How to get rid of obsessive thoughts and anxiety on your own. How to get rid of intrusive thoughts? Psychologist's advice How to deal with obsessive thoughts

Unfortunately, some people without much apparent reason symptoms such as panic, sudden fear, regular lack of sleep begin to appear. Such a state can bring anyone out of action. In this situation, you can forget about a calm, measured life for a long time. And there is no need to look for the culprits. The person himself turned out to be a hostage of his own uncontrollable emotions, as a result of which he has obsessions and various phobias.

Types of fears

What is fear? This is a painful condition of a person or fear of any real or fictional situations. It can be large-scale, with a denial of future consequences, or it can be justified.

Psychologists believe that fear is a negative process, but, by and large, it is rational, that is, it is based on the self-preservation instinct inherent in almost every one. Here, protective mechanisms in the body often work, which mobilize a person when a dangerous situation arises.

As we have already understood, there is fear justified, but there is self-imposed fear, not based on anything, but only on one's own annoying ideas. This is an irrational fear. It is impossible to control it, it causes a constant feeling of panic, anxiety. This condition is often accompanied by a strong heartbeat, trembling, nervousness, anxiety. Dealing with such fear is difficult. It can develop into real neurasthenia, as a result, a person develops a neurosis of obsessive thoughts.

How to control such a process and is it possible to cope with an irrational kind of fear? We will tell about this further.

Symptoms of intrusive thoughts

Before you learn how to get rid of fears and obsessive thoughts, you need to decide on the symptoms. That is, to understand where the fear is actually justified, and where the constant panic has grown into a neurosis.

The nature negative thoughts it is possible to distinguish several types of disorders, or, more simply, phobias.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder has the following symptoms (depending on the type of disorder):

• Spatial fears. These include fear of space (open, closed), heights, large crowds of people, fear of just leaving your own home, and others.
• Fear of certain objects and the threat that may follow from them. These include black cats, the number 13, clowns, sharp and cutting objects, water, elevators, spiders.
• Symptom of communication strangers. A person is overcome by panic at the thought that it is necessary to contact someone, even by phone. This is the fear of being ridiculed, condemned, the fear that he will not be approved, but will only be scolded.
• Hypochondriacal fear. Here, a person constantly fears for the state of his health. He has a constant fear of getting cancer, catching an incomprehensible virus, an incurable disease. Such people can regularly undergo examinations and take tests.

The psyche begins to fail gradually. First of all, a slight anxiety appears, and subsequently it develops into a pathogenic situation. Here it is already much more difficult to get rid of the obsessive state. Therapeutic measures should be taken immediately, when at least one of the symptoms appears. Any unjustified anxiety, fear should alert, because if you do not start to deal with the problem right away, then obsessions will constantly haunt and develop into a neurosis, a mental disorder.

Causes of obsessions, panic attacks

1. Stress. How often is a person stressed? Almost anywhere - both at home and at work, on the bus, shop, on the street - you can get negative emotions. Any difficult situation, depression, fatigue, exhaustion, hypersensitivity causes stress. And when this process is already constant, it is likely that it will develop into a panic attack and emotional exhaustion.
2. Lifestyle. If a person eats irregularly, abuses fast foods, healthy and fortified foods are not included in his diet, but in excess of alcohol and tobacco, as well as drug-containing substances, this is the right path to neurosis, obsessive thoughts, ideas.
3. Lack of introspection. A person must carry out mental hygiene with himself, that is, clean his consciousness. Do not put off for later anxieties, fears, stressful situations. They need to be understood, analyzed, understood what caused them, shared with relatives, friends, and specialists. Even a general dissatisfaction with one's appearance and mental abilities can develop into a neurosis.

Unfortunately, not everyone adequately perceives what is happening and starts the problem, it becomes chronic, which negatively affects mental health and the state of the body as a whole.

The question arises: "Is it really a neurosis, obsessive thoughts - this is schizophrenia? And is it possible to avoid the problem?" Neurosis is treated, but it is necessary not to delay the problem, not to wait until it develops into a more serious problem. Yes, intrusive thoughts are schizophrenia. If you do not get rid of them, they can cause this terrible disease. With a competent approach and taking medications, it will be possible to forget about it from time to time, but it is advisable not to bring yourself to such a state.

Obsessive Thought Syndrome (OMS)

It is also called obsessive-compulsive disorder. This is a state when a person imposes monotonous, frightening thoughts on his mind, where he can also begin to perform certain actions or even rituals.

The patient is convinced that their implementation will prevent the occurrence of any negative situation and help to avoid certain events. This is what is meant by the syndrome of obsessive ideas, thoughts.

How to get rid of fears and obsessive thoughts? Why is this condition dangerous? According to research, such processes are also called neurosis. Naturally, it is not recommended to run it. At the first symptoms, you should seek the help of a professional or try to cope with panic attacks on your own. The main thing is to realize the presence of signs of obsessive ideas, thoughts. This is the first step to recovery.

Causes of Obsessive Thought Syndrome

Experts cannot give a definite answer to this question. Nevertheless, they identify a number of factors under which there are panic attacks, intrusive thoughts.

Biological reasons:

• Having a head injury.
• Various complications after infectious diseases.
• Pathologies associated with mental disorders.
• Sleep disturbance.
• Decreased standard of living.
• Lack of serotonin or dopamine. Serotonin is a hormone that prevents depression and is also responsible for the condition nervous system and productive brain function. Dopamine is a hormone of happiness that allows a person to experience a feeling of joy, pleasure, pleasure.

Nightmares

Surely not everyone realizes that constant nightmares can be a symptom unpleasant disease. What? Psychosis and nervous breakdown.

Quite often, a nightmare can appear for no reason, but it can also be the result of obsessions, states. This is already a problem caused by anxiety, some kind of disorder, depression.

