What Are Intrusive Thoughts?

If you often get unwanted thoughts about driving your car off the road, or worrying that you might have left the stove on, or of harming yourself for other people, you might be experiencing intrusive thoughts.

They’re typically nothing to worry about, but if they’ve begun to take a toll on your daily life, then they are a problem that therapy techniques can help to alleviate.

What are intrusive thoughts a sign of? Typically, they can be spurred by bouts of extreme stress or anxiety, but trauma and OCD can also cause these thoughts to occur.

This article will help you identify what these thoughts are, whether you are experiencing them—as opposed to impulsive or other types of thoughts—and how to help cope with them.

Let’s dive in.

Intrusive Thoughts Definition

Intrusive thoughts can best be defined as unwanted or distressing thoughts (or simply images) that pop into your head, almost at random. While many of us get them on occasion, for some, who find themselves obsessing over them regularly, they can become a true problem.

Common Types of Intrusive Thoughts

Intrusive thoughts can take a variety of forms, and technically, any thought that makes you uncomfortable and unwanted can be considered an intrusive thought; however, these thoughts take on a few common forms. Let’s explore a few of the broader categories in more detail:

● Violent thoughts: Naturally, these intrusive thoughts involve you thinking about dolling out harm to either yourself or someone else.

● Phobias: If you have any fears, you’re more likely to experience intrusive thoughts that are based around those fears, such as the fear of the dark, heights, or spiders.

● Hypocondrial thoughts: If you constantly think about germs and uncleanliness, worried that you might get sick or spread disease, you might suffer from hypocondrial intrusive thoughts.

● Spiritual and moral thoughts: These intrusive thoughts see you grappling with violating the key aspects of your spiritual, religious, and moral beliefs.

● Sexual thoughts: Not to be confused with amorous thoughts about your partner, these intrusive thoughts are focused on the inappropriate or taboo.

● Existential dread: Lastly, these intrusive thoughts revolve around life, the universe, and everything.

No matter what type you’re experiencing, it’s integral to remember that the intrusive thoughts meaning is simple: they are unwanted and do not represent your true internal desires.

Intrusive Thoughts vs. Impulsive Thoughts

We’ve established the intrusive thoughts definition, but it’s also important to clarify that intrusive thoughts differ from impulsive thoughts. The former is wholly unwanted, and the mere thought of them is enough to leave reeling. Impulsive thoughts are, conversely, fun by comparison.

If you’ve ever been at the grocery store and been exceedingly tempted to grab a candy bar on the way out—or to make a splurge purchase right after you’ve been paid—then you’ve experienced an impulsive thought.

While intrusive thoughts would most likely have a vastly negative impact on your life, impulsive thoughts can be much more neutral or even positive, such as an impulsive thought to call your mother because you miss her.

What Causes Intrusive Thoughts?

The first step toward learning how to deal with intrusive thoughts is to understand what exactly causes them. Let’s dig into not only the root causes, but also obsessive-compulsive disorder, which can also lead to excessive intrusive thoughts.

Root Causes of Intrusive Thoughts

A wide range of mental health factors can contribute to an increase in intrusive thoughts, including:

● Anxiety and stress: While just about anyone can occasionally have an intrusive thought or two, heightened levels of stress and anxiety can experience even more of them, especially ones focused on what’s driving your stress and anxiety.

● Trauma and PTSD: If you’ve experienced traumas in your past, especially ones that have caused you to develop PTSD, then intrusive thoughts centered around those experiences are more likely.

● Depression and low self-esteem: Depression can heighten already low self-esteem, drawing even more attention to your worries and fears, which can manifest as intrusive thoughts.

● Brain chemistry: Unfortunately for some of us, our brains are just naturally wired to be more susceptible to intrusive thoughts.

No matter what the root cause of your intrusive thoughts might be, Serenity Space Therapy can help guide you through these struggles so that you can find actionable ways to not only minimize intrusive thoughts—but maybe even put a stop to them.

OCD and Intrusive Thoughts

In addition to the root causes mentioned above, intrusive thoughts are also common to those with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). That’s due to the nature of this disorder: when someone obsesses over something, it can easily manifest as OCD intrusive thoughts.

Take, for instance, germs. Many with OCD will obsess over cleanliness and come down with sickness. So not only will they be compelled to wash their hands over and over, they’ll also experience intrusive thoughts about germs and getting sick.

Ultimately, though anyone can experience intrusive thoughts, the nature of OCD makes those with this disorder more likely to receive them.

Examples of Intrusive Thoughts

Now that we’ve established what intrusive thoughts are and some common root causes—and that anyone can experience them once in a while—let’s explore some common intrusive thought examples.

Common Intrusive Thought Patterns

While any unwanted thought that serves to only distress could, in theory, be considered an intrusive thought, there are a few common patterns among those who regularly have them come to mind.

Though they can vary a little between men and women, here are some of the common ones:

Thoughts of harming themselves or others with a vehicle, including incidents like:
a. Driving off the road
b. Driving into oncoming traffic
c. Swerving into people or animals
Forgetting to turn the stove/oven off
Forgetting to lock the door and worrying about a burglar
Jumping from inordinate heights
Insulting others, from family to strangers
Seeing strangers naked, although this one is more common in men
Public sex, another one more common to men
Contracting a sexually transmitted disease, more common to women

Ultimately, as we stated, this truly only scratches the surface, but typically, intrusive thoughts revolve around either embarrassing or dangerous situations.

