Psychology Today: How to Manage Intrusive Thoughts
"Intrusive thoughts can feel overwhelming. They can cause a lot of obsessing, a lot of distress, and a lot of trying to control things around you. These thoughts can be about anything and pop up at any time.
Practicing self-awareness when demanding thoughts arise is the first step in learning to manage them. Once you are aware of a thought pattern, you can more easily redirect it. Here are some tips that I’ve learned to help redirect my thoughts:
- Engage in a physical activity. Looking at my to-do list and trying to attack something from that only leads to more stress for me when I have multiple intrusive thoughts. But also doing too little in that moment (like sitting and watching TV) allows for more room for the thoughts to grow. So I take a step back and do something simple enough to distract my mind, but that also keeps my body moving.
- Engage in a sensory activity. I like to think of very basic activities here. These can seem child-like, but personally I can’t think of a time in my life when I was more present than when I was a child. I like playing with slime.
- Write it down. The thoughts that are most demanding of my attention often feel so urgent to do something about, even when I know there is nothing I can do in that moment. So I write it down as a reminder, so that my mind can rest easy that I will address it if need be in the future.
- Set specific times to spend on those thoughts. A previous psychiatrist of mine used to call this “worry time.” He suggested making a deal with myself that I could worry about whatever my mind wanted to after sending an email, finishing a homework assignment, etc. I would then be able to worry for a period of time without having to think about anything else but that worry.
- Set specific times to disengage. I set time limits now for social media, and I set evening hours only for relaxing and engaging in what I want to"
Read the article here!
Reflection;
- Intrusive thoughts can pop up anytime and trying to fight them can be very stressful
- Self-awareness helps in managing intrusive thoughts
- Techniques like writing down our thoughts help us to 'rest' our mind
Do you have intrusive thoughts often? What do you do to manage them?
#IntrusiveThoughts #SelfAwareness #Stress #MentalHealth
@comfortableNight4463
Fabulous article and reflection, Night, thankyou for making this post. ❤
It either helps to engage in thoughts and deal with them actively, or if it is too overwhelming then helps to first ground ourselves and then work on managing the emotions.
@Sunisshiningandsoareyou You're most welcome! Exactly, Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
@comfortableNight4463
I'm thankful to not have many intrusive thoughts often, but when I do they do hit like a truck in the sense that they keep coming to haunt me and bother me for days at a time.
I think one of the ways to deal with intrusive thoughts is think why they're so intrusive in the first place, once I target the reason it's easier to focus on that instead of actually dealing with the thought. Additionally I like to distract myself with something the time it does come whether it be going to the gym and doing something fun or hanging out with my friends.
@sunnyWriting4806 You are dealing with it really well. I agree, in order to find a solution, it's always important to get to the root. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience!
@comfortableNight4463 Thanks for raising awareness to intrusive thoughts! I definitely struggle with them and I have been for years. When I first had those really scary ones, it was so hard because I was so terrified and I had to learn what I was dealing with. Shortly after, I was diagnosed with OCD. I struggle a lot with intrusive thoughts when I can't sleep and I toss and turn until I don't know what to do. Usually I go for a walk or watch a nice show!