The appearance of a negative picture during a night's rest is especially likely, when a person has experienced a trauma or an event has occurred in his life that radically affected his fate. This may be the loss of a loved one, dismissal from work, physical or mental trauma, an operation, an emergency.

It also happens that a person may be genetically predisposed to nightmares, or they are caused by sleep apnea syndrome (another name is restless legs syndrome).

recurring bad dreams should alert and become a cause for concern, so we offer several options for getting rid of unpleasant experiences.

We cure nightmares

If the nightmare is closely related to obsessive thoughts or panic attacks, it is important to consult a professional, but a number of actions that can get rid of restless sleep will not hurt.

• Build to avoid stressful situations. Cleanse your thoughts. It is important to go to bed with a clear mind.
• Start meditating, do yoga. As practice shows, this is a fairly effective exercise allows you to human body to relax. Practice for a few minutes a day, and then extend the process from 30 minutes to an hour.
• Find an activity you enjoy. It can be simple embroidery, knitting, jogging in the morning, reading literature or chatting with friends and relatives. Hobbies help relieve stress.
• Before going to bed, take a bath with fragrant foam, salt. Treatments like these are great for relaxation.

Emotional disorders

Most people who feel uncontrollable fear can stop feeling emotions towards the family. That is, they cease to worry about children, parents, husband, wife.

This is the so-called emotional inadequacy caused by a neglected mental state. It is at this point that schizophrenia begins to develop. It manifests itself in the obsession of ideas, weakening of sensitivity or strong aggression towards others, relatives. Unfounded anger and intense irritability appear.

Also a sign of emotional disorder is aimless walking through the streets, at home, apathy, lethargy, lack of hobbies, joy. Further, the patient may stop feeling hungry or even lose interest in food. People become distracted, untidy, constantly looking at one point.

Here you need to start sounding the alarm and seek help from specialists as soon as possible. Because obsessive thoughts develop into a different form of pathology, the name of which is schizophrenia. A person can no longer cope with this on his own.

The first signs on the way to disorders

Obsessions entail a series of uncontrollable actions. For example, a mother who sends a child to school and is sure that something can happen to him, to “distract trouble” can wave his hand five times after him. Or the girl getting on the plane twisted ten times the day before so that the tragedy would not happen. These are obsessive thoughts that border on prejudice, but not at all a reason to consider a person abnormal. And yet these are the first signs on the way to disorders.

Thinking that something bad might happen is a great breeding ground for stress. The mistake lies precisely in the fact that a person confuses the fact, how he would act, with the fact, how he really will act. He jumps to the action itself and fights what hasn't really happened yet. What to do if obsessive thoughts torment you?

How to get rid of fears

So, how to get rid of fears and obsessive thoughts? Heed the following tips:

• Tip 1. Write down obsessions, and don't leave everything unattended. Try to think about where the fears came from. Awareness of your problem is already the right way to solve it.
• Tip 2. Samurai. To understand the essence, let's remember one proverb. It reads: "In a deadly fight, only the samurai who dies will win." Try to think about the worst possible outcome, analyze your emotions and think about what you need to do in this situation. This technique helps to get rid of anxiety, reduce its level.
• Tip 3. Empathy. Let's say you have a panic attack in the middle of the street. Turn your attention to the person passing by and try to imagine his thoughts. Think about what he may be afraid of or dreaming about, what he wants or who he hates. Note that this exercise will be useful. It helps to distract from obsessive thoughts, and also enhances emotionality.
• Tip 4. Get ahead. Try daily to evoke unpleasant emotions associated with fears in yourself. This will help control thoughts and try to reason logically.
• Tip 5. We refuse to fight. Panic attacks are based on nothing more than anxious thoughts and fear. We try to turn on indifference and stop blaming ourselves for anything. We just relax. To do this, we make the installation: "There are negative thoughts - it's good, they are absent - it's also normal."

Remember. The work ahead is long and difficult, so you should not expect an instant result. Sometimes obsessive thoughts can haunt a lifetime with varying frequency. Learn to shift in and out. Take everything for granted and fight, there is nothing to be afraid of. But if constant feeling danger interferes with your life, contact specialists.

So, if intrusive thoughts have settled in your head, treatment should be immediate. Let's try to quickly get rid of various kinds of fears:

• We close our eyes.
• We begin to breathe evenly through the nose, concentrating on the whole process. We begin to think of negative thoughts as something animated. We imagine that they are trying with all their might to make them believe.
• Think that the obsessive thought is a liar, and you have seen through his deceit. Don't be afraid to tell him about it. Did you say? Now watch the process from the side.
• Now imagine the deceiver disappearing from your mind. He leaves or becomes small, or simply disappears.
• Continue to think freely without thinking about the negative.

Now you know how to deal with obsessive thoughts, overcome fear and panic attacks. Always listen to yourself and ask for help in incomprehensible situations, but never be alone with negative thoughts. Fight them and don't let yourself be defeated. There has to be one winner here - you.

In detail about obsessive thoughts: what is it, treatment for OCD. Psychology

Syndrome of obsessive states and thoughts - OCD. What is this mental mechanism, and how to get rid of obsessive thoughts and fears? Video

Greetings!

For me, this article is very important, because I am familiar with the problem of obsessive thoughts from my own experience.

And if you are reading it, you may have encountered something like this yourself and do not know how to deal with it.

It will be not only about the knowledge of psychology, but even more importantly, about your own experience, feelings and important subtleties that you need to go through yourself to know about.

I want you on your own practical experience, and not on someone else's words that you heard or read somewhere, applied and tested what will be discussed in this article. After all, nothing and no one can replace your own experience and awareness.

Somewhere I will repeat myself in the course of the article, but only because these are very important points that I want to draw your special attention to.

So, intrusive thoughts, what is it?

