How to Deal with Intrusive Thoughts in OCD

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can be another word for intrusive thoughts and can be unsettling. Often the thoughts are repeated, distressing, and hard to handle. Everyone has unwanted thoughts sometimes, but people with OCD, feel as though unwanted thoughts never stop. If you’re struggling with intrusive thoughts this blog can help you manage it, relieve it, and improve your overall mental health.

Unwanted thoughts invade your mind and can generate huge anxiety. What tends to be the ‘center’ of them – is that they are often based on fear or doubt. But these thoughts are not about you, they don’t mean who you are or how you feel about who you are.

In people with OCD, intrusive thoughts can be associated with compulsion behaviors meant to eliminate or diminish the anxiety produced by the thought. Intrusive thoughts and compulsions can be debilitating; everyday life can be difficult. Fortunately, you can learn to manage and cope with these thoughts.

Breaking this cycle is the key to surviving OCD and intrusive thoughts, allowing the thoughts to lose their power over time.

1. Know That Intrusive Thoughts Are Normal

The first step in learning how to cope with intrusive thoughts is you understand that everyone has them at one time or the other. The main difference between OCD and the ‘obsessions’ is that OCD involves thoughts that give you a great deal of distress and that repeatedly return. Awareness that intrusive thoughts are a common human experience means you are beginning to reduce the intensity of the intrusive thoughts.

Learn to observe the thought, without judgment. Treat the thought for what it is—a mental event off in some corner of your mind, no need to add fear or guilt. Consider it an ‘intrusive thought’ and there are no ‘bad’ people with intrusive thoughts. They are just an overactive neurological brain thing.

2. Practice Mindfulness and try to Accept.

Intrusive thoughts can be powerfully managed by mindfulness. It entails paying attention to this moment, accepting what had been thought in a non-judgmental way, and letting it pass by without engaging with it. Know that these intrusive thoughts can be observed and you don’t have to be consumed by them, so mindfulness techniques like meditation, deep breathing, and certain grounding exercises can teach you to observe those thoughts and not get swamped by them.

When you realize that you had an intrusive thought, pull yourself out of that, focus on your breath, your surroundings, or even some simple sensory experience such as the sensation of your feet on the ground. Then let that thought go through your mind without paying too much attention to it or trying to shoo it away.

Anxiety is caused by intrusive thoughts, however, if you learn to accept their presence and stop reacting to them, you can decrease the amount you are anxious they will cause. As we continue, then, you will begin to accept this feeling and in time the feeling of being in control of your thoughts and your emotions will return.

3. Challenge and Reframe Your Thoughts

OCD and intrusive thoughts are some of the best treated using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This is exaggerated thinking CBT involves learning to identify and challenge what you may be thinking that is distorted thinking or irrational. One of the many common CBT techniques is cognitive restructuring, which allows you to restructure your thoughts in a more realistic and balanced way.

Start by asking yourself some key questions when an intrusive thought occurs:

• Is this a reality, or an unfounded fear?
• What evidence suggests this thought, or does it contradict?
• If this thought were true, what would be the real consequences, and how likely are they to happen?

Intrusive thoughts are frequently extreme and unrealistic as a result, and challenging them can help break them. Let’s take for instance – if in your thought you are thinking about losing control and acting violently, then ask yourself whether you’ve ever actually done it. The thought is, however, probably completely unfounded.

These are the thoughts that need to be reframed in a more rational form to reduce the compulsion that you think it has on your mind and weaken its hold on your mind.

4. Avoid Compulsive Behaviors

People with OCD will engage in compulsions to reduce the anxiety they feel from their intrusive thoughts. These behaviors provide temporary relief, but over time these reinforce the cycle of OCD. The more you obey compulsions, the more often thoughts will intrude, and as they become more intense.

You need to resist the urge to do compulsions to break the cycle. OCD compulsions can feel extremely difficult to break at first since OCD compulsions often seem the only way to stop feeling anxious. But slowly getting rid of compulsive behaviors, you’ll teach your brain that it doesn’t need to rely on these rituals to feel safe.

One technique that is common in OCD treatment is called Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), which helps a Client face their fear without doing compulsions. ERP involves incrementally presenting you to the triggers of your intrusive thoughts, whilst resisting the urge to engage in the compulsive associated behavior. This breaks the OCD cycle and over time reduces the anxiety the thoughts cause.

Use Stress-Relief Techniques

When it comes to dealing with OCD and intrusive thoughts it is vital to be able to manage stress. Intrusive thoughts tend to worsen whenever we are under high levels of stress. Including stress relief strategies in your practice will assist in lowering general anxiety and dealing with intrusive thoughts more easily.

Some effective stress-relief techniques include:

• Exercise: Exercise can lift your mood and help to dispel your anxiety.
• Relaxation exercises: Deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or yoga helps calm your body and mind.
• Healthy lifestyle habits: It can help to get enough sleep, eat a balanced diet, and cut down on caffeine or alcohol to help stabilize your mood and bring down stress.

Stress management works to help facilitate a better environment for your mental health and make it easier when intrusive thoughts come up.

Seek Professional Help

If you’re having a hard time dealing with intrusive thoughts on your own, professional help is important. OCD is a serious mental illness and intrusive thoughts are a very real damaging force to your existence. Your mental health professional can guide you on how to deal with intrusive thoughts and break the cycle of obsessions and compulsions created.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and medication are all effective treatments for OCD. A professional therapist can help you throughout your treatment. Ready to take back control of your life? Contact Deland Treatment Solutions today to learn more about our OCD treatment program.