Many times when people think about anxiety in nature, they think about the physical symptoms that can feel debilitating such as: headaches, chest pain, rapid breathing, shortness of breath, panic attacks, insomnia or excessive sleeping, fatigue, stomach issues, sweating, and more. However, anxiety can also have a negative impact on other areas such as your thought processes. A common psychological symptom of anxiety is experiencing intrusive thoughts.

Intrusive thoughts are unwanted thoughts, images, or ideas that can cause some sort of harm to oneself. These thoughts are often times irrational in nature.  They can even feel sometimes disturbing. Some examples of intrusive thoughts might include thoughts about doing something violent, thoughts about leaving an appliance on when you leave the house, thoughts that you are going to get sick or that you have an illness, thoughts that you might do or say something embarrassing, having inappropriate sexual thoughts, thoughts of hurting yourself or others, and many more. When these thoughts come into mind, it’s common to feel guilt or shame when you feel these thoughts because they are usually negative in nature. You usually want to push these thoughts out of your mind, but it’s very hard to do that when they keep showing up repetitively in your thought process. 

Intrusive thoughts can be caused by many things, including increased stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, or emotional fatigue. For those who don’t have mental health disorders, they might experience these thoughts here and there. However, individuals with mental health disorders such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Anxiety Disorders, Postpartum Depression, Eating Disorders, and Traumatic Brain Injury experience these thoughts more regularly as a part of their diagnosis.

How do you cope with these unwanted thoughts? One of the most effective ways to treat intrusive thoughts is by engaging in some form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Engaging in CBT can help to treat the symptoms and lessen the frequency of the thoughts. When meeting with a therapist, they will help you determine triggers and recognize patterns for those triggers.  CBT will help you to bring awareness to the thoughts as they are happening, stop the thoughts, and redirect the thoughts into more positive ones that are more helpful and healthy for you.

Some other ways to cope with your intrusive thoughts is to engage in some mindfulness or grounding techniques.  Mindfulness helps you to observe your thoughts in a calm manner, bringing awareness to them without judgement.  Imagine a visualization of your thoughts on a cloud and watch as they pass. Don’t deny them and accept them for what they are.  Remind yourself that as the clouds pass, so do the thoughts.  They are not permanent, only temporary. Another mindfulness technique is the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique.  This mindfulness exercise encourages you to focus and engage all 5 senses.  First, identify 5 things you can see that make you feel calm. Second, identify 4 things that you can touch or feel that make you feel calm.  Third, identify three different sounds that make you feel calm.  Next, identify two things that you can smell that make you feel calm.  Lastly, identify one thing you can taste that makes you feel calm.  Practicing this 5-4-3-2-1 technique frequently, as well as other mindfulness techniques, can help to improve overall sense of calm and peace, and lessen intrusive thoughts. Some other coping strategies that could aid in lessening intrusive thoughts might be journaling, coloring, spending time with pets, taking a nature walk, cooking or baking, and much more.

Are you interested in Anxiety Treatment?

I hope you found some helpful tools in managing your intrusive thoughts or anxiety in general. If you would like additional information on anxiety therapy, reach out today to book a free consultation or schedule an appointment for counseling for anxiety that incorporates CBT techniques in sessions.