In psychology, there is such a thing as “mental chewing gum”. This name alone should tell you something - a sticky, viscous, addictive thought.

Obsessive thoughts, obsessive states or obsessive internal dialogue - scientifically OCD (), otherwise called obsessive-compulsive disorder.

This is a mental phenomenon in which a person has a painful feeling of forced appearance in the head of some repeatedly repeated information (some thoughts), which often leads to obsessive actions and behavior.

Sometimes a person, exhausted by obsession, himself invents some behavior for yourself action-ritual, for example, counting some numbers, numbers of passing cars, counting windows or pronouncing certain “stop words (phrases)” to yourself, etc. etc., there are many options.

He invents this behavior (action) as a way of some protection from his obsessive thoughts, but in the end these “action-rituals” themselves become obsessions, and the situation only gets worse over time, because these actions themselves constantly remind a person of his problem, reinforce and amplify it. Although this can sometimes help in moments, it is all one-time, short-term and does not get rid of OCD.

Mechanism of occurrence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

No matter how strange it may seem to someone, but the main reason for the emergence and development of obsessive states, in whatever form it manifests itself, are: firstly, the formed the habit of constantly having an internal dialogue with oneself, moreover, in an automatic (unconscious) way on any exciting old or new occasion;secondly, it attachment to some of their beliefs (ideas, attitudes) and deep faith in those beliefs.

And this obsessive thinking, to a greater or lesser extent, is present in many people, but many do not even know about it, they just think that it is right, that this is a normal way of thinking.

Having become habitual, an obsessive internal dialogue manifests itself not only in what is important for a person, but also in any everyday, daily and new situations. Just watch yourself carefully and you will quickly understand.

But more often this is manifested in what a person is obsessed with, what worries him greatly and for a long time.

From the constant scrolling of a monotonous, restless (often frightening) and essentially useless internal dialogue, such fatigue can pile up that, apart from the desire to get rid of these thoughts, there is no other desire. Gradually, this leads to fear of one's own thoughts, before their appearance, which only aggravates the situation.

A person loses freedom and becomes a hostage of an obsessive state. There is insomnia, VVD symptoms () and almost constant, increased anxiety.

Actually, the general internal anxiety and dissatisfaction for some reason led to the possibility of this problem, but this is the topic of other articles.

Obsessive ideas (thoughts) in their essence.

What are obsessive thoughts in general in their inner essence?

It is very important to understand that obsessive thoughts are those thoughts that, without our will, make us think about something. As a rule, these are straining, monotonous (monotonous) internal scrolling dialogs the same mental plot, just in different ways. And this unconscious stream of thoughts in the head can so absorb attention that at that moment everything else that is happening around almost ceases to exist.

An obsessive state, as a function of the brain, oddly enough, has its own natural task, it plays a certain role and is something like a “reminder”, “signal” and “enforcer” that push a person to something.

Many of you may now think, and here is some kind of “reminder” and “signal”, because obsessive thoughts are still just thoughts.

Actually, it's not just thoughts. And the main difference between obsessive thoughts and ordinary, logical ones is that these thoughts, despite all their often seeming reasonableness, do not contain anything healthy in their internal filling.

These irrational, emotional thoughts, as a rule, are always connected with our fears, doubts, resentments, anger, or with something important and disturbing us. These thoughts are always based on an emotional charge, that is, their basis is emotion.

And what can be useful in this obsessive mechanism?

The Imposing Signal is called a signal that informs us about something. This mechanism is mainly designed to automatically remind and focus our attention on what we consider important to ourselves.

For example, if you have a loan from a bank, you need to pay it off, but you don’t have money right now, and if you are a sane person, you will look for a solution. And in many ways you will be helped by obsessive thoughts, which, whether you want it or not, will often or constantly, at any time of the day or night, remind you of the situation that has arisen so that you resolve it.

Another example of the usefulness of this intrusive feature.

What is so vitally important that a person can think about that can bring him to an obsessive state?

About money, oh better job, better housing, personal relationships, etc. For example, a person has a goal, and he begins to constantly think about it, makes plans, not looking up, does something and continues to think about it.

As a result, if it is non-stop, it goes on for a long time, there may come a moment when, having decided to take a break, he tries to switch and occupy himself with something else, but notices that he still continues unconsciously reflect on your important goal.

And even if he tries to tell himself with willpower and sound reasoning “stop, I need to stop thinking about this, I need to rest,” it won’t work right away.

Obsessive thoughts, in this example, make a person think about the important. That is, they perform a completely useful role, not allowing a person to stop there, but at the same time, not caring about his health at all, because this is none of their business, their only role is to signal, remind and push.

The very occurrence of an obsessive state - dangerous and harmful for us - is a sign that failures in the psyche have begun.

Just keep in mind: no matter what important you do, if you don’t give yourself a good rest, it can lead to any disorders, chronic fatigue, increased anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders and neurosis.

There is only one conclusion - no matter how valuable and useful what you are doing, and what important things you think about, you must always take breaks, stop and allow yourself to have a good rest emotionally, physically and especially mentally, otherwise everything can end badly.

Imposing thoughts on an alarming (frightening) occasion

Obsessive thoughts can be associated with something natural and completely justified, or with something completely absurd, frightening and illogical.

For example, thoughts related to health, when a person, having felt some painful symptom, begins to worry, think about it, and the further, the more he frightens himself. My heart stabbed or pounded hard, immediately thought: “Something is wrong with me, maybe my heart is sick.” A person gets hung up on this symptom, worries, and obsessive thoughts arise about this, although in reality there is no disease. It was just a symptom caused by some disturbing thoughts, fatigue and internal tension.

But you can’t just take them and immediately ignore them. Perhaps it really makes sense to listen to these thoughts, because you really can have some kind of physical illness. In this case, consult a doctor. If, after all the tests, you were told that everything is fine with you, but you still continue to worry, go to the second doctor, but if it is confirmed there that you are healthy, then you are, and you are now just prone to OCD .

