#How to Stop Intrusive Thoughts

[ocdanxiety018]

How to Stop Intrusive Thoughts and Obsessive Thoughts

Intrusive thoughts can be distressing and disruptive to daily life. They are unwelcome, involuntary thoughts that can be unsettling and cause significant anxiety. Obsessive thoughts are repetitive, persistent, and unwanted, often associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Understanding how to manage these thoughts is crucial for mental well-being.

Understanding Intrusive and Obsessive Thoughts

Intrusive thoughts often come out of nowhere and can be disturbing. They might involve violent, sexual, or blasphemous content. While most people experience them occasionally, they become problematic when they cause significant distress or lead to compulsive behaviors.

Obsessive thoughts, on the other hand, are a core component of OCD. They are persistent and intrusive, causing significant anxiety. Individuals with OCD may engage in compulsive behaviors to neutralize these thoughts.

How to Stop Intrusive Thoughts

1. Acknowledge the Thought: The first step is to recognize and acknowledge the intrusive thought. Trying to suppress or ignore it can make it more persistent. Instead, accept that it is just a thought and does not reflect your reality or intentions.

2. Practice Mindfulness: Mindfulness techniques can help you stay grounded in the present moment. By focusing on your breath or your surroundings, you can reduce the power of the intrusive thought and prevent it from spiraling into anxiety.

3. Reframe Your Thoughts: Cognitive-behavioral techniques can be useful in reframing negative thoughts. Challenge the intrusive thought by asking yourself if it is realistic or helpful. Replace it with a more balanced and rational thought.

How to Stop Obsessive Thoughts

1. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT is highly effective in treating OCD. It involves identifying and challenging the obsessive thoughts and learning to manage the anxiety they cause without resorting to compulsive behaviors.

2. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP): ERP is a specific type of CBT that involves gradual exposure to the source of your anxiety without performing the compulsive behavior. This helps desensitize you to the obsessive thought and reduces its impact over time.

3. Medication: In some cases, medication such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may be prescribed to help manage obsessive thoughts. Always consult a healthcare professional before starting any medication.

How to Get Rid of Intrusive Thoughts

1. Stay Busy: Keeping your mind occupied with activities you enjoy can reduce the frequency and intensity of intrusive thoughts. Engage in hobbies, exercise, or spend time with loved ones to divert your focus.

2. Develop Healthy Coping Mechanisms: Stress and anxiety can exacerbate intrusive thoughts. Develop healthy coping mechanisms such as exercise, meditation, or deep breathing exercises to manage stress.

3. Seek Professional Help: If intrusive thoughts are severely impacting your life, it is important to seek help from a mental health professional. Therapists can provide strategies and support to manage these thoughts effectively.

OCD Rumination

OCD rumination involves compulsively analyzing, questioning, or trying to make sense of intrusive thoughts. This can lead to a cycle of anxiety and obsession. Breaking this cycle involves recognizing when you are ruminating and redirecting your focus to more constructive activities.

Intrusive and obsessive thoughts can be challenging to manage, but with the right strategies and support, it is possible to reduce their impact on your life. Acknowledging the thoughts, practicing mindfulness, and seeking professional help are key steps in managing these thoughts effectively. If you or someone you know is struggling with intrusive or obsessive thoughts, reach out to a mental health professional for guidance and support.

[lunarobyn22]

Pictures Wind and Wild have taken, part 2

I can just hear the snark - “oh shut UP, Pretty Boy.”

Part 1

[kindaasrikal]

Garmadon is probably my favourite example of how intrusive thoughts are like.

Is he a little yellow (black?) lego man with cup hands? Yes

Is he also someone whose suffered from intrusive thoughts and desires that he does not want to do since young, and due to suffering through them for so long his resolve eventually broke to these thoughts as he became the one thing he never wanted to be? Yes, yes he is.

For decades upon decades he had to sit with thoughts and desires he knew was bad and had to actively resist against. Dealing with intrusive thoughts is not easy, seeing as it depends on a persons will power, their own self acceptance and awareness on who they are, and how persistent they can be.

With Garmadon, he had to deal with the shame knowing that everyone most close too him knows he has these thoughts and desires and that can way down on a persons self esteem and will/resilience, especially when you seem to be surrounded by someone seemingly ‘perfect’. No one actively shamed Garmadon for having these thoughts (from what i know, though Wu definitely hasn’t) but he probably had more thoughts about how everyone must be mocking him. With the intrusive thoughts getting worse as he grew older, and as his responsibilities grew heavier, there were a few times where Garmadon’s morals and resolve wavered.

Now remember, Garmadon probably already was a grey character (light grey) without the venom strongly influencing him because of the world he grew up in as well as having horrific thoughts since young, which could lead to a sense on normalcy of the content of them. Which could’ve led him to his actions and overall personality being incredibly light grey. The times he wavered were few in between, and i can’t list them all off since i haven’t read the comics, but the most notable one was when he went to go train under Chen.

The reason he might’ve done so could be a few. Due to Chen’s evil nature, he might’ve thought that it might help him in easing and handling these thoughts better. Or it might’ve been a lapse in judgment, or his morals tipping slightly to the darker side.

