Weekly Prompt #22: . Are there any triggers or patterns associated with your intrusive thoughts?
Welcome everyone, I hope you are all being easy on yourself this week.
A couple of weeks ago we discussed: How does loneliness manifest in your life during the holidays? Thank you to all who participated and tried. I appreciate you all. I hope you all find it helpful. If you didn't try or experienced any challenges while trying, please share them here and I look forward to reading and discussing them with you.
This week's prompt: . Are there any triggers or patterns associated with your intrusive thoughts?
This week I want us to reflect and explore intrusive thoughts. Paying attention to the circumstances or situations that tend to precede your intrusive thoughts can provide valuable insight. Once you identify triggers, you can develop strategies to manage or avoid them to minimize the occurrence of intrusive thoughts. Please take a moment to reflect and share with us. Let's get started and all thoughts are welcomed!
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The news. My predictions based on the news. Seeing those predictions come to pass. Seeing worse news. Making predictions based on the news. Seeing some of those predictions come to pass. Yeah, yeah, yeah I could limit my news diet and bla bla bla but my brain is starting to reject the whole notion that it is simply my “reaction” that is the cause of my distress. If I don’t accept the rainbow and unicorns ennema then I’m left with the cold notion that it really is a pop show headed this way on rails and pickin up speed!
@FlatenedByLife Thank you for starting the discussion, Life. It sounds like following the news has left you feeling distressed. Your mind seems to be processing some difficult predictions. What feelings are you experiencing as these thoughts come to mind?
@ASilentObserver No. Following the news isn’t upsetting me. The world events are upsetting me. How does that make me feel? Sad hopeless furious futureless robbed violated and gaslighted by people who say it’s not happening or that the real problem is something that has absolutely nothing to do with any kind of plausible reality! And having been so thoroughly gaslit I feel lonely for a world where people seemed to have a fricken brain instead of the damn twighlight zone episode where aliens have replaced people! That’s how I feel!
@FlatenedByLife gives you a giant festive tiny hug ❤
@FlatenedByLife sometimes I used to get overwhelmed by the world events too. Our country lies right next to Ukraine so that makes it even more challenging. But it's really hard to live in fear of what happens next.
We need to learn to let it go, because we have no ways to change what happens, we cannot affect it. We cannot live in fear that something happens the next moment and overthink when it happens and why. We need to focus on what we actually can change.
I try to focus on my kids and my family, that's what helps me not to overthink what happens in the country next to us. I know it's bad there and I hate to see all those people suffer but it is what it is, I can't change it and if anything happens, I cannot predict it nor can I affect it in any way. What I can change is: live my life as best as I can, try to enjoy every second of it like it was the last one and be there for my children and for my husband.
@FlatenedByLife I hear you Life. It can feel isolating when we don't feel understood.
I dont really have triggers. They just pop up randomly. I feel like my brain plays with me in how it can ruin my peace at that momento. These thoughts make me feel so bad. Any advice?
@shyWater9610 Our brains are designed to pay more attention to disturbing thoughts because they indicate a threat. We follow up those thoughts with “what if” thoughts. But we are not always fully aware of our thoughts. All we know is that we feel bad. You can learn to trace the troubling thought back to where it started and how it affected your emotional state with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
@shyWater9610 gives you a giant festive tiny hug ❤
@shyWater9610 It sounds understandably frustrating to feel like your brain plays with you in that way. these thoughts can pop up randomly and ruin your peace. How does it make you feel when the thoughts take over?
@ASilentObserver I'm not sure what to say to comfort the answers to this post so far, so I just have out hugs ❤
I don't notice a pattern lots of thing trigger me all the time, then in the following couple of hours I feel my self spiralling downwards. So I take a nap😁 doctor sleep always makes everything better again ❤
@Tinywhisper11 Taking a nap and getting some doctor sleep is a caring way you try to feel better again. It sounds like you experience difficult emotions at times that leave you feeling spiraled downwards. You deserve to be gentle with yourself during those tough times.
Being with large crowds of people indoors where I do not know the exits and work.
@akay06 It sounds like being in crowded indoor spaces where you don't know the exits makes you feel uneasy. You must feel quite anxious not having a sense of control or ability to easily leave if needed. What emotions come up for you in those situations?
