Intrusive Thoughts and Anxiety: how to get rid of them?

Living with constant intrusive thoughts or ruminations is one of the most unpleasant experiences we can live. They are thoughts that repeatedly bombard us with negativity and that lead us to anguish. Today they are, in turn, increasingly common. Why do we have these intrusive thoughts? What are the psychological factors that lead you to it? And above all, how to stop ruminating?

Intrusive thoughts or ruminations are always related to anxiety. It is the anxious states that trigger ruminations based on how you manage your emotions, character, stress, etc. In some way, intrusive thinking is the sign that it is necessary to undergo a process of personal change to live with more well-being.

Although on many occasions we cannot avoid worrying and thinking about what has happened or could happen, an intrusive thought is an altered and unpleasant state that has no function. In this article we are going to delve into what they are and why they occur, as well as their solution. We will see some tools to start freeing yourself from them.

Everything I am going to tell you is based on what we work on in consultation with people who live with anxiety and ruminations and manage to overcome the problem. Let's go for it.

The relationship between intrusive thoughts and anxiety

Intrusive thoughts are negative thoughts, ideas, or imaginations that make you feel anxious, nervous, and discouragement and that occur constantly, in such a way that you evaluate what has happened or what you fear may occur. These thoughts imply that you are in a state of alert, and are therefore a consequence of anxiety.

It can occur due to a breakup, jealousy or insecurities, or fear of uncertainty. Although what happens can be unpleasant, the key is always in how you understand and manage the situation.

We have intrusive thoughts, always, when we are in an anxious state that is too constant and intense. For this reason, to work with ruminations it is necessary to go to the focus of the problem: anxiety.

Anxiety is an intense and unpleasant state of mind that makes us alert. In a way, anxiety is a state of fear and insecurity that has become generalized.

We can have anxiety that leads us to intrusive thoughts for various reasons.

• Related article: "Mental health: definition and characteristics according to psychology"

Causes of anxiety and ruminations

Feeling anxiety at certain times in our lives can be natural. A first day at work, a news about health, an accident or a trip are situations that exceed our sense of control. However, anxiety is generalized and limits our lives mainly due to three factors:

1. respiratory mechanics

When we are in an anxious state we breathe rapidly and shallowly, so that the diaphragm crushes the pit of the stomach. This reason leads us to be alert, and it is also the breath we have when we are caught up in intrusive thoughts.

• You may be interested in: "10 conscious breathing techniques and exercises (with explanation)"

2. emotion management

When we do not know how to manage our emotions in a functional way (fear, insecurity, guilt or anger) and we feel them during too long or with too much intensity and duration, can turn into anxiety and this leads to thoughts intrusive. But the problem is not those emotions, but your way of managing them through your behaviors

3. dependent self-esteem

When your well-being depends more on external factors that you cannot control, such as your relationship with your partner or the opinion that you think others have of you, anxiety is generated (because we cannot control those factors) and intrusive thoughts arrive without remedy.

• Related article: "Do you really know what self-esteem is?"

4. Character

The character of the person also influences to have more or less intrusive thoughts. The most introverted people and, therefore, have a greater tendency to analyze or think internally, they may suffer from intrusive thoughts more likely if they feel anxious.

Solutions to intrusive thoughts

It is important to understand that we cannot stop intrusive thoughts as if we were trying to change the channel. Nor can they be controlled, because they are automatic and beyond our control. The appropriate thing is to learn to manage your emotions and mood, reduce anxiety, and work with intrusive thoughts to change your focus and allow you to rest. Let's see how.

As we discussed, the first and most important solution to free yourself from intrusive thoughts is to face how you manage anxiety. For this we need to work with these keys:

1. Your breathing

If you live with anxiety it is because you have become used to breathing anxiously (this is something unconscious and automatic).. When we begin to practice complete breathing (natural human breathing, where the entire ribcage inflates and deflates at the same time) anxiety gradually decreases. This will help you to have a more practical approach and intrusive thoughts will also decrease.

2. Manage your emotions

Learning to understand how you manage your emotions now, how you interpret what happens and how you react is key to knowing how to manage them in a more functional way. This helps you live with more peace and acceptance, build more positive relationships, and above all to build a more stable and positive self-esteem.

3. Routines that report well-being

When we have intrusive thoughts, we tend to live with routines that overstimulate us or do not bring us satisfaction. What do you do when you have an intrusive thought? The usual thing will be that you are not doing anything, since the intrusive thought paralyzes. For this reason It is important that we have an action plan with new routines that make your focus change, more well-being is generated and rumination is thus less frequent.

Focus on breathing to stop intrusive thinking

Now I am going to propose a very simple exercise to try to isolate yourself from ruminations.

When I accompany a person who suffers from intrusive thoughts in their process of change or therapy and, therefore, anxiety, we always begin to work with breathing, in addition to some practical changes to reduce the intensity.

In Human Empowerment You have an option to schedule a first session with me if that's what you need. In this session we get to know each other, we see what happens and how we can solve it in a stable way. It is about going to the root of the change you need, to help you feel better now, but also in the future..

A first exercise that we can practice to try to limit intrusive thinking is the following:

When thoughts come, try to detect them and, instead of letting yourself be carried away by them, make a complete breathing exercise (write me if you want to have access to a video where I explain how do it). Later, try to put all your focus on your breathing, specifically in the nose area. Feel how the air goes in and out. Do it for a minute. When you do, you will feel the intrusive thought become more violent and try to get your attention. Bring your focus back to your breathing.

Our attention cannot be focused on an intrusive thought and breathing at the same time.. In this way, we give rumination a pause. Then, find a task that you enjoy or that is important and grabs your full attention, so that you can't do it well if you don't have full concentration.

In this way, we force the focus again (imagine a child who colors and who must be concentrated so as not to stray from the line; you should look for a similar task).

With this approach we seek not to give value to ruminations so that they disappear. However, remember that this is useful as long as it is accompanied by the rest of the work to solve the anxiety. Therapy is not just feeling good, but living a process of change and learning about yourself that leads you to solve the problem 100%.

Our thoughts serve to arrive at solutions, and not thinking is also a sign that we are at peace.

I send you a lot of encouragement, and remember that you can consult me ​​if you want to experience the process of change and therapy that you need and deserve.

Thanks for thinking of you, Ruben.