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Already a member? Log in. Do Intrusive Thoughts Mean Anything? Having unwanted thoughts does not make you a bad person. Link copied. Essentially, no. A thought is just a thought, even when it causes distress. One is what we call entanglement. This is basically about your relationship with your own mind. Some people can take their thoughts with an attitude of detached observation.
Other people fall prey to a number of common myths — for example that every thought has a hidden meaning, or that thoughts can force people to act, or that our thoughts are actually under our control when actually only our attention to them is under our control.
The idea that every thought is worth thinking about is simply not true. But if you struggle with a thought, it will start repeating, and that makes it seem even more important. Another factor is what we call stickiness of the mind. There are biological factors at work here, making some people genetically more predisposed to obsessive thinking.
These people may also have other anxiety symptoms like excessive worry or panic attacks or signs of OCD — or they may not. Periods of stress in one's life or normal experiences like fatigue, illness or anticipated conflict can make any mind more sticky temporarily. Knowing what tends to make your mind more or less sticky can help alert you to times when you should strive to be unentangled and unfazed by your own thoughts.
Unwanted intrusive thoughts come in many forms. There are straightforward ways to overcome unwanted intrusive thoughts. They are the opposite of what most people try first. People may fixate on them and become ashamed, intent on keeping them secret from others. Anyone can experience intrusive thoughts.
More than 6 million people in the United States may experience them. Many more people may not report them to their doctors or therapists.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD occurs when intrusive thoughts become uncontrollable. These intrusive thoughts obsessions may cause you to repeat behaviors compulsions in the hope that you can end the thoughts and prevent them from occurring in the future. Examples of this type of intrusive thought include worrying about locking doors and turning off ovens or fearing bacteria on surfaces.
A person with OCD may develop a routine of checking and rechecking locks several times or washing their hands multiple times a day. In both cases, this is an unhealthy result that interferes with their quality of life. People living with post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD often experience intrusive thoughts that may be connected to a traumatic event.
These thoughts may trigger some of the physical symptoms of PTSD, such as increased heart rate and sweating. In some cases, these thoughts can be so severe they lead to flashbacks and intense psychological distress. People who have developed an eating disorder may experience intrusive thoughts that are harmful to their mental health. The thoughts can eventually damage their physical health. People with an eating disorder frequently worry about the physical impact food will have on their body.
That, in turn, leads to great distress about eating. It may also cause additional behaviors, such as purging , in an effort to stop the thoughts. Intrusive thoughts can just happen randomly. Some thoughts wander into your brain. Then, just as quickly, they exit.
They create no lasting impression. These thoughts could also be a symptom of another health issue, such as:. Changes to mental health are nothing to take lightly.
Early symptoms of some conditions may include:. These thoughts are nothing to be ashamed of, but they are a reason to seek a diagnosis and treatment.
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