@ASilentObserver thanks for giving us the space to talk about this, I appreciate it 💛
- The words "lost", "grief" and "suicide" are my trigger words 💔😭
- Pain is def one of the strongest triggers too. I have chronic back pain and my body sometimes hurts everywhere, probably because of the potential tetania. Like all the muscles, even the ones on my neck and face. I usually ignore it but when the pain gets worse it's really hard not to get overwhelmed by it, then everything else in my head adds up and I end up usually breaking down and getting an episode 👌
- Getting touched on some specific areas of my body which I experience my past sexual abuse on, without me feeling completely safe at the moment, gets my anxiety and trauma flashbacks triggered 😵💫
@mish3l The triggers you described around pain, words, and touch sound very difficult to cope with. The pain and intrusive thoughts you described can be overwhelming at times. Have you found any small things that bring you a sense of comfort or calm in those difficult moments, even if just for a short time Thank you for sharing openly about your experiences. It takes strength and courage.
Hi Obs! @ASilentObserver
Hmm, comfort 🤔
1. Sometimes watching the happy memories but it's like 50:50, either it makes me better or even worse. Def writing to friends or writing here. Some of them (my friends), however, have suicidal or self-harming thoughts so it's sometimes difficult to digest and find the right words to support them. We support each other. I'm stronger at talking about it than I was before. Currently I'm trying to face my fear and grief by painting, did you see my first acryl painting? I posted it in the Mindfulness center ☺️🎨
2. Painkillers and magnesium 😅 But I don't want to take meds all the time 🙈
3. Telling myself that I'm safe. I managed to prevent three anxiety attacks with this one 💪💪
@mish3l It sounds like you have found some coping strategies that help provide comfort during difficult times, even if only briefly. Painting is a creative outlet that can help process emotions, and connecting with understanding friends offers support. Maintaining safety is so important.
@ASilentObserver I have a couple of triggers some I didn’t even know I had till recently.
@GwydionRowan Thank you for sharing about these triggers, Rowan. It sounds like they cause a significant amount of distress. Reflecting on that may provide some insights, but only explore at your own pace and comfort level. You are taking brave steps in becoming more self-aware, and in time that often helps us feel more in control. Have you noticed any patterns around when the triggers feel stronger or less strong?
Also, share about other triggers as you feel comfortable to. No rush. I am here with you to discuss more on it.
@ASilentObserver
Hi ASO,
I think that's too broad of a question for me. I have intrusive thoughts about lots of things. I think that is PTSD.
@purpleTree4652 that is understandable Purple. How about you share more about PTSD? and we can go from there?
not a trigger about intensive thoughts just triggers in general. It just I get really upset when I found out the night before about a change in plans for that week.
This week on Wednesday I'm going to be helping my friend "G" get to her hair dresser at 4:30pm and until last night Mom was going to be home all day on Wednesday. But due to my sister's plans changing it means my Mom has to go visit my sister and drop and pick up laundry.
Now because I'm don't know what time I will be getting home except it will be after dark and the fact I'm will be really stressed out the last thing I want to have to deal with is thinking of what the *** to have to make for supper for myself because if I'm not getting home until 6:25pm or later the last thing I want to do is spend half-hour getting vegetables ready to throw into a pot or something for supper. I would get a Subway sandwich or Tim Hortons' except for the fact I'm saving my money for Saturday when I go and buy Christmas presents and i got fast food last week from BK
@Disneywoman Last minute changes to plans can be really stressful. I can understand why thinking about supper after a long day would be the last thing you want to deal with. It's hard when expectations shift and you're left feeling unsure. You've found healthy ways to take care of yourself through saving and budgeting. How are you feeling about the changes this week?
@ASilentObserver It just last mintue changes and the last thing I needed to add to my stress of dealing with taking my friend to the hairdresser is having to you know, have to deal with making supper when I didn't know what time I would be even getting home.
But I got to get Popeye's popcorn shrimp
@Disneywoman last minute changes added unexpected stress to your day. Taking time for friends while managing other responsibilities can feel overwhelming at times. You were still able to take care of your friend and have a meal planned for the evening.
I get upset when my Dad moves stuff around when I'm not in the house or off my side of the table.
