What are Intrusive Thoughts and How can we manage them?

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What are Intrusive Thoughts and How can we manage
them? Relief MetroMedi
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• What are intrusive thoughts?
• Intrusive thoughts seem to come out of nowhere.
  These thoughts and images are unwanted and often
  unpleasant