Disclaimer: I am not a mental health professional. The tips mentioned in this post are my personal advice and what worked for me. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self harm please seek out a mental health professional for help. Intrusive thoughts are often quick and are always unplanned. Suicidal ideation is when there is planning involved. If this sounds like you please seek medical help immediately.
Intrusive thoughts are quite common for people with anxiety and many other mental illnesses, though it is more common among those with OCD. These thoughts are unhelpful and unwanted. They will pop into a victims brain and disrupt their peace. Intrusive thoughts are common among people though they tend to come in waves. About 93% of university students who participated in a worldwide study reported experiencing at least one intrusive thought in the past 3 months. Although intrusive thoughts are harmless (as long as they are not acted upon) they can be quite unsettling for those who experience them on a regular basis.
You Are Not Your Thoughts
When experiencing these thoughts you need to remember that you are not your thoughts but rather your reactions to such thoughts are a better representation of who you are. One way to separate yourself from your thoughts is by labeling them as an intrusive thought.
Don't Give it Power
When we have a strong emotional response to something this often triggers our mind to remember the event for a longer amount of time. If you have a strong aversion to the thought and ponder on it this can cause the thought to return more frequently causing you more distress. When experiencing an intrusive thought the best course of action is labeling the thought and letting the thought go in its own time. To let the thoughts go in their own time it is best to continue about you day as normal as you can, distraction can help you avoid actively pushing them away. This will help you let go of the strong emotions attached to the thoughts and let them fade out of your life.
Talk to Someone Trusted
Although intrusive thoughts will often make you feel alone, in truth they are the complete opposite. Most people, especially those with mental illness will experience them. Remember since they are common there is nothing to fear by reaching out, though it will take courage. Choose someone trusted like a friend or a counselor, someone who won't judge you. By talking about these thoughts you are able to take away the isolating power they have over you. Before talking to a friend or anyone other than a counselor, be sure to ask if they are in the right headspace to have this chat. You never know what others are going through.
Journal
I will forever recommend journaling as an aid for mental health to anyone who listens. One way I helped myself when experiencing intrusive thoughts was evaluating my core values and doing self discovery journaling. When you are more assured of who you are you will fear the impact of these thoughts less. Another way to combat these thoughts is by understanding why they disturb you so much. This may take some time for self reflection to understand. Intrusive thoughts are often a trigger for past trauma or come into conflict with one of your core values. By understanding why it disturbs you so much you take away some of its disruptive power.
Affirmations
Finding affirmations to combat these thoughts are one way of fighting these thoughts without engaging them. Engaging the thought may look like accepting that you are a bad person, thinking this is a part of who you are, or thinking these thoughts are in any way a representation of you. If you have a recurrent intrusive thought you may want to take some time to make an evidence backed affirmation to combat the thought. An evidence backed affirmation could look at the good you've done to fight the feeling of being bad. Others may prefer a more simple approach to affirmations that simply reminds them that discomfort does not mean danger or that the thoughts will pass in time.
Self Care
The experience of having an intrusive thought can often be quite stressful. This stress can cause fear of experiencing intrusive thoughts and therefore giving them power. To prevent this you can practice calming self care techniques. This will look different to most people. When I'm trying to calm myself down during or after a stressful situation, I like to take a bath and read a book. This will also take my mind off the stress.
If you take away only one thing from this post, know intrusive thoughts are common and you are not alone. If you are struggling please reach out to a mental health professional. Once you find the right one for you it will help a lot.
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