What Intrusive Thoughts Are Not

Now that we’ve properly gone over what intrusive thoughts are, let’s briefly touch on what exactly they aren’t. In other words, what are some common misconceptions about intrusive thoughts that are worth dispelling?

For starters, don’t feel embarrassed about what intrusive thoughts you might be experiencing. They do not represent who you are as a person; if anything, you could almost consider them the opposite of who you are as a person—if they aren’t just completely irrelevant.

You might have heard gossip that intrusive thoughts represent a dangerous or immoral person, which isn’t the case at all. If you’re experiencing them, you don’t need to worry much about spiraling down a destructive hole. Likewise, if someone you know is struggling with intrusive thoughts, you needn’t be afraid of them, as these thoughts are likely never to be acted upon.

If you’re located in Arizona or Florida and need further help coping with intrusive thoughts, reach out to Serenity Space Therapy today, and our talented counselors will instruct you on the best way to move forward.

How to Stop Intrusive Thoughts

Though intrusive thoughts are nothing to truly worry about—nor are they indicators of who you are as a person—they still, for lack of a better word, suck. So, it’s understandable if you want to take steps to put a stop to them. The best way to start is to acknowledge that thoughts are just that … thoughts. They only exist in your head, and aren’t something that has any power or influence over the real world.

Here at Serenity Space Therapy, we implore a host of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques that can help teach you how to stop intrusive thoughts. Although you can pursue some of these without professional help, to truly see them at their most effective, a trained therapist is required.

Be mindful: Practicing mindfulness can be a great way to help accept, and eventually minimize and stop your intrusive thoughts. For the uninitiated, mindfulness is the act of acknowledging and paying attention to your thoughts without showing any judgment toward them. Just see that they are there, without reacting. Try to approach them with an open mind so that you can accept them. Lastly, you can focus on the present moment, and not necessarily what the intrusive thoughts are showing you.

Next, cognitive restructuring can prove to be exceedingly helpful in cases of intrusive thoughts. This technique aims to identify and change negative thought patterns, like the ones borne of intrusive thoughts. Cognitive restructuring is a long-term process, but with professional help, it allows you to find the error in your thinking that leads to negative thought patterns and replace those with something more positive.

Lastly, exposure and response prevention (ERP) can prove to be another great way of learning how to control intrusive thoughts. Exposure therapy will take those thoughts and have you face them through controlled and monitored exposure.

This form of therapy is especially useful for intrusive thoughts that prove to be extra sticky—ones that refuse to go away no matter what you do. With ERP, a person is confronted with the topic of their intrusive thought, and rather than giving in to their compulsions, they must instead sit with them. The goal here is to show the person that the things they fear from their intrusive thoughts are not likely to actually happen.

Seeking Support for Intrusive Thoughts

Sure, everyone can experience the occasional intrusive thought and go on with life none the wiser, but for some people, they become an actual problem—and when that happens, it’s perfectly fine to look for support.

When to Consult a Professional

Once your intrusive thoughts have begun to impact your daily life, it’s time to consider seeking professional help. That includes avoiding situations that might trigger intrusive thoughts and when the thoughts themselves are so distressing that they impact your daily life. If you find that your relationships, personal ones or at work, are affected by your intrusive thoughts, that’s also an indicator to seek professional help.

Coping Strategies for Long-Term Relief

Coping with intrusive thoughts can prove to be an involved long-term process, but luckily, there are some actionable strategies that can certainly help. In particular, taking steps to increase your emotional resilence can prove to be especially effective. You can do this by practicing the mindfulness that we discussed above, while also fostering a level of self-compassion.

Ultimately, for long-term relief, it’s important to recognize that thoughts are separate from actions. You can think something without worrying about acting on those thoughts. They are, after all, all in your head.

Conclusion

No matter how distressing or overwhelming intrusive thoughts may be to you, it’s essential to also remember that they are just thought—thoughts. However, by learning more about them, you’ve given yourself the tools to help cope with them more thoroughly.

Where your own efforts fall short, therapy techniques, especially cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), such as mindfulness, can help improve your emotional resilience even more. If you’re in Fort Lauderdale or Naples, or interested in online therapy, Serenity Space Therapy can help. Contact us today.

FAQs

They can vary from person to person, and truthfully, everyone can experience intrusive thoughts from time to time, but for those out there who experience them more often, it’s typically more common among those with high levels of anxiety or stress, particular brain chemistry, or OCD.
The actual answer here is nothing. They’re not a reflection of what you truly desires, or impluses you may ever act upon. If anything, they’re a response to your fears and worries, so they can be considered the opposite of that.
They can, either on their own over time, or with therapy techniques like mindfulness or exposure and response prevention. If you need help with intrusive thoughts, reach out to a trained professional.
No, they are not a premonition or intuition indicating that anything is wrong. They are simply misfirings in the brain.
Yes, since stress and anxiety can lead to an increase in intrusive thoughts, and exercise can help lower levels of both stress and anxiety, then by exercising, you can reduce the number of these thoughts that you experience.
Most people get intrusive thoughts from time to time, so if they’re happening infrequently, they are nothing to be concerned about; however, psychological factors like anxiety, stress, PTSD, or OCD can exacerbate intrusive thoughts, so if you are experiencing a lot of them, then consider seeking professional help.

What Are Intrusive Thoughts? Causes, Examples, and How to Stop Them