Intrusive thoughts are unwanted and distressing thoughts that can be caused by trauma or mental health issues. Nearly 90% of people experience them, but they become a problem when they cannot be ignored. They can lead to emotional, mental, and physical distress, and may require professional help. Exposure therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and drug therapy are common treatments. Intrusive thoughts are a symptom of PTSD and OCD.
Intrusive thoughts are unwelcome ideas, memories, or traumatic flashbacks that repeatedly find their way into a person’s thinking. This may include uncomfortable and disturbing thoughts about losing control, committing violent or perverted acts, fear of pain, death, or hurting other people. They may also include reliving unhappy or traumatic events and conversations, experiencing flashbacks of suppressed memories, or extreme anxiety about future events. While it is normal for everyone to occasionally have unpleasant, fearful, or disturbing thoughts, intrusive thoughts become a problem when the person cannot ignore them or distinguish between what is real and what is imagined.
How common are they?
Research shows that nearly 90% of people experience some form of unwelcome intrusive thinking. Most people dismiss these thoughts and quickly dismiss them as unreasonable, senseless, or too painful to think about for long. Others may struggle more and not be able to let go so easily. Compulsive, excessive, or anxious thoughts that overwhelm a person’s thinking can cause a great deal of emotional, mental, and physical distress. These individuals may require professional help.
Causes and symptoms
There are a number of reasons someone may have intrusive thoughts, but often they are the result of an extremely traumatic or frightening experience or mental health issue. A person who has been harassed, for example, may suffer painful PTSD flashbacks. Some people are consumed by these memories for several days, completely disrupting their lives with intense mental anguish, while others may experience intermittent, harassing thoughts that cause short-term anxiety.
In severe cases, an individual experiencing a flashback can reverse his or her role in a distressing situation. For example, a person who has been harassed may see themselves as the harasser rather than the victim. Others may experience the flashback as if they were a third person watching the event unfold. This is often because the situation was so traumatic or frightening that the person cannot relive it firsthand.
A person who can’t let go of these disturbing thoughts may have trouble falling asleep at night or waking up with nightmares. He or she may become anxious and suffer from panic attacks. Some people become depressed because they fear they will never be free from thoughts. In some cases, sufferers may try to self-medicate, using alcohol and drugs to try and keep the thoughts from returning; unfortunately, this often makes anxiety, depression, and other symptoms even worse. The disturbing thoughts can become so intrusive that a person cannot function normally and is unable to do work or perform daily activities effectively.
Psychological disorders
Intrusive thoughts cross the line into a more serious medical condition when individuals with certain psychological disorders are unable to live normal lives. Rather than dismissing mental images from their minds, these individuals focus on them. They are one of the main symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
People with PTSD have experienced an extremely traumatic event that causes long-term psychological problems. Sufferers often have nightmares, flashbacks of the event, and intrusive memories and thoughts. They often feel angry and hopeless and distance themselves from family and friends; they may try to avoid situations that could trigger memories or flashbacks.
OCD is typically characterized by obsessive ideas and fears that become overwhelming. These intrusive thoughts can be centered around a fear of germs, a need for order, or something more aggressive or sexual. Individuals may act on violent intrusive thoughts or may be obsessed by their fear of following them. For example, a person may become consumed with the idea of stabbing an innocent person and go to great lengths to avoid all knives. People who have this disorder feel a strong compulsion to follow their obsessions and can become extremely anxious if they cannot do so.
treatments
Mental health experts say a small amount of intrusive thinking is completely normal for most people. Individuals who are troubled by occasional disturbing thoughts typically don’t need any professional help and are able to rationalize their thinking and move on relatively quickly. People who find they cannot let go of these thoughts or are unable to function normally should seek treatment.
The three most common types of therapy for people suffering from intrusive thoughts are exposure therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and drug therapy. Exposure therapy helps the patient face their fears directly in a safe environment so that the person can learn to manage them. It is a common therapy for people with PTSD. Cognitive behavioral therapy teaches the patient to face her fears by vocalizing them or by confiding the memories to a mental health professional, close friend or confidant. This therapy helps the patient to recognize when thinking about her is negative or inaccurate and to understand how to better cope with situations that trigger disturbing thoughts.
Many patients suffering from underlying mental or medical conditions are also treated with medications to help them deal with some of the immediate symptoms. Antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications have been shown to help some people with OCD and PTSD. Antipsychotic drugs can be used in severe cases, but the patient should be monitored for side effects or complications.
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