Other people are attacked by the compulsive thought of harming and even killing someone close to them or doing something to themselves. At the same time, a person does not really want this, but this very thought haunts and frightens him with the fact that it comes to his mind at all.

In fact, this is a proven fact: there is no recorded case in the world that would lead to terrible consequences. Just the presence of these obsessive thoughts keeps a person from such actions. And the fact that they arise indicates that you not inclined to it, otherwise it wouldn't scare you.

Those who are inclined to something like this, they do not experience within themselves. They either act or wait, that is, they really want it and do not worry about it. If this scares you, then you are not like that, and this is the main thing.

Why did you have your problem? The following happened to you. Some crazy thought once visited you, and instead of saying to yourself: “Well, stupid things can come to mind,” and without attaching importance to this, you would leave yourself alone, get scared and begin to analyze.

That is, at that moment some thought visited you, you believed it and believed that since you think so, it means that you are like that and can do something bad. You trusted without solid grounds this irrational thought, not knowing what is so absurd and can visit any healthy person, this is quite an ordinary phenomenon. That thought, in turn, triggered an emotion in you, in our case, the emotion of fear, and off you go. Later, you got hung up on this thought because it scared you, began to analyze a lot and endowed it with power (importance), so you now have a problem, and not at all because you are some kind of abnormal or mentally ill, that you can and want to do something terrible. You just have a disorder that is definitely treatable, and you definitely won’t do anything bad to anyone.

Thoughts themselves cannot force you to do something, for this you need a real, strong desire and intention. All they can do is make you think, but nothing more. This, of course, is also very unpleasant, and how to deal with it, how to get rid of obsessive thoughts, will be below.

For others, obsessions may be related to everyday things, for example, “did I turn off the stove (iron)?” - a person thinks and checks a hundred times a day.

Some are afraid of getting infected with something and constantly or repeatedly wash their hands during the day, wash their apartment (bath), etc.

And someone for a long time can worry and obsessively think about their appearance (), or constantly worry and think about their behavior in public, control over themselves and their status in society.

In general, everyone has their own, and no matter how scary or acceptable what is imposed, it is all essentially the same - OCD only in different manifestations.

An example of how obsessive thinking can manifest itself

Let's briefly, using a simple example, see how often the habit of obsessive thinking can manifest itself, and what physically strengthens and reinforces this habit.

If you have a conflict or argument with someone, and some time has already passed, and the thoughts associated with the situation do not let go.

You continue to mentally, unconsciously scroll through it in your head, conduct an internal (virtual) dialogue with the opposite side, argue about something and find more and more justifications and evidence of your rightness or your guilt. You get angry, threaten and think: “You should have said such and such or done such and such.”

This process can go on for quite some time until something grabs your attention.

You worry and get nervous over and over again, but in fact you are engaged in the most real, very harmful absurdity, which is reinforced and automatically moved emotional obsession state and anxiety.

The only right thing to do in this situation is to stop thinking about it, no matter how much you would like it and no matter how important you think it is.

But if you give in, and this compulsive process drags on, then it can be very difficult to gather yourself internally and stop the internal dialogue.

And you can exacerbate the problem even more if at some point you realize that you are not in control of the situation at all, you become even more afraid of these thoughts, you start fighting them in order to somehow distract yourself, and you start blaming and scolding yourself for everything that is now is happening to you.

But the guilt for everything that happens to you is not only yours, but also in the running mechanism, which has both a mental basis and a physical and biochemical component:

• certain neurons are excited, and stable neural connections, at which it begins to develop automatic reflex response;
• the body produces stress hormones (cortisol, aldosterone) and a mobilizing hormone - adrenaline;
• the autonomic nervous system (ANS) starts up, and somatic symptoms appear - the muscles of the body tense up; increased heart rate, pressure, tension, sweating, trembling in the limbs, etc. Very often there is dry mouth, fever, lump in the throat, shortness of breath, that is, all signs of VVD (vegetative-vascular dystonia).

Remember: what to scold and be angry with yourself in this situation - a crime against yourself, much here simply does not depend on you, it takes time and the right approach to stabilize all these symptoms, which will be discussed below.

By the way, you should not be afraid of these symptoms listed above, this is a completely normal reaction of the body to your anxiety state. The same as if there were real a threat, for example, a huge dog would run at you, and you would naturally be afraid of it. Immediately, the heart would pound, the pressure would rise, the muscles would tighten, breathing would become faster, and so on. These unpleasant symptoms are the consequences of the release of chemical elements and adrenaline, which mobilizes our body at the moment of danger.

Moreover, notice and realize the fact that all this happens in our body not only at the moment of a real threat, but also during fictitious, virtual, when there is no real danger now, no one attacks you, and nothing falls from above. The danger is only in our head - we think about something restless, wind ourselves up with some kind of disturbing thoughts and begin to tense up and get nervous.

The fact is that our brain simply does not feel the difference between what is happening in reality and a mental (mental) experience.

That is, all these strong, unpleasant and frightening symptoms can easily be caused by disturbing (negative) thoughts that will provoke some unwanted emotions, and those, in turn, unpleasant symptoms in the body. This is what many people constantly do, and then, in addition, they begin to be afraid of these natural symptoms and even bring themselves to PA () and.

Now, I think it will be difficult for you to immediately realize this, because this moment of the relationship between the psyche and the body requires a more detailed and deep explanation, but this will be discussed in other articles, but now, so that you can slowly begin to understand yourself, I will Again I suggest learning to observe yourself, your thoughts and emotions.

Understand where and what comes from, how thoughts, emotions and other related sensations arise; what happens unconsciously and what we consciously influence; how much it all depends on us, and how your thoughts affect your current state.

