topic Intrusive thoughts in Anxiety

Intrusive thoughts

Toby_Lace — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 08:25:32 GMT

Hi all, this my first post. Hoping to gain some relief from persistent intrusive thoughts that have taken hold and taken control of my life. I am having troubles dislodging them. I feel if I confess the thoughts I might gain some relief but I also feel I cant tell anyone because I fear their judgement and the consequences of my confession. I feel hopeless and have little joy in my life. I have started to catastrophise about my life and career and my future. I am at a loss as what to do. I want to feel ' normal', happy and optimistic again.

Intrusive thoughts

blondguy — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 09:35:09 GMT

Hello Toby Lace

Welcome to the forums and good one having the courage to post too!

Intrusive thoughts are more common than people think. I have had chronic anxiety for years with these intrusive thoughts as well. They are a pain.....yet they are only thoughts....and a sign of a 'tired' mind

I see my GP every month for a 'fine tune' and my psychologist every 4 months which has helped me so much to 'rebuild' my old thinking patterns....including intrusive thoughts.

You will find peace of mind again Toby for sure. If you have a good GP that is a great place to start the healing process...You have everything to gain and nothing to lose 🙂

There are many gentle people on the forums that can be here for you Toby. You are more than welcome to post as many times as you like too

My kind thoughts for you Toby

Paul

Intrusive thoughts

quirkywords — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 09:49:54 GMT

Hi Toby,

welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Many people can relate to your topic.There are threads here aboutIntrusive thoughts.It is hard when you can't get thoughts out of your head.

Here is asafe non judgmental place but you could write your thoughts in a journal to see if

that would make the clearer foryou and to free them from your mind.

Have you tried meditation ormindfulness? It takes time to concentrate but it can help stop or at least Control thoughts.

Quirky

Intrusive thoughts

Toby_Lace — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 19:19:57 GMT

Thanks so much, Paul. This is great advice. I think my GP would be the first step. I need some help and feel I cant do it on my own. The forum has been great too. To know I am not alone in this struggle.

Intrusive thoughts

Toby_Lace — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 19:25:30 GMT

Thanks, Quirky. I have tried some mindfulness techniques including deep breathing and meditation. I am afraid that I am not very good at it! I find it so hard to focus and be in the moment. I keep chasing distractions but they are only quick fixes and bandaids. I need to get the thoughts out. Journaling might be a good option. Thanks for your understanding

Intrusive thoughts

Doolhof — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 20:17:23 GMT

Hi Toby,

I too welcome you to the forums. I believe many people have troubles with intrusive thoughts, this is certainly one place where you will find it is a very common occurrence and it is "quite normal" as well in the fact that it can happen to anyone.

For me, how I deal with those thoughts and beliefs is the main issue. I've shared some of my struggles in the post "Challenging Unhelpful Thoughts" . Like Quirky mentioned, there are many stories here of people trying to control, understand, conquer, move on from, ignore, acknowledge, accept, and learn from their intrusive thoughts.

Writing them down certainly helps me. As does chatting to people, my GP, psychologist, sharing here on the forum, with a trusted friend, even with myself!

I've learnt I can not always control my thoughts, I can not always turn the unhelpful into the helpful, especially right at the moment when those negative thoughts hit me the hardest.

When those thoughts come up and really hit me hard, I need to catch my breathe, take a few deep breaths, tell myself these are only thoughts!

Acknowledge the thoughts. Accept them if you can. Try to find something helpful in all the muck and hold on to that. Work out how you can think differently so life is not so hard. My psychologist told me the next step is to do something purposeful and meaningful, something that will provide me with a sense of being in control, like I have achieved something.

It may be as simple as being thankful that my mind works, not always as I desire, but it still helps me do so many things every day.

For me also, some days my "Normal" is different depending on how my day is going and what is happening around me. As long as I try to do the best I can at each moment, that is fine. If my best is just surviving, that is fine also, I am still doing something!

Cheers to you from Mrs. D or Dools

Intrusive thoughts

geoff — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 22:41:15 GMT

hello Toby, it is awful having these thoughts dictate your life, it normally happens if you have OCD, that I've had for 58 years, and yes it's horrible.
There have been some great replies back to you and thankfully there are so many other people who struggle with these damn thoughts that just won't go away, can I please ask you to google 'intrusive thoughts' there is an enormous section on this particular topic. Geoff.

Intrusive thoughts

Toby_Lace — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 07:13:42 GMT

Thanks, Mrs D. Just surviving at the moment but trying to keep it all together. It is good advice to try to get the thoughts out of my head, even if I talk to myself. Confessions can be theraputic. My main problem is that my thoughts include catastrophising over what might happen to me based on past mistakes. I have a heightened sense of responsibility - part of my OCD - and I worry infinetly about the consequences of my actions on others. It is like a constant cycle of anxiety and worry. Thank you for your advice

Intrusive thoughts

Toby_Lace — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 07:15:08 GMT

Thanks Geoff. I did some googling and you are right, lots of great resources! Thanks for the tip.

Intrusive thoughts

Ulysses — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 07:54:11 GMT

Hi there.

Know all about those darn intrusive thoughts. Have you seen the little video on the net called “is anxiety doing the talking”? Also even though I’ve had intrusive thoughts all my life, I got absolutely fed up to the brim of them recently and just got really strict and angry with them and Lo and behold I’ve just about destroyed them.

