrusive thoughts may be about shouting, saying, or doing something inappropriate in a public space. You may have recurring worries about embarrassing yourself in front of other people. 6) Concern you might do something embarrassing These intrusive thoughts can lead to obsessive concerns about your health and result in behaviors like excessive hand-washing. Some people may worry about getting sick or spreading illness even when the risk is low. 5) Worries about catching germs or a serious illnessĬoncerns about contamination - or germs - are common intrusive thoughts. However, you may not always know what triggered or caused the thoughts. For example, a certain smell or location might trigger an unwanted memory. These intrusive thoughts are often triggered by something around you. Some people experience unwanted intrusive thoughts related to past trauma. 4) Unexpected reminders about painful past events Or you may doubt whether you turned off the stove, locked the door, or sent your text message to the right person. For example, intrusive thoughts might cause you to doubt your relationship or question your sexual orientation. Doubts can be about big or small aspects of your life. 3) Thoughts that cause doubtĭoubts are one of the most common types of intrusive thoughts. Violent intrusive thoughts can be vivid and cause great distress if you are unable to brush them off. But the thoughts can make you question yourself. Intrusive thoughts about being violent or doing something illegal are also common. 2) Thoughts of doing something violent or illegal One study estimated that nearly half of new parents had this type of intrusive thought. But your intrusive thoughts could be about harming your child on purpose. Your thoughts might be related to accidental harm.
If you’re a new parent, you may have experienced intrusive thoughts about your baby’s well-being. A few common examples of unwanted intrusive thoughts include: 1) The thought of hurting a baby or child There are many types of intrusive thoughts that can lead to feelings such as fear, shame, guilt, or distress. They may be violent, sexual, or otherwise go against your values. Negative intrusions are unwanted thoughts about topics that you find disgusting or disturbing. But negative intrusive thoughts are the ones that tend to stick with you or cause distress. Intrusive thoughts can be about anything. You could even consider some of them “junk” thoughts, meaning they are random or meaningless. Not all those thoughts will be relevant or even accurate. Nearly everyone has intrusive thoughts.Īll thoughts are the result of brain activity - the brain generates an estimated 6,200 thoughts per day. Intrusive thoughts are random thoughts with no connection to what you’re in the middle of doing.
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We’ll also look at what mental health conditions they might be associated with and how to find help for intrusive thoughts. Here we will look at some common examples of intrusive thoughts. But some people have a mental health condition that leads to more frequent intrusive thoughts that are hard to ignore. These are examples of intrusive thoughts.Įveryone has intrusive thoughts from time to time.
Other times, they might be violent, sexual, or otherwise distressing. Sometimes these unexpected thoughts may just be absurd. But every once in a while, a random thought will catch our attention. Most of them create a background hum that we don’t notice.
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