Intrusive Thoughts

Today, I would like to talk about intrusive thoughts.

If you have ever suffered from anxiety, depression ( maybe both) or any other mental condition you will be able to relate to what I’m about to say.

First, how would you define ‘intrusive thoughts’ ? Let me give you my definition of it. If it was possible to present intrusive thoughts in the physical form they would look like a tangled mayhem of cables (which you can see in the picture below). There are many cables and cords of different types all mixed together. They represent your thoughts about the past, present and future. As you may know, if you are under the attack of intrusive thoughts you may feel like you’re lacking of the clarity of reality. Most likely, you are experiencing the feeling of going insane. You are under this impression because your brain tries to process so many thoughts from various areas of life at the same time. They are all misleading because they show a negative outcome or a scenario. It instantly paralyses you and motivates you to have an exit plan which will falsey save you and protect you from upcoming ‘disaster’ ( which has been solely created in your mind by anxiety).

Now, let’s move on to roots and reasons behind your state of mind. You have probably experienced multiple heartache and negativity in your life. You may have been deeply affected by a traumatic event or mistreatment which hasn’t been dealt with in a way which would prevent the build up of a toxic defend mechanism. Your mind simply tries to protect you by reaching to depths of your past. It links the past with the presence and all the available information. For example, if you were neglected & bullied during your childhood, cheated on by your partner, mentally manipulated and abused you would probably feel very insecure in a healthy relationship. You would feel this way due to your past experiences provoking your anxiety and demanding misleading & false protection. In return, the anxiety would keep you constantly on high alert.

What can you do to help yourself? Ignore it. Yes, it’s simple like that. Live your life the best you can allowing negative thoughts to be. They will come and go. Don’t fight them but try to treat them as a 2 year old who is just being very unreasonable & stubborn. They will stop at some point and they will come back, especially when you face a situation in your relationship which reminds you of the matter from the past. The matter from the past went toward a completely different direction and carried some heartache.

Remember, if you feel that your anxiety becomes overwhelming preventing you from living your life ask for help.

Talk about it. Don’t keep your feelings inside. Express yourself. You are the winner not the anxiety 😊

– anya786