How to get rid of obsessive thoughts, fears on your own?

First of all, you need to realize the fact that you cannot completely believe everything that comes to your mind, and you cannot associate (identify) yourself, your “I” only with your thoughts, because we are not our thoughts. Our thoughts are only a part of ourselves. Yes, very important, intellectual, necessary for us, but only a part of us.

Logic (thinking) is our main ally, it is a magnificent tool given to us by nature, but we still need to know how to use this tool correctly.

Most people are sure that ALL our thoughts are only our own thoughts, it is we who invent them and then think them over.

Indeed, since some thoughts arise in our head, then these are, of course, our thoughts, but besides this, they are to a large extent derivatives of various external and internal factors.

That is, what we can experience, and what thoughts now come to our mind, does not depend only on us whether we like it or not. All this directly will be connected with our mood at the moment (good or bad) and will be a consequence of circumstances already beyond our control and past experience.

If we had other attitudes, a different mood, a different past, for example, we would have been born to different parents or would now live in Africa - there would be completely different thoughts.

If some negative moment in the past had not happened to us, there would not have been a bad experience, therefore, there would not have been any obsessive thoughts.

When we associate ourselves, our “I” only with our thoughts, when we are sure that our thoughts are WE, then we have no choice but to deeply believe in everything that comes to mind, but it can come such…

In addition, it is very important to realize that we are able to observe our thoughts, comment on them, evaluate, condemn and ignore them. That is, we are what can be attended to outside of thinking to be aware of oneself outside one's thoughts. And this suggests that we are not only our thoughts, we are something more - what can be called a soul or some kind of energy.

This is very important point in solving this problem. It is necessary to stop identifying yourself with your thoughts, stop believing that they are you, and then you will be able to see them from the side (detached).

Our body is talking to us all the time. If only we could take the time to listen.

Louise Hay

If you start observing yourself and your thoughts, you will quickly notice the fact that most of our thoughts in the head are nothing more than automatic thoughts, that is, they arise unconsciously, on their own without our desire and our participation.

And what is most interesting, most of these thoughts are repeated every day. These are 80-90% the same thoughts only in different variations.

And these are not just someone's words, this is a confirmed scientific fact based on numerous studies. In fact, every day we most often think and scroll through the same thing in our heads. And you can track it yourself.

Second step which I briefly wrote about in the article ““, you can’t fight intrusive thoughts in any way, resist and try to get rid of them, dismiss them and forget.

Take care of yourself: if you try very hard not to think about something, then you already think about it.

If you strive to get rid of thoughts, switch or somehow drive them away, then they will overcome even stronger and more persistently.

Because by resisting themselves endow them with an even greater emotional charge and only increase internal tension, you begin to worry and get even more nervous, which, in turn, intensifies the symptoms (unpleasant physical sensations) that I wrote about above.

So the key point is do not struggle with thoughts, do not try to distract yourself and get rid of. In this way, you will save a lot of energy that you are now wasting on fighting them, without getting anything in return.

How to stop the obsessive internal dialogue if you can not fight?

At the moment when you were visited by obsessive thoughts, and you realized that these thoughts do not tell you something really necessary (useful) - it's just from time to time, repeatedly, like a broken record, a repetitive internal dialogue that gives you something something that is very disturbing and has not yet solved your problem - simply, impartially, indifferently, begin to ignore these thoughts, without trying to get rid of them.

Let these thoughts be in your head, allow them to be, and watch them. Look at them even if they scare you.

In another way, and perhaps it would be more correct to say, without entering into a dialogue with them, without analyzing You just contemplate them gently trying not to think about them.

Do not analyze what obsessive thoughts tell you, just observe them without delving into their essence. Always remember that these are just ordinary thoughts that you are not obliged to believe in, and you are not at all obliged to do what they say.

Don't avoid feeling

Also observe the emotions and sensations that arise in the body that cause these thoughts, even if they are very unpleasant for you. Take a closer look and feel what, how and at what moment is happening. This will give you an understanding of why your unpleasant symptoms occur and why at some point you start to feel worse.

Just like with thoughts, don't try to get rid of these feelings, give in to them even if you feel bad for a while. Remember that these are completely natural, although painful symptoms, and they have a reason. During the war, people did not experience such things, and after that they lived long and healthy.

These sensations are necessary accept and live to the end. And gradually inside of you, at a level deeper than our consciousness (in the unconscious), there will be a transformation of these sensations, and they themselves will weaken until at some point they stop bothering you at all. Read more about sensations in this.

Without struggling with internal processes, you can smoothly shift your attention to breathing, make it a little deeper and slower, this will speed up the recovery of the body (read more about proper breathing).

Pay attention to the world around you, people and nature - everything that surrounds you. Look at the texture of various things, listen to the sounds, and while doing something, direct all attention on this matter, that is, with full attention, plunge into real life.

Acting in this way, it is not necessary to do everything in the sequence I have described, do as you are doing now, the main thing is mindfully and attentively observe everything.

If thoughts return, let them be, but without mental analysis and struggle from your side.

Your indifference and calm attitude without fighting to these thoughts will significantly reduce or even deprive them of their emotional charge. With practice, you will understand this yourself.

Do not rush things, let everything take its natural course, as it should go. And these thoughts will surely go away. And they will leave without consequences or without serious consequences for you. It will turn out that you are calm and smooth, somewhere imperceptibly for yourself, naturally turn your attention to something else.

By learning not to fight thoughts, you learn to live when those thoughts are and when they are not. No annoying thoughts - fine, if there is - also normal.

Gradually, with a change in your attitude towards them, you will no longer be afraid of the appearance of any thoughts, because you realize that you can live in peace, without fear and without being tormented by them. And these thoughts in the head will become less and less, because without running away from them, without empowering them, they will lose their sharpness and begin to disappear on their own.

