Intrusive thoughts: why they appear and how to manage them

Have you ever been immersed in a loop of thoughts that you can't get out of? Have you experienced the unpleasant sensation of not being able to "push" out of your mind an idea that hurts you? As if it were a catchy song, do you feel unable to think clearly because the background melody of some repetitive thought is continuously playing?

If you think these examples explain your situation, it is very possible that you are a regular victim of intrusive thoughts. Next we will see what they are exactly.

Intrusive thoughts

Obsessions They are intrusive, repetitive, and disturbing thoughts that linger in our minds for long periods despite attempts to fight or run away from them. They are those intrusive thoughts that we do not want to have, as we are aware of their uselessness / dysfunctionality and that nevertheless end up coming to us again and again, disturbing our calm and making it difficult to to concentrate.

If not worked on **, these intrusive thoughts can end up becoming the lynchpin of our lives **, because while we put all our attention on them, we exclude the reality that we surrounds. We feel unable to redirect our attention to other stimuli because obsessive thinking governs everything. Thinking and rethinking things is perhaps one of the most frequent problems in our society, being a source of

anxiety problems, suffering, disability ...

In what way are obsessions generated?

Obsessions appear because people have developed the illusion of absolute controllability. We want to have everything under our control because we have not learned to tolerate uncertainty, but this illusion collapses over and over again seeing that certain circumstances in life are uncontrollable, for example illnesses or other people's behavior.

Obsessive thoughts can also appear when we find ourselves in the situation of having to make a decision and not knowing what to choose within the possibilities. We go around it for days, months or even years falling into the trap of immobilizing obsession, without realizing that not deciding is already deciding.

Giorgio Nardone exposes in his book "I think then I suffer" that doubts are the launching pad for our creative thinking, but also the spring of obsessive thinking. In the first case the doubt is dominated and oriented, leading to the discovery of new thoughts. In the second, it is fought and repressed, and it becomes the tyrant that persecutes thought.

Since it is very likely that we will never be sure that the decision we make is the right one, it is advisable to take the time strictly necessary to assess the pros and cons and then decide, taking responsibility for the fact that we may have made a mistake and learning to renounce the path that we have decided not to drink.

Dispute between thoughts

Our conscious being tends to rationally reject intrusive thoughts that disturb us. It is normal, since if you stop to think you will realize that there are enough facts stressful enough for us to live in constant discomfort if our attention cannot disengage from they.

For this reason, it is likely that a fight between rational thoughts and irrational or uncomfortable thoughts is triggered at times. On the one hand, those uncomfortable thoughts, by "being forbidden" they have a lot of potential when it comes to attracting our attention to them. On the other hand, the part of thoughts and feelings that we can tolerate does not have to be strong enough to "cover" all of our reality, leaving no gaps.

However, there is the paradox that thinking that we do not want to think about something is already focusing on that. attention, and the frustration of wanting to erase a thought from our mind and obtain the opposite effect appears: strengthen it.

How can we manage intrusive thoughts?

Obsessive thoughts are a symptom that warns us of something. That is why one of the first steps should be to pull the thread (alone if we are trained, or in the company of a trained professional) to discover where they arise and why they are maintained and to be able to work on it from the root.

If we don't, the cause that pushes those intrusive thoughts into our consciousness will continue to do so, and not only that, but we will gradually succumb to the force of stress. Thus, we must go beyond the immediate symptoms and look for causes that explain this phenomenon.

In addition to this, we can use a series of tactics for managing intrusive thoughts appropriately and lessen its impact on our lives.

1. Unlinking thoughts

Discover and accept that you are not your thoughts. You do not decide what comes to your mind or not, but you can select what interests you and you want to stay, and the other send it to the SPAM folder.

When the thought appears there is no use fighting against it, it will become stronger. Find out why that pops up in your mind, and then decide if you want to focus on it. If not, say goodbye and see how it goes.

It is an exercise that requires effort and training, and it is normal that at first you see that the results are not as expected or that it is difficult for you to disengage. But if you work constantly you will discover that they end up losing strength and disappearing.

Carrying out activities that promote concentration, the attention and the self control.

Train your mind in techniques such as meditation, the yoga or the Mindfulness It will help you gain self-control over your own thoughts and you will learn to focus your attention on other areas when recurring thoughts appear.

2. Frequent physical exercise

Thoughts are energy, and it is much easier to control them when we have released excess energy that our body generates. Thus perform daily physical exercise It will help us to have a clearer and more relaxed mind and to reduce the intensity of recurring thoughts.

3. Daily dedication to thinking about the disturbing thought

If you have been thinking about a certain thought for a long time, and you do not see yourself capable of abandoning it without more, dedicate 15 minutes a day, always at the same time and in the same place, to think only and exclusively about it. You can take notes and write your thoughts to gain productivity, but as soon as the alarm that warns you that the quarter of an hour has passed, you can not think about the subject again until the day following.

4. Avoid continually talking about recurring thoughts

Continuously seeking reassurance or people's opinion is a double-edged sword. On the other hand it produces a temporary tranquility or "relief" but on the other hand it encourages and reinforces the maintenance of the problem as well as the feeling that we are not capable of solving it ourselves, which generates feelings of low self-esteem and dependence interpersonal.

When is it necessary to contact a professional?

If the recurring thoughts have turned into an obsessive vicious circle that you cannot let go of, they affect your daily life and considerably reduce your quality of life, It is recommended that you visit a specialist with whom you can analyze your situation, discover the causes of the appearance and maintenance of obsessions, and learn tools that will help you learn to think healthier and more effectively on your own.