Intrusive thoughts

Toby_Lace — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 08:11:21 GMT

Thanks, Ulyssess! I might have to practice some seek and destroy tactics. I havent reached the angry stage yet, just very frustrated and sad. I know I have made mistakes in the past and my obssessive thoughts also tell me that that is my penance. On a bit of a vicious cycle at the moment

Intrusive thoughts

Doolhof — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 08:18:29 GMT

Hi Toby Lace,

One thing with this forum is that we can share how we are feeling and ask questions that we don't feel comfortable asking friends and family as they may not understand us.

I'm wondering if your Catastrophising goes anything like mine:

Husband is home late from work. My mind starts to race away from me:

My husband has had an accident. He is dead. I don't know how to pay the bills. I don't have the combination to the safe. How will I cope. What do I need to do if he is dead. What if he has run off the road and we never find him. How will I cope with out him.

OR: He has run away with another woman, or maybe even a man. We will have to sell the house. Where will I live. How do I pack up a life time of stuff. Who will have the cat. I am worthless. He doesn't love me. My life is a mess.

ETC ETC ETC

Then I look at the clock and it is not the actual time I thought it was. My husband is not due home for another hour!

Where did all of those horrible thoughts get me? Absolutely no where good that is for sure! I know it can take time to get those miserable thoughts under some kind of control, the effort to do so is well worth it.

Hope you manage to find some strategies that will help.

I'm also trying really hard to not keep beating myself up over stuff I have done in the past that has caused pain to others and myself. I can't go back and change any of that. I can try and change and work on who I am today!

Small steps Toby Lace, the effort is worth it! Hope you can break that cycle and get out of that rut.

Cheers from Mrs. D.

Intrusive thoughts

Toby_Lace — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 09:03:10 GMT

Hi Mrs D.

I dont catastrophise about the death of others or myself, although I used to. My thoughts include thoughts of being exposed as a fraud and losing my career and ruining future career prospects and my life more broadly. Fearing what people would think of me. Particularly fearing what my family would think of me and letting them down. I cant go back and change things but I feel I cant move on either. Chronic anxiety and worry about the past has me trapped. I havent done anything illegal! I know how this may sound!

Intrusive thoughts

may86 — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 10:50:36 GMT

HI Toby

II' new to the forum and the reason for joining is because exactly what you've described. I've been battling that same over sense of responsibility for my my actions/possible mistakes. I've been dealing with this plus general anxiety since I was a kid.

Yesterday something happened at work which triggered me again into what I think are panic attacks! I couldn't eat all day, have been completely obsessing abut the issue, unable to concentrate and unable to talk to anyone about it. I've made an appointment to see my GP to get a referral to see someone which I half started a few months ago.

It's good to know we are not alone and hope that you can find some relief soon.

Intrusive thoughts

Toby_Lace — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 08:14:52 GMT

Thanks, Maybe86. It is good to know that others experience the same thing. You tend to feel very alone in this awful journey. I really do need to visit my GP again. I have some good says some not so good. I have triggers also and often have to disconnect from the world. Makes it hard to maintain a job! Good luck with it all

Intrusive thoughts

Doolhof — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 11:20:42 GMT

Hi Toby Lace and may86,

Talking to a Dr and getting a referral to chat to a professional is a beneficial move.

My example above was just that, you could add any topic you like. The thought processes are the same. We think of a negative and if we don't learnt o understand how to deal with those thoughts, they exculpate into something that seems almost impossible to change.

Toby Lace, if you know some of your triggers, that is a huge place to start trying to overcome them.

Change can happen, once you know the way to start getting your thoughts and beliefs under control.

It isn't easy, but it can be achieved.

Cheers from Dools

Intrusive thoughts

Toby_Lace — Mon, 04 Dec 2017 10:08:58 GMT

Thanks, Dools. I am working toward identifying my triggers. I also think I need to talk to my GP. I haven't spent much time with counselling services but I really think I need to talk to someone and talk through my feelings of guilt and anxiety. My daughter suffers from OCD as well and I need to be fully present for her. Thanks so much for responding.

Intrusive thoughts

blondguy — Mon, 04 Dec 2017 11:23:40 GMT

Hi Toby

Thankyou for taking the time to post back.

Your posts are really helpful for so many people. I noticed that may86 has posted too. Hi May86 and Welcome!

Great to have you as part of the forum family Toby Lace 🙂

My Kind thoughts

Paul

Intrusive thoughts

Anne1303 — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 22:31:13 GMT

Hi Toby

I was reading your post and thinking how exactly it mirrors my own thinking at the moment! I could have just written exactly the same thing you have! My obsessive catastrophic thinking is driving me crazy and I am so exhausted by it all!

Intrusive thoughts

Toby_Lace — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 23:28:09 GMT

Hi Anne1303,

It is vert tiring and one thing I do do is sleep! Somedays I could sleep all day. I feel tired alot lately. I dont know why I think this way. I am catastrophising over something that I did four years ago. It just popped into my head and I keep going through all these different scripts and scenarios in my head continuosly. Mainly thinking about consquences. My physical health is suffering. Somedays I dont eat because the worry makes me anxious. I cant be present for my family because I am constantly thinking and worrying and rehearsing irrational scripts in my head. I wish there was someway to realease this pressure.

Good luck with your intrusive thoughts. Good to know people are here with you.