Arguing with obsessive thoughts and finding a logical solution

It happens that you, trying to get rid of a constantly overpowering, obsessive thought, are looking for some thoughts or mental solutions that would calm you down.

You are thinking intensely, perhaps arguing with yourself or trying to convince yourself of something, but by doing so, you only strengthen the problem from the inside.

In a dispute with obsessive thoughts, you won’t prove anything to yourself, even if you manage to find a thought that calms you for a while, obsessive thoughts will soon return in the form of doubts and anxieties, and everything will start in a circle.

Trying to replace thoughts or convince yourself of something doesn't work with obsessive states.

How to get rid of intrusive thoughts: mistakes and warnings

Don't expect quick results. You could cultivate your problem for years, and in a few days change your attitude to thoughts, learn to observe them impartially, not succumbing to their provocation - it will be difficult, but this really needs to be learned. Some will have to overcome a strong fear, especially in the beginning, but it will get better later on.

Something you can succeed almost immediately, and it will immediately become easier for someone, it will take time for others to feel how it all happens, but everyone, without exception, will have recessions, the so-called “kickbacks” or “pendulum”, when the past state and behavior are returned. It is important here not to be disappointed, not to stop and continue to practice.

Very harmful to talk with someone about your condition, about what you are experiencing, to share and discuss your experiences with a non-professional person.

This can only spoil everything. Firstly, because you once again remind yourself, your psyche, your unconscious about what is happening to you, and this does not contribute to recovery in any way.

Secondly, if the one to whom you tell something, showing his initiative, begins to ask: “Well, how are you, everything is fine? Are you well already? or “Never mind, this is all nonsense” - such questions and words can simply destroy the healing process. You yourself can feel what you feel at the moment when you were told this, take a closer look at your inner sensations, you are clearly getting worse, you begin to feel sick acutely.

Therefore, it is very important to exclude any conversations on this topic with other people, except for a specialist doctor. Thus, by not communicating what you are experiencing, you will remove a lot of reminders (internal messages) that you are supposedly sick, and stop developing your problem further.

Trying not to fight with obsessive thoughts, you watch them, but at the same time you internally want and try to get rid of them, fight them, that is, in fact, the same struggle takes place.

Therefore, a very important initial step here will be to capture and fix the self a wish get rid of intrusive thoughts. Do not follow this desire, just be aware of it within yourself.

You don't have to wait impatiently for these thoughts to go away and not to reappear.

It's impossible, because you can't fool the memory, but to induce amnesia, friends, well, it's imprudent. If you keep waiting for some of your thoughts to disappear and not come back, you are already creating resistance and struggle, which means that the problem will remain a problem, and you will continue to dwell on it.

The key to solving it is not that there will be no more of these or similar thoughts, but in your correct approach - in change in attitude (perception) towards them. And then you just won't care much about what comes to your mind from time to time.

Notice this fact when you are already immersed in an obsessive internal dialogue, or you have some kind of obsessive fear, sound logic completely stops working. You seem to be able to remember or think about something right and necessary at this moment, you can say sensible words to yourself, but if you didn’t succeed in immediately following them, then the logic is no longer perceived, the obsessive state stubbornly dictates its own. Even understanding all the absurdity of this obsession (and many people understand), it is impossible to get rid of it either by willpower or logic.

Impartial(no rating) conscious observation without logical analysis(because, in essence, obsessive thoughts are absurd, and even if in some cases they come on business, they only remind and signal that we need some practical steps to solve the problem, and not about what these thoughts need to think), without identifying yourself with this state (that is, to observe everything that happens inside you: the thought process and sensations from the outside, you are separate, the obsessive state (thoughts and sensations) are separate), and natural, soft, without resistance to these thoughts switching (when you are not trying in every way on purpose, by an effort of will, to be distracted, get rid of, forget, etc., that is, you accept everything that is happening to you now), is the most correct way out of the situation and natural process recovery (liberation from an obsessive state and thoughts), except for.

If you had done this in the beginning, you wouldn't have this problem now.

P.S. Always remember. In any case, no matter what your intrusive thoughts tell you, there is no point in delving into them repeatedly and scrolling through the same thing a hundred and a hundred times.

Even if some kind of obsession suddenly turns out to be justified and will inform you about a real case or some real problem, then you must solve it in a practical way ( actions), not thoughts. You just need to do what needs to be done; what the imposing thought tells you, and then there will be no reason to worry and think about it.

Sincerely, Andrey Russkikh

Intrusive thoughts are one of the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and can often accompany generalized anxiety disorder(GTR). A lot of people write and ask us questions about how to get rid of obsessive thoughts. Therefore, I decided to write to describe some ways to overcome obsessions.

Intrusive thoughts and anxiety

Intrusive thoughts because they appear in the head suddenly and their content is frightening and causes suffering to those whom they disturb. For example, a young and anxious mother has the thought that she might harm her child, or a deeply religious woman who sits in church has blasphemous thoughts and fear that she might start saying them out loud. Obsessions make a person afraid, ashamed and feel like terrible people.

If you are worried about these manifestations, then I think you have noticed that you cannot stop thinking about these disturbing thoughts, and the more you try to stop thinking, you become more and more obsessive.

The biggest fear for a person with obsessive thoughts is the belief in the ability to do what he thinks.

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Let's look at what to do about obsessions so you can reduce your anxiety and discomfort. It's time to allow yourself to get out of this vicious cycle.

Separation with thoughts

The biggest fear for a person with obsessive thoughts is the belief in the ability to do what he thinks about. And the first step in reducing the impact of obsessive thoughts is to understand the fact that thoughts do not equal action.

