Coping Successfully with Intrusive Thoughts

Do you ever find yourself stuck on an uncomfortable thought that you simply can’t get out of your head?

Psychologists call these kinds of thoughts, “intrusive thoughts”. Some intrusive thoughts may be just kind of annoying, but others can be quite distressing, repugnant, or anxiety-provoking, such as a shameful memory or a graphic image of a bloody car wreck.

Intrusive thoughts can be so troubling that the sufferer will do just about anything to make them go away. This urgent desire to be free of these thoughts can lead some to compulsive behaviors, such as excessive handwashing and checking, or to the avoidance of all situations that might trigger a return of the uncomfortable thought.

These strategies are ultimately flawed though, since the harder we try to stop “thinking a thought”, the more likely it is that the thought is going to stick around and fester.

As with most anxiety disorders, purposeful exposure to the source of the anxiety is generally the most effective approach to treating intrusive thoughts. The challenge is: how do you set up a successful exposure for something so intangible as a thought?

For unrelenting intrusive thoughts (otherwise known as Pure “O” OCD), I find it very helpful to use audio recordings with clients. In a nutshell, we create a brief script in which the dreaded thought and discomfort are acknowledged and described. Then, clients record themselves reading the script aloud.

By listening to the recording repeatedly on a loop, they are able to get an effective exposure to the thought, gradually leading their anxiety to diminish.

And just as the more distressing a thought, the bigger and more powerful it becomes in our mind; the more mundane we find a thought to be, the easier it is for our mind to move on and focus on other, more pressing things.