After all these sort of moments where he almost tipped to the darker side, something just had to give and push him over the edge of finally breaking his already weak grip on his will power to resist against these thoughts, and whatever it was broke it well. He attempted to steal the golden weapons, Kill Wu, and unlock his Oni side, despite having a baby and a wife at the time. And thats not to say Garmadon doesn’t care for those three. He’s shown time and time again that he does. He cares for all three of them and loves them as family. Yet, that doesn’t stop the grip of his intrusive thoughts, nor the easing of suffering mentally once he stopped pushing it down. He’s shown he cares for Wu like how a brother would (like a little shi, though i would say that Garmadon is much more willing to kill Wu then the other two), and he’s shown interest in Misako as a lover (no, i will not forget that straight up grin of his) and how he hasn’t actively sought her out to harm her, and how he has held back against Lloyd, only ever grew and broke free of these thoughts and desires because of Lloyd, and only ever found his true self and freedom and acceptance because of Lloyd.

Garmdon is very much capable of capable of holding back his evil desires and wants when he is given the right reason too, and that reason has always been his family as his SON. His BABY. THATS HIS KID.

But, Garmadon may have special genes and magic powers, but his brain is like any other humans. He was no longer able to fully resist the venom in his veins nor the thoughts in his head as strongly as he used too, because he is no longer young. He is an old man whose whole life was spent resisting a side of him he was horrified at, yet a side of him who he would never be able to truly hide nor resist, when that terrifying demon in his head is still a part of him.

I would like to say though, that while the intrusive thoughts themselves were evil and horrible and straight up terrifying, Garmadon himself never was that kinda person. Theres a reason why Lloyd is his son and why Misako chose him, and why Wu still respects his brother so much. Garmadon is a good person, in a situation he cannot control and a brain he cannot stop. Intrusive thoughts are not things you willingly think, they’re like a stampede of people running up to the microphone to give their own bright ideas all at once, all of the time, and you’re the only audience they talk to. Garmadon was subjected to that since he was a child, and that isn’t easy. The fact that he lasted so long, so many decades, resisting against them and holding himself true to his ideals and true personality is mesmerising to witness and think about. And to think that he can still resist, and then understand and grow with that side of him into a healthier and happier person who is trying, is definitely something he and everyone he ever grew close too wished for, for a very long time.

[sunlitlemonade]

i want to write jason & natalia but head so scattered.....

[sobeksewerrat]

okay so the world sucks or whatever, yk how i deal with it? I don't. I refuse to live in a shitty world so I don't. Oh that guy is being an asshole to me? Tell him to have a good day and walk away, no need to fight. There are a million different social rules I need to follow to be perceived as normal? ah, fuck them idgaf the people who like me will like me regardless of whether or not i comply with social niceties. The world's actively trying to convince me to be unkind and individualistic? Fuck the world! Who cares about it anyway- This guy doesn't like the fact that I exist? Well, too bad, it's kinda too late to abort me- good luck to him if he decides to endeavor time travel. Oh...so this shitty thing happened, right...well, there was this other good thing that happened let's focus on that!

[kallistoriae]

well. more dreams about [father figure] raping me and also hitting me. i don’t remember if he looked like my father but he was my father in the dream context. with weird sexual stuff about [mother figure - same idk if it was my real mother] too but not as violent (<- more consensual or whatever. not the right word i guess but i was actively involved in it and not fighting or begging for it to stop like for the rest) and she was also being abused by him. suddenly very thankful that my dreams don’t have much sensory details or at least that i can never remember any of those details

[bogkeep]

okay i am giving myself permission to not worry about anything other than my hairspring exam for the next two days. obviously worrying about the exam isn't gonna help me in any way either but i can't stop myself from being stressed about SOMETHING

[ustalav]

confession compulsions are the worst ones actually

[the-halcyon-effect]

i fucking hate mental illness. how the hell can i feel guilty about things i didn't do and things i don't want to do and things other people did to me. augh

[arayeee]

Okaaay. So I have chapter two written.. mostly. For She's the Death You Chose. Kara's own death and feelings etc have been written. It's short. So my crazy evil idea, is that I write out the "after life" version of Kara's. But what would that intel, you ask? I DON'T KNOW. Do I add in her parents and a happy life with Lena? Do I replay all the bad things that have happened between her and Lena? OH MY GOD. Intrusive thought. What if I don't write that. What if Chapter 3 instead of Lena saving Kara (which is what I originally intended) what if I pull a Romeo and Juliet and LENA DIES TOO. Fuck me. Okay. Someone take my typing devices away RIGHT NOW

[worfsbarmitzvah]

its crazy bc like. i Know that even the worst of my intrusive thoughts doesnt represent me. even when they occur in the most uncomfortable, offputting of situations. i KNOW it’s just my brain calling up whatever thing would be most horrifying to me at that moment. and yet i still feel like i cant talk about it bc of how other people who have never dealt with ocd would perceive it

[mer-se]

Aurora the precious 🧚🏻‍♀️ you are.

[himblebo]

Should I force myself to talk to women on hinge

[cohozuna]

[tricornonthecob]

Dearest Tumblr and Netflix,

I have never once cared about One Piece. I've heard tell it's a decent series, but it never crossed my interest. But that has changed in recent days. I now have a burning hatred for it.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing back from you!

Exasperatedly Thanks, - Me