Intrusive thoughts

[Mlk307]

Do any one experience with intrusive and implesant thoughts. If I do any action, like opening my email or something else like DYI activities at home then implesant thoughts will come up in my mind, most of the time is is about my family, it could say that I have wished this things to my family...etc. then I have to Re-do the action when without this Idea otherwise I strongly believe that it is true.

[Weeping_Willow]

Unlike my major OCD theme (contamination with human bodily fluids but not germs per se), intrusive thoughts is one theme that had popped up periodically yet I have been able to self-treat well.

I have not had it where I had to repeat an action though, just the thoughts themselves, but these alone are very unpleasant and it makes you feel like dirt, I know.

The way I actually found helps is just don't let them bother you (easier said than done I know). The fact that they bother me so much means that they can't be in my nature and so after realising this I would just let them float by as they come and go. By doing this they become less frequent. If I dwell on them then I just think more nasty things and then it seems that they happen all of the time. So, when I go through stages where I cannot avoid them, by just not dwelling on them they don't last long and I won't get any more for ages.

[TomFed]

If you want to stop the OCD cycle, you should in no circumstances re-do the action (compulsion). It might give you short temporary relief but with every compulsion you do, you just refuel your obsessive-compulsive disorder. Look for ERP treatment if you still haven't tried that. It is a scientifically proven method to heal from OCD. Good luck.

[Sallyskins]

I have this, but it's something that can be fought. It takes a bit of effort, and there will be a lot of 'failures' on the way, but don't think of them as 'failures', just as attempts that are all part of the fight against OCD! Each attempt at not repeating an action when the intrusive thought come in is a small victory against the OCD - it means that OCD doesn't have full control of what you do!

It can seriously impact your ability to do anything - one of mine is going back and retracing my steps, which is bad enough in the house but out of the house can be seriously embarrassing! Crossing roads is one of the most difficult, or going in and out of doorways.

Make a list of things that are easiest to do, like making a cup of coffee (it doesn't have to be that - just an example) and not repeating anything. That means pouring the coffee or the water into the cup, adding milk and/or sugar if you take them, and drinking it - and all without repeating any of the actions. Don't fight the intrusive thoughts - just let them be. And afterwards don't ruminate or go over what you've just done. Put it out of your head and tell yourself you can think about it later. The odds are that you'll forget all about it!

In this way you can get used to tolerating the intrusive thoughts. They don't like that - they prefer to fight you for control of your mind, as it were! And the more you push them away the more they bounce back!

For most people, unpleasant or downright weird thoughts come into their head and go straight out again. They don't link them to what they happen to be doing while they have them, either. But for many people with OCD, it feels like these thoughts have to be fought back against, and that makes them 'sticky'. Instead of going out again, it's as though they stick to the inside of your head - and that makes you want to fight them all the more! And the more you fight them, the more they bounce back.

So making a list of things that aren't too difficult or emotionally charged, doing them without fighting the thoughts - just acknowledge them and then leave them alone - can get you used to tolerating them. Then they get fed up with you not paying enough attention to them and leave you alone.

As I said, it takes a lot of effort, and you won't always manage it without repeating actions, but the more you try, the more you succeed!

[Mcfly64]

Hi. I can relate to what you are saying. Are you seeing a therapist?