Example: Imagine being given a hammer and nails and told to hammer them into a wall. Most likely you will do it calmly. And if they give you the same nails and hammer, but at the same time they ask you to hammer them into the hand of another person. I am sure you will have a fear of doing this, which will stop you from doing this, because you are aware of the consequences.

It is because of fear that you will never be able to do what arises in your thoughts.

Rest assured, intrusive thoughts are not who you are. Thoughts do not define a person and his actions.

Useful facts about obsessions

Other ideas that may help you detach from your thoughts:

• We do not always control the thoughts that appear in our mind. If you pay attention, you will notice that most thoughts come by themselves. For example, you wake up in the morning, and the thought stream is already rushing through your head. And only sometimes, by an effort of will, we direct them to solve a particular problem. But it is worth solving this problem, as the thought stream begins to flow in its own direction.
• We have no control over when thoughts come and when they go. In most cases, we don't even know how the thought-producing factory that produces them works.
• We have no way to stop this factory without damaging the brain with surgeries or pills. Our head is constantly thinking about something. Try to get rid of thoughts and stop thinking for at least 10 minutes and, most likely, you will see that you are unlikely to succeed.
• We can't delete a thought that we don't like, like a file on a computer. Rather, on the contrary, as soon as we try to get rid of it, how it becomes a constant object of our thoughts.
• Thoughts will never become reality just because you think about them. For example, you might think that tomorrow you will grow wings. But no matter how much you think, you are unlikely to succeed in flying.
• Thoughts are absolutely powerless. Without your actions, thoughts are nothing. You are completely in control of your actions, so obsessions will remain nothing more than words and images in your mind.

Let the obsessive thoughts run freely in your head and they will become the background, and shift your focus to those things that are really important to you.

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Along with separating yourself from thoughts, it is also important to accept (allow) these thoughts.

Acceptance (permission) to reduce anxiety and intrusive thoughts

Accepting something that makes you feel rather uncomfortable may seem crazy to you, but it's effective. I think you have noticed that the more you struggle with intrusive thoughts and try not to think about them, the more they overcome you. This is because they become the focus of attention and you fall into their trap when you fight. Gradually, intrusive thoughts consume almost all of your attention.

Instead of fighting them, let the intrusive thoughts just be there. You don't have to love or enjoy them, but don't try to push them out of your mind. Just accept that these thoughts appear without your knowledge and continue with your usual activities.

You can say the following: “I notice a thought in my head…” This will allow you to understand that it is just a thought and separate yourself from it. Most importantly, do not enter into a dialogue with her, do not argue, in fact, do nothing. Let thoughts flow freely in your head and they will become the background, and focus your attention on the things that you do in a given period of time, on what is truly important and valuable to you.

Thus, you separate yourself from the content of thoughts and agree that they exist, but at the same time they are not real and have no power over you and the actions that you perform. By ceasing to be a slave to your thoughts, you will free up a resource in order to move towards your goals, and not remain fixated and tense.

Man differs from other living organisms in his ability to think and reason. Thanks to the brain, the behavior of a human being, in comparison with other inhabitants of the planet, is more conscious. However, the brain can also present unpleasant surprises. How to get rid of obsessive thoughts if the mind begins to regenerate negative ideas?

The main function of consciousness is the creation of the most rational methods of responding to environment. A person is able to be aware of a part of thoughts, as he purposefully thinks about something. The other part is uncontrollable, remaining at the subconscious level.

A person is not fully able to notice the work of his brain. However, this is possible only as long as the mind is effectively doing its job of creating best options behavior.

Unfortunately, the brain, in the course of its activity, is capable of reproducing strange thought forms that give rise to a feeling of anxiety. I want to get rid of such thoughts as soon as possible. However, it is not always possible to deal with this problem on your own.

Psychologists have developed a number of exercises through which you can calm the mind. The choice of methods should be carried out individually. Only such an approach can remove obsessive thoughts.

The essence of intrusive thoughts

Obsessive thoughts are sometimes accompanied by compulsions - obsessive behavior.

Obsessive thoughts arise without the direct participation of the person himself. At the same time, there are no changes in the intellect and consciousness. A feeling of anxiety is what accompanies such thoughts in most cases.

Each person has their own fears. Most often there are thoughts about incurable diseases, fear of doing something wrong and being punished for it, an irresistible desire to double-check your actions.

In most cases, obsessive thoughts are not a sign mental pathologies. You can eliminate them by following certain rules.

Cause

Most often, obsessive thoughts are the result of exhaustion of the nervous system, psychological trauma, overwork, and stress.

All the events that have ever occurred in a person's life are firmly preserved in his memory. The brain stores the most important information, which subsequently affects thoughts and actions.

At times when a person experiences stress, anxiety, resentment, anxiety, negative thoughts arise. Subsequently, such sensations can cause negative experiences, obsessive fears.

How to deal with intrusive thoughts

The initial task for a person who asks himself the question: “how to get rid of obsessive thoughts and fears” is the realization of what is happening to him.

Only then can you take action to eliminate obsessive fears:

• Acceptance of what is happening. There is no point in pretending that negative thoughts do not exist if they periodically arise. An attempt to escape from obsessive fears is nothing but self-deception. Suppressed obsessive fears can destroy a person, take his life under his control. The stronger the fight against negative thoughts, the greater their influence.
• How to get rid of negative thoughts? First, listen to your inner voice. This is the only way to understand that everything that happens is connected with the desire to suppress past negative experiences.
• The next step is accepting your fears. You have to accept that they will follow you for a while. This does not mean that something is wrong with your psyche. Absolutely healthy people tend to experience negative ideas. This is normal and indicates that your brain is active and able to express itself creatively. Acceptance of obsessive fears does not mean that you should indulge them and act under the influence of emotions.
• observation. Watch your fears from the outside. Thoughts that cause shame or guilt should not be rejected. You need to understand that nothing happened for which you should blame yourself.
• Having accepted obsessive thoughts, you do not need to react to them, and you should not divide them into “bad” and “good” ones. You need to stop and calmly watch them from the sidelines, without putting any effort into suppressing them. Obsessive thoughts feed on your interest. In the absence of any emotion towards them, thoughts gradually lose their power and power.
• Change of thinking. How to get rid of thoughts that haunt you? Learn to observe them without making any effort. Only in this way will they disappear.
• The next step is to work on generating . Whenever you start thinking about beauty, love, joy and other positive things, focus, give these thoughts as much time as possible. These exercises will help your brain work in a positive direction, create positive emotions and thoughts.
• At the same time, when obsessive fears arise, do not show interest in them. Over time, this will cause the brain to stop recreating negative emotions. When you master this method, your mind will be completely under control.

