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“Intrusive thoughts are spontaneous, unwanted thoughts that we have that are usually unpleasant in some way,” says Ayanna Abrams, Psy.D., a clinical psychologist and founder and executive ...
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When intrusive thoughts occur with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), patients are less able to ignore the unpleasant thoughts and may pay undue attention to them, causing the thoughts to become more frequent and distressing. [7] Attempting to suppress intrusive thoughts often cause these same thoughts to become more intense and persistent. [11]
There is a difference for individuals who have a higher tendency of suppression; they are more prone to psychopathological responses such as "intrusive thoughts, including depression, anxiety and obsessional thinking". [37] Due to these individuals having higher instances of thought suppression, they experience dream rebound more often.
Obsessions are intrusive thoughts or images that are often very disturbing to the individual who has them. These are often distressing, and therefore may lead to carrying out compensatory behaviors (i.e. compulsions) to alleviate the distress (see obsessive-compulsive disorder ) for a period of time.
These aren’t just scary what-ifs—they’re intrusive thoughts, and, don’t worry, we all have them. “They’re part of the everyday human experience,” says Chandler Chang, PhD, a clinical ...
According to the cognitive-behavioral model, unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images and urges are not, in themselves, abnormal. [19] Individuals with OCD, however, interpret these intrusive experiences as indicating something wrong with their character or as premonitions of future catastrophe. [20]
Intrusive thoughts happen on a spectrum, from fairly minor to serious. Our advice columnist, Minaa B., offers guidance on how to deal with them.