intrusive thoughts

[scared748]

lately ive been having trouble with intrusive thoughts...i think about something then i start worrying about it then i start making up all these "what ifs" that are totally bizarre and irrational and i start to scare myself...once i start thinking of it then my mind fixates on the thought and i cant get it out of my head no matter how hard i try it ujst keeps coming back no matter how many times i try to think of good positive things happening around me i keep going back to those thoughts...ive read that these thoughts only haave influence over you if you allow it but im allowing it and i dont know how not to could use some help!! :(

[LAnn]

Hi. I know exactly how you feel. My main problem is the thought that I have something seriously wrong with me. Lets see - cancer, heart disease, brain tumor, kidney disease, all sorts of things .. I concentrate on one particular thing and research it and scare the sh*t out of myself and convince myself that I have that one thing .. until I move on to the next deadly disease/cancer .. and it continues on and on and on .. I too do not know how to stop it and even when good things are going on, I always come back to the thought that I'm dying of something. I really have no advice, except that when I do things (i.e. read, clean, go to lunch with a friend), it takes my mind off of it. Also, you are not alone in this, remember that, and you are not crazy, just going through something right now that you can overcome.

[Vsanthos]

I constantly have these thoughts that I'm losing my mind, that I'm hearing voices in my head, or that there's some other entity in my head that I talk to.

Even when I rationalize it and realize that I don't hear any voices, because I would know if I was, and not just be trying to convincing myself that I was. It still comes back to haunt me. It's tiresome, and awful, the only thing I've found to help is to do something else to take my mind off it, which is probably quite bad in the long run, to hide from it like that. But... it gets me through my days.

[Healthcalm]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I start worrying about something that is usually nothing to worry about in the first place. Then as soon as I put one fear to rest another pops up, and the "what-ifs" can get really bizarre. I used to try to consider the thought and rationalize it out, but it doesn't work. By engaging the thoughts and giving them energy they will take over.

Someone told me just to not give any intrusive thoughts energy. None at all. So when I feel the panic setting in I try to breathe deeply and just be. Keep my mind on other things. It doesn't always work but I find myself calmer. :)

[Robbed]

Someone told me just to not give any intrusive thoughts energy. None at all. So when I feel the panic setting in I try to breathe deeply and just be. Keep my mind on other things. It doesn't always work but I find myself calmer. :)

The idea here is that if this is done over time, this will help your mind calm down, which will eliminate the intrusive thoughts. Remember that intrusive thoughts are simply the result of a high-stress state. But in the short term, you may not experience MUCH in terms of relief by accepting. You have to be patient.

[Healthcalm]

Very true. It is a really long and hard road. That practice won't always work, and it may not work for everyone. I am reading a book right now about mindfulness meditation to overcome fear and panic and anxiety in general. One thing I read was about your body's natural respunse to fear, be it a real threat or in your mind. I felt like I was always going through the same thing. Something would happen that would make me anxious, I would go over and over the incident in my mind, trying to calm down. Then I would just become panicked and obsessed with the thoughts until I was exhausted. My body knows that when something makes me anxious, it's time to go into full-on panic mode. I try to arrest the situation before I lose control.

Robbed is very correct. I have been struggling with anxiety for over 7 years; there are no quick fixes. Knowing that may help you when you feel hopeless.

[Robbed]

But when you REALLY think about it, is 'mindful meditation' really THAT different from what I am saying here? I think that in both cases, the idea is simply that a thought is just a thought, and nothing more. Both conventional acceptance and mindful meditation work exactly the same way. Specifically, the idea is to allow a thought to exist without 'picking it up' and doing bad things with it OR trying to fight it (both of which perpetuate the problem). The way I see it, these two concepts just represent different ways (ie Western vs Eastern) of packaging the same thing, which might result in one method working better for some people than others.

[Healthcalm]

No its not different, mindfulness meditation utilizes attitudes of nonjudging, nonstriving, acceptance, and letting go. And of course the concept of acceptance not specific to any practice, and is crucial to getting through intrusive thoughts. I am a firm believer that there is not one treatment or practice that works for all.

This method seems to be working for me where medication and rationalization did not. The other thing I like about these ideas is that they remind me to be gentle with myself instead of getting down on myself for being this way.

[Robbed]

mindfulness meditation utilizes attitudes of nonjudging, nonstriving, acceptance, and letting go.

Sounds like the same thing as CBT a la Claire Weekes. I guess that in my case, I am kind of put off by anything that suggests Eastern philosophy. I guess I tend to equate anything Eastern as inaccessible as well as a lacking in simplicity and straightforwardness (ie too sophisticated for me). Of course, other people might feel differently in this regard. And the term 'mindful meditation' might even sound inviting. But my key point is that there is no basic difference.

[scared748]

thanks guys for the advice...it helps so much to know that other people understand and that iits not just me...(you guys could be therapists you really know what your talking about) but your right its going to be a hard road but i do need to take steps to overcome this i cant let it get the best of me...i will try your suggestions and see how that goes i just recently learned what intrusive thoughts were so i have alot of learning to do its so scary how just a simple thought can turn into a scary fearful ordeal and i will keep in mind that a thouhgt is a thought and nothing more(thanks robbed) that is where my biggest problem lies when im having tese thoughts i cant accept that its just a thought the what ifs and negative thoughts take over and before i know it im believing its all real!

[joey9]

Re. the meditation thing - I read a study recently that had sought to uncover what makes meditation work. Apparantly (according to the author of the study) Western people use one hemisphere - can't remember which side - of the brain far too much. This side is reponsible for analysing/thinking etc. Overuse of this side of the brain results in what they term 'monkey chatter' - I don't know about anyone else but I know that monkey chatter is a big feature of my anxiety - intrusive thoughts racing around and around at a million miles per hour. Anyway, the study measured emotional response via skin galvanisation tests and thought activity via EEG or MRI can't remember which, with people with stress, and then did meditation and measured everything again. I am doing the study a disservice because it was a while ago now so I can't remember huge detail but the long and the short of it was that meditation restores the balance between the activity of the two hemispheres, easing the monkey chatter and allowing you to live 'in the here and now' rather than worrying about the past or the future. I tried it the other night and its pretty hard so it'll need some practice - basically focusing all your thoughts on the 'here and now' e.g. your breathing and every time your thoughts start to wander you have to bring them back to your focus. Anyway, the more you do it the more you train your brain to use both sides without so much effort, and the less you get stressed. Or something like that.

[scared748]

interesting post joey...i didnt know that about using one side of your brain too much...i did learn that your body has two sides one side is the calm side and one is the adrenaline th eanxiety causes the two sides to fight against each other so your body is always reacting like its in danger from the adrenaline which causes the anxiety...i will have to try the meditation...i sure hope it works im emotionally and physically exhausted

[Healthcalm]

There are many different ways to practice meditation. Some take years of practice to develop, some are very simple and can be very helpful even if you only practice for short periods of time. Some focus on certain things like breath or a candle, the practice I described earlier uses focus on the present. Feeling changes in your body and mood, allowing intrusive thoughts to come and go without devting attention to them, without fear and without judging yourself for having the thoughts.

Like robbed said, a thought is just a thought and though it is really tough to believe sometimes, there is potential in each of us for calm and tranquility.

Again, meditation won't always work! In the beginning you may even feel worse as you change your habits from how you were to this new way of dealing with problems. Be patient and gentle with yourself.

[scared748]

thanks healthcalm i need all the advice i can get im working on overcoming this but in the beginning its tough to do i know that much so far (but thsts to be expected) im trying working on my breathing and doing all i can to try to keep busy...

[winry]

Hey! You are definitely not alone!
I am always worrying about something. I fixate on something and do the same thing as you - the 'what if's'. Any number of negative outcomes swirl round my head and i fixate on the worst ones, worrying myself sick that they might occur. The knowledge that it is irrational does nothing to ease the problem - the worst part is that you can't seem to stop it!
I am going to try and start meditation - I agree that being able to relax will help these worries. Also, I'm sure everyone on this forum knows that excercise is anxiety therapy :P hehe