How To Calm Intrusive Thoughts
What Are Intrusive Thoughts?
Intrusive thoughts are unwanted thoughts, images or memories that come out of nowhere and cause us distress. Sometimes they spike anxiety, sometimes they lead to feeling shame or guilt. Intrusive thoughts often lead to this distress because they are ego-dystonic, which means they make us question ourselves and why we had the thought. There are a variety of themes that can pop up when we deal with intrusive thoughts. Just to name a few, intrusive thoughts can be violent or sexual in nature, they can be about religion, germs or about behaviors you would categorize as unacceptable. When we have a thought like this and it causes us distress, oftentimes the distress stems from how we are responding to the thought, rather than the thought itself. This can be by
Trying to push this thought away
Wondering why we had the thought in the first place
Thinking we are a bad person because we had the thought
Fearing we actually want to act on the thought
How Common Are Intrusive Thoughts?
Intrusive thoughts are a lot more common than you might think. Typically they are portrayed only within the context of OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), but there was actually a research study done back in 2014 which found that about 94% of the global population experiences intrusive thoughts to some degree. The difference between whether or not intrusive thoughts play a large role in disrupting our life can really be found in the way we respond to the thoughts themselves.
If I Have Intrusive Thoughts, Does That Mean I Have OCD?
The short answer here is no, simply having intrusive thoughts does not mean you have OCD. In OCD, intrusive thoughts take up a lot of our attention and time, as they bring about a significant amount of distress. While the vast majority of the population experiences intrusive thoughts, folks diagnosed with OCD:
Believe the presence of intrusive thoughts has significant meaning
Might engage in a compulsion (behavior or rigid routine) in an attempt to alleviate the distress from the intrusive thought
Have difficulty engaging in daily activities because of how frequent and intense the intrusive thoughts are
How Do You Calm Intrusive Thoughts?
As odd as that sounds, it’s really not the thoughts that are problematic, it's how we respond to them that leads to our suffering.
Typically, our very human, initial response to intrusive thoughts is to push them away or to challenge them. But research has actually found that challenging these types of thoughts is not helpful and can actually make the thoughts worse.
Changing our response to intrusive thoughts can drastically reduce the impact they have on our life.
We may not be able to stop the experience of intrusive thoughts, but we can change how we interact with them.
The technique shared below combines two evidence based strategies to change our relationship with intrusive thoughts while working to alleviate the obsessive nature these thoughts can take on.
The Four Steps Of Brain Lock
This technique was created by Jeffrey Schwartz, who is a leading expert in the fields of neuroplasticity and OCD. Schwarts geniously combines mindfulness with exposure and response prevention to create a self-directed form of therapy which has proven to be extremely effective for OCD, along with other mental health conditions.
Step 1: Relabel
When we have an intrusive thought, and we are aware that we are having an intrusive thought, the first step calls us to relabel it. Which basically just means that we identify it for what it is. This can be as simple as internally saying: “I am having an intrusive thought”
Step 2: Reattribute
Step 2 calls us to reattribute the source of the thought, which really just means that we are going to acknowledge this thought is stemming from a biological response in the brain. In this step, we acknowledge that we do not have control over whether or not we have an intrusive thought, however we can make a note that this thought is not based in reality.
Step 3: Refocus
Step 3 is really where we put our reps in. Once we relabel and reattribute, we then choose an activity to engage in as a means to refocus our attention on something other than the thought. This step is where we practice a lot of mindfulness and patience towards ourselves. A good rule of thumb is to choose a hobby of some kind (reading, exercise, playing an instrument). Or if you are at work or school, maybe you squeeze a stress ball or play with a fidget cube and check in with each of your senses. Something that we can focus on and ultimately trying to refocus on this chosen activity for an increasing amount of time, until the brain can switch gears. We can start by trying to refocus for a minute and can work our way up to 15 minutes.
Step 4: Revalue
Through practicing the first 3 steps, we eventually come to place less value or truth onto the intrusive thoughts. Which means that, in time, it will become easier to shift our attention away from the intrusive thoughts and ultimately respond to them in a way that is much more helpful to us in the long run.
If you are interested in learning more about this technique, or about OCD in general, I would highly recommend you read Brain Lock, written by Jeffrey Schwartz. If reading is not your thing, here are a few of his YouTube videos which explain these steps more in depth.
4 Steps To Changing Your Brain For Good
Ready for intrusive thoughts to lose their power? Let’s work through it together. Click the button below to learn more about anxiety therapy services at Cedar Rose.
