This can lead to an uptick in anxiety, and in some instances, obsessive thinking. While intrusive thoughts may be disturbing, they aren't harmful or a sign that you have a secret desire to do the things that popped into your mind. People are often too embarrassed or ashamed to talk about it, says Dr. Williams.
They're usually harmless. But if you obsess about them so much that it interrupts your day-to-day life, this can be a sign of an underlying mental health problem. Intrusive thoughts can be a symptom of anxiety, depression, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
These intrusive thoughts can lead to obsessive concerns about your health and result in behaviors like excessive handwashing or avoiding other people.
01 Intrusive thoughts are caused by misfired signals in the amygdala. 02 According to Dr. Phillipson, intrusive thoughts are a mental disorder, not a mental illness.
If your thoughts are bizarre or paranoid, you might be experiencing signs of psychosis. For example, you might feel like the FBI is watching everything you do, or that someone is trying to poison you. You might even see or hear things that no one else does.
If you're experiencing unwanted thoughts about losing your mind, becoming psychotic, or developing schizophrenia, it may be a sign of schizophrenia OCD. You might find yourself constantly questioning the state of your mind, which can cause you to be overly focused on feeling different than usual.
ADHDers—people with ADHD—can also experience intrusive thoughts that are repetitive, distressing, or just flat-out strange. It's not uncommon to have intrusive thoughts, but frequently experiencing them may be a symptom of your ADHD (if you have ADHD) or possibly something else.
Most people get the odd bizarre and intrusive thought but if you have OCD you just can't let them go. They trick you, mess with you and are seriously convincing. Compulsions are anything that challenges the thoughts, rituals, things you must do in order to feel safe.
Are Invasive Thoughts Normal? Yes! The short answer is “yes.” Intrusive thoughts are just that – thoughts. Even if you are of sound mind and free of any serious mental health issues, it's possible to be struck by intrusive thoughts out of nowhere – and this is not something you should feel too concerned about.
Your mind is sending you signals that you need to do something, even though there is no real risk. It is yelling at you that you need to take action. This is why OCD feels so real. There is a very real process taking place in your brain.
Essentially, no. A thought is just a thought, even when it causes distress. Intrusive thoughts are so-called for a reason: they stick with a person, and the harder a person fights them, the stronger they get.
Those annoying thoughts in your head are not real. So if you are always apologizing for them because you believe them to be authentic and absolute, they will remain viable. Learn to let go and remember that these intrusive thoughts are just irrational parts of your imagination and have no interest in the real world.
Sufferers may be afraid that they will stab or shoot someone, commit suicide, or molest a child. They may fear they are gay, racist, homophobic, or sociopathic; that they secretly wish someone would die; or that they are offending God.
It's when your thoughts get caught in a loop, and you go over and over the same thoughts without feeling better or finding a resolution. Your thinking might get stuck on day to day worries or on future events.
A Word From Verywell
People with BPD are often affected by several types of distorted thinking. Some ways that a person with BPD thinks include having paranoid ideation, dichotomous thinking, and dissociation. If you believe that you might be experiencing thinking associated with BPD, talk to your doctor.
OCPD is a personality disorder. It looks and feels different than OCD. People with OCPD are strongly focused on—even obsessed with—a goal of perfection for themselves and others.
People with intrusive thoughts sometimes hear voices inside their head, which can create unwelcome ideas, thoughts, images, and even visuals. To defend this voice, people try to negotiate with themselves, thinking that they could resist such thoughts.
OCD is an anxiety disorder in which you have frequent unwanted and intrusive thoughts (obsessions) that cause you to perform repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Examples of compulsions include flipping a light switch a certain number of times or repeatedly washing your hands.
It's just another indication of elevated stress and/or fatigue. It's not an indication of serious mental illness. Most people experience stuck thoughts from time to time. It becomes more prevalent when stress and fatigue are factors.
Loosely defined, the fear of acting out obsessive thoughts in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) means the fear of making unwanted behavioral decisions either against one's own will or in a state of uncontrolled madness.
So remember, if you have a thought that feels bad and repeats in a stuck manner, that is all you need to know to determine that it is an Unwanted Intrusive Thought. Forget about the content. Pay attention to how it acts, and how it feels. Anxiety is a real disorder.