The two most common diagnoses associated with intrusive thoughts are anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). They can also be a symptom of depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Bipolar Disorder, or Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Intrusive thoughts are often triggered by stress or anxiety. They may also be a short-term problem brought on by biological factors, such as hormone shifts. For example, a woman might experience an uptick in intrusive thoughts after the birth of a child.
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.
People often want to know why unwanted intrusive thoughts have such terrible content. Common ones include: harming a loved one, impulsively killing oneself, a sudden weird doubt about sexual orientation or identity, blasphemy, sexual abuse of all variations, turning into a mass shooter.
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.
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.
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.
This has been linked to anxiety—suggesting that frequent catastrophizing may be a factor in developing certain mental health problems. Catastrophizing comes from the belief that by imagining what might go wrong, we're better able to protect ourselves from harm—both physical and mental.
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.
When intrusive thoughts or obsessions become uncontrollable to the point that they are affecting daily function, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may be the explanation. OCD-intrusive thoughts that occur repeatedly throughout the day are unhealthy and interfere with quality of life.
The Relationship Between Thoughts and Urges
Jon Hershfield's text, Harm OCD, indicates, “people with harm OCD often describe their intrusive thoughts as 'urges' because it's difficult to find another word for the marriage of an intrusive thought and a sensation in the body that seems to indicated an imminent action.
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).
Someone who's considered to have OCD with poor or absent insight might not readily acknowledge their thoughts and behaviors as problematic or unreasonable. This can be considered psychosis. OCD with poor or absent insight is when symptoms of psychosis might appear.
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.
Call a friend to both distract yourself and take the spotlight off of your thoughts. Also, doing something physical (whether active or restorative) can help draw your attention to your physical body and outward reality, breaking the cycle and proving to yourself that you can regain control over your thoughts.
Here is what we know. The Psychology of Looping Thoughts. A reoccurring thought loop is a fixation on fears, motives, or how we feel we should have acted or not acted. While looping thoughts are a bi-product of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), other individuals with anxiety can also have looping thoughts.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
SSRIs are a type of medication people may use as a treatment for depression. People may also use SSRIs to treat mental health conditions that can cause intrusive thoughts, such as: OCD. PTSD.
There aren't medications that specifically target intrusive thoughts. However, people with OCD and PTSD who experience intrusive thoughts may benefit from medication. It can help you manage the underlying conditions that contribute to intrusive thoughts.
Examples: fear of contamination or dirt; needing things orderly and symmetrical; aggressive or horrific thoughts about harming yourself or others; unwanted thoughts, including aggression, or sexual or religious subjects.
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.