Several years ago (maybe 3 years before Covid?) -Mom and I had gone to "Bard's Town" in our province to see some plays and I got a book which was a sequel to Treasure Island book. Now in the year that followed I had books carefully stacked up in the family room with the Treasure Island Sequel being on top of one of the piles (I think I had 2 stacks of books) and when Mom and I went to "Bard's Town" that summer when Mom and i were gone guess who moved the *** stacks and now I lost my *** books? And I also lost some of my classic "horror" novels (I'm calling them horror novels due to the fact the 3 books would come to make some of the most recognizable "horror" monsters in film history- Frankenstein, Dracula, and Phantom of the Opera) which is why i don't like Dad touching my books when I'm not in the house- I lose stuff like the Treasure Island sequel
Because no one uses the desk downstairs in the dinning room-originally meant for me and my computer but due to the wi-fi signal dropping between this room and dinning room I got moved up to the computer room instead- so that the desk ended up being a sort of messy bookshelf so to speak and last year in late Sept and early October Mom and I went on a 1-week behind the scenes trip of a 20th century police detective (one of the costars of the show has the last name of the fictional detective character the show's name after)-and when Mom and I returned home that Dad had tried to be "helpful" and moved the messy pile of books around he didn't even seem to care about the fact that a folder of my sketches of what is at the moment-only of my Mom's parents place before they moved (going to be Dad's parents' place at some point sketches-both are for trying to remake the buildings in a life-sim that's not Sims 4) - got stuck underneath a storage container of other stuff which at the time had some kind of issue like flour coming out of it someplace. Something *I* was able to fix a couple of weeks later when I worked on the container for a bit and was able to find the "problem" and deal with it. But now I have no idea where the book about step-daughters are -I can't even remember the time of the book about step-daughters at all-this is one of the reasons I don't like Dad touching my stuff.
I think the same year I got the Treasure Island sequel book- that when I came back Dad had put some "baby books" that I had originally collected for my now former neighbour's teenage children when they're younger -well Dad had put the "baby book" collection up on the ** desk and I already have a hard enough time in trying to open the window on the right side of my computer so i really didn't want having difficulties in opening the window on the left side of my computer so I moved the *** basket of books someplace else but I scraped one of my fingers and it bleed. Thank goodness I have tissues up here in the computer room
And also it seems like every time Luna (not the actual name), my sister comes to visit we always have to clear off the table and because we want to make Luna feel welcome it means any of my stuff-books, chocolate bars (we will come back to that in the next post), or magazines have to be off the table which is kind of ironic when it seems like about 1/2 of the time if Luna is here for supper that she's has to be checking her phone constantly. And yet if I want to read on a Sunday when my sister isn't here and my parents are watching some show on TV I'm not allowed to read -but no one's going to be talking about the news or anything when the parents are going to be watching (show-that finished this past Sunday). But it was REALLY annoying when Dad moved my stuff -I think I lost the first pack of UNO Cards because of Dad having to move stuff off the table.
And about 1/4 of the time he put them RIGHT in front of my sister's pathway to her seat - I mean come on?! You know where Luna sits at the *** table when she's home FOR supper so why do you put my books right in her pathway? And Mom and I always have to tell him "Not to clear off my side" of the table. And I think once he said something like "as opposed to?" I mean rude or rude?
@Disneywoman It is really frustrating when things get moved or lost without your permission. Having control over your space and belongings is important. I can understand why that would be upsetting. Moving forward, clear communication with your family about what matters to you could help avoid these situations.
@ASilentObserver I have tried clear communication and it didn't work with Dad. Like I said once we asked Dad not to clear off my side of the table when sister was going to be hear for supper and Dad said "As opposed to?" and Mom basically had to spell-it-out-for him aka as opposed to YOU cleaning off her side of the table
I hate the fact there seem to be two different rules depending on who is trying to watch something on TV. Like growing up whenever I tried to watch something on TV like a TV show like Wishbone, Arthur, or Magic Schoolbus (as a child) I would have to constantly ask my parents to leave the room, or even as a teenager when trying to watch Doctor Who when I was stuck between my parents on the couch- I always had to tell Dad to be quiet and not talk until a commercial-he couldn't even use a sulcabrush because It was interfering with me listening to the TV. But yet they get annoyed when I'm trying to ask a question like where the *** is a Kit-Kat chocolate bar I brought home from church on Nov 8th? I don't recall eating it and if it should be ANYWHERE it should be with the chocolate bars i got on Nov 4th when Mom and I saw Six the Musical. But when I was basically yelling at my parents trying to get them to understand the Kit-Kat bar was not where it should be my parents just told me to "GO HAVE YOUR (my) F- SHOWER" and then Mom yelled "WE WILL LOOK LATER WE'RE TRYING TO WATCH A PROGRAM!"
@Disneywoman I am sorry to hear that Disney. Having your interests dismissed like that can feel unfair. What was it like for you in those moments?
@ASilentObserver annoyed that I can't interrupt my parents watching their shows but they can constantly interrupt me watching something I'm watching!