Gestalt therapy

• Emotions

Gestalt therapists, to the question: “how to get rid of negative thoughts”, are advised to express their emotions, not to withdraw into themselves. At the moment when obsessive thoughts begin to take possession of you, you should remember the events that led to their occurrence.

Sometimes, before making a decision or doing a job, a person admits that he may not be able to cope. After realizing the problem, you should begin to express your emotions as brightly as possible. You can strengthen them with gestures, intonation or body movements. Such exercises should be performed alone, so that no one interferes with you at these moments.

Gestalt therapists argue that holding back emotions can cause intrusive thoughts. Only after a person learns to express his feelings, the endless stream of thoughts will stop.

• Breath

Proper breathing is capable of . In order for all disturbing ideas to leave you, you should close your eyes and breathe calmly at the same pace. During breathing, you need to monitor your body and its movements, control how the stomach drops and rises. The procedure allows you to remove obsessive fear into the background due to full concentration on a distant object. In addition, breathing relieves muscle tension.

• Drawing

It is necessary to take paper and start depicting on it everything that currently comes to mind. There is no need to concentrate on spelling and words. After a while, you will be able to see how your jerky becomes smoother. This will indicate that inner balance is returning to you. This technique makes it possible to consider obsessive fear from a different angle, allows emotions to come out.

• Free associations

Obsessive thoughts with the help of this technique are removed through confidential communication. During therapy, a person should express everything that worries him, talk about his problems and emotions.

Existential approach

Psychotherapists give advice on how to get rid of negative thoughts by maintaining mindfulness.

To do this, you need to carefully observe what is happening around, focus on people and objects.

As soon as you feel that you have an obsessive fear, you should find an object to which you can transfer your attention. It can be even the most insignificant thing, for example, a pen in your hands.

As soon as you stop concentrating on the details of the world around you, you will again fall into the realm of thinking.

In the process of mastering the technique, one should expand the field of perception. Over time, your attention needs to be transferred, for example, from a pen to a shelf with books. However, from time to time you need to return to small details. From time to time you need to transfer your attention to other objects.

Thanks to this technique, you can control your obsessive thoughts.

Question answer

Another effective technique that allows you to weaken intrusive thoughts is talking to yourself. A person tends to worry not because of real problems, but because of the alleged possible difficulties.

How to get rid of intrusive thoughts with this method? You should ask yourself only four questions: “Is this true?”, “Is there a hundred percent certainty that this is true?”, “What is my reaction to the thoughts that visit me?”, “What would I become if get rid of these thoughts?

Thanks to this technique, we can understand that all our obsessive thoughts are relative. One has only to change the angle of perception, and recently seemingly insoluble questions become obvious.

Meditation

Unfortunately, there is not always an answer to the question: “how to get rid of obsessive thoughts”. Sometimes a person is so deeply immersed in the experience of their fears that it is not possible to completely remove them.

In such cases, meditation can come to the rescue. It will allow you to reduce the level of anxiety, concentrate on things that are important at the moment.

During meditation, you can focus on a particular sound, symbol, or your breath. First, you should learn to detach yourself from observing your sensations.

Starting meditation, you need to take a comfortable position, then switch your attention to the processes that occur in your body and brain. Let your emotions flow past you. They should not be qualified. Watch them from the sidelines.

In order to cope with your fears, you need to understand that they are controlled by a person, and not vice versa.

Excessive concentration on a person, what to do?

One type of obsession is an excessive focus on a particular person. Life is arranged in such a way that everything that is dear to us changes sooner or later. In some cases, for a number of various reasons we have to lose loved ones.

How to get rid of obsessive thoughts in this case:

• Everything changes

The inevitable law of truth is that people come into our life and leave it. If you look at the problem from this point of view, it will be much easier to survive the separation or loss of a loved one. Thoughts about a person who is no longer around should not bring pain. It is better to remember happy moments and thank him for being there.

• Share the love

Give your love to the people around you: friends, family members, colleagues. Help and support them in difficult situations. By giving others your support, you will become stronger.

• Appreciate life

How can you get rid of obsessive thoughts about the past? Just love your life. Realizing that it is only one, that you should not overly concentrate your thoughts on the past, you can become free.

If the methods that are designed to solve the question of how to permanently rid yourself of obsessive thoughts do not give the desired effect, then we can say that negative ideas are excessively intense.

Many psychoanalysts believe that all negative thoughts should be considered as a defense mechanism that is aimed at overcoming all unfamiliar, and therefore frightening feelings. Such forms of protection arise in people who cannot correctly, fully and timely show their emotions.

In such situations, people tend to reduce all their experiences to the rational, understandable to them, easily explained by the mind. However, due to the fact that it is impossible to replace the emotional sphere with the rational one, a person has to repeat his actions over and over again. In this case, it is impossible to achieve the result as such.

It is in such cases, if there is no way to distract yourself from destructive ideas, if you do not know how to get rid of obsessive thoughts correctly, you should seek the advice of a specialist. Only he can create conditions that will help you understand your emotional world.