Intrusive Thoughts – What Are They and Why Do They Happen?

Every day, we have a constant stream of thoughts running through our mind. It starts when we wake up. What shall I have for breakfast? How long will it take to cook this piece of toast? Should I go and get the laundry while I’m waiting? What’s the weather forecast for today? I’m worried about that meeting later. Will it go well? What if it goes badly? Maybe I’ll have another cup of tea with my toast… and on and on it goes.

Thinking is a multi-dimensional process. This means our thoughts can consist of words and images. The way we think, and the content of our thoughts, can be influenced by past experiences, our current mood, and how we perceive or make sense of the things happening around us. Our thoughts can be intentional, or they can be automatic and unbidden. Interestingly, we often accept our thoughts as fact. In reality, they’re anything but.

What Are Intrusive Thoughts?

An intrusive thought is an unwanted and often distressing thought that enters the mind unexpectedly. These thoughts can be quite shocking at times. For example, imagine you’re feeling irritated by someone. Suddenly, you find yourself thinking about whacking them around the head. This is an intrusive thought. You don’t actually intend to hit them, and thinking about it says nothing about who you are as a person.

Many people find it easy to dismiss intrusive thoughts. They think, ‘oh gosh, that was weird’ and move on. However, for some, they can be more problematic. Despite not wanting to think about whacking someone around the head, the thought keeps popping back up. The more distressed you become, the stronger the thought gets.

Common examples of distressing intrusive thoughts include thoughts about harming people, negative thoughts about ourselves, sexual thoughts or thoughts that we are being watched or persecuted. These thoughts can stem from past trauma or anxiety. They might be due to low self-esteem or depression, or they could be happening in the context of psychosis.

Intrusive Thoughts and Trauma – What’s the Connection?

Intrusive thoughts often stem from traumatic events and how we see ourselves, the world around us, and other people as a consequence of these experiences. For example, if an individual has been harmed by a particular type of person, they might experience intrusive thoughts about still being in danger when they’re around that type of person.

Trauma-based intrusive thoughts can also come in the form of images. For example, if someone experiences a traumatic event involving their child, they might see intrusive images in their mind of something terrible happening to their little one. Obviously, this can be very distressing and disturbing.

Some people believe that by simply having a thought they are making something bad happen. This is known as ‘thought action fusion’. So, by thinking something terrible is going to happen to their child and seeing an image of it in their mind, they believe they’re causing that thing to happen in reality. Of course, this isn’t correct at all. If we had the power to think something into being, I would definitely be a lottery winner by now!

My Tips for Coping with Intrusive Thoughts

As a starting point, it’s important to recognise our thoughts are not facts. The more meaning we attach to our thoughts, the more power they have over us. Believing you must be a bad person because you’re thinking a certain way can actually make the intrusive thoughts worse and more intense. Remind yourself that everybody has thoughts. Thoughts are normal, even if the nature of those thoughts can be a little weird at times. It doesn’t say anything about you as a person.

Don’t try to suppress or block your thoughts. The mind is a complex thing and, ironically, the more we try to push something away, the more it bounces back. For example, if I ask you NOT to think about a pink polar bear on a unicycle juggling melons, you’ll probably find it difficult to get that image out of your mind! Resisting the urge to block or suppress intrusive thoughts can actually help them have less power over us.

When it comes to intrusive thoughts that take the form of images, it can be really helpful to remind ourselves of the reality of our here and now. Going back to the example of the child, if I had an intrusive thought about something terrible happening to them, I would try to focus on looking at my child (or a photograph of them) and noticing what’s different compared to the thought. This should serve to remind me the terrible thing isn’t happening right now.

Therapy for Trauma

If you’re struggling with intrusive thoughts related to trauma and you’d like an expert to help you heal and recover, please get in touch. You can also subscribe to The Trauma Toolbox to receive my insights and tips straight to your inbox every month. Finally, I share lots of mental health education via Instagram.