How to Stop Intrusive Thoughts & Manage Anxiety
If you’ve experienced uncomfortable thoughts, know that you’re not alone. Many individuals experience involuntary, uncomfortable thoughts or impulses sometimes. When an idea or urge repeatedly comes to mind despite you not wanting it to, it’s an intrusive thought.
You may feel defenseless against these mental images or feelings, but your mind is mighty, and Mind Matters can help you learn how to stop intrusive thoughts.
Common Types of Intrusive Thoughts
Intrusive thoughts often cause guilt or shame, but it’s crucial to remember that they’re just thoughts and, perhaps most importantly, they aren’t your subconscious desires. Every person’s mind is unique, but some types of intrusive thoughts are more common than others across various populations.
Most often, individuals mention intrusive thoughts such as:
- Violent acts against others or yourself.
- Sexual acts or situations that you wouldn’t want to engage in.
- Beliefs you may lose jobs, friends, or partners.
- Worries about humiliating yourself in front of others by doing something inappropriate.
- Fears about your health, including developing an illness or catching germs from others.
The Connection Between Intrusive Thoughts and Anxiety
There’s a cyclical connection between intrusive thoughts and anxiety. When you're anxious, your brain creates hyperactive brainwaves and disrupts your emotional processing center, making you more likely to focus on distressing or negative thoughts.
The intrusive thoughts, in turn, increase your anxiety, so learning to manage both is essential for your mental health.
How to Manage Intrusive Thoughts
Understandably, you may think that consciously forcing them out of your mind will reduce intrusive thoughts; the opposite is true. Focusing on the unwanted mental images will strengthen them and lead you into the anxiety and intrusive thoughts cycle. It’s also helpful to avoid engaging with these thoughts and resist the urge to figure out what they might mean.
Using Mindfulness to Manage Intrusive Thoughts and Anxiety
Mindfulness is a helpful technique for controlling intrusive thoughts. It’s a practice that draws your attention to the present and makes you aware of your thoughts and feelings without judging them. Focusing on your breathing or a spot on the floor allows various thoughts to come and go without getting upset by any specific one. If you find your attention is wandering to unwanted thoughts, gently redirect your focus to your mindfulness exercise.
Several studies have shown that mindfulness improves psychological well-being and regulates emotions, behaviors, and emotional reactivity. The benefits of mindfulness directly affect one's ability to reduce feelings of anxiety.
Manage Intrusive Thoughts and Anxiety with Therapy
If intrusive thoughts occur frequently enough to disrupt your daily life or cause you to spend a significant amount of time and mental energy trying to eliminate them, a therapist can help.
At Mind Matters, we offer one-on-one and marriage and couple counseling and convenient telehealth visits. Our therapists meet you where you are and help you realize your mind’s potential. We have modern-day solutions to accommodate modern-day needs without the hassle of a waitlist, so you can begin improving your mental health immediately, especially during the holidays.
Find an Anxiety Counselor in Columbus, OH
Are you ready to stop letting intrusive thoughts and anxiety control your life? Please request an appointment with our anxiety counselors in Columbus, Ohio, with Mind Matters. With us, you can find a clinician who will create a personalized plan to help you meet your specific goals, including how to stop intrusive thoughts.
Our team firmly believes in empathizing, instilling confidence, and offering modern-day solutions that are effective and relevant to daily life. Mind Matters is located near Columbus, Ohio, and we provide therapy services to those near Columbus, Dublin, Hilliard, Powell, Worthington, Galloway, Grove City, Bexley, Grandview Heights, Clintonville, Upper Arlington, or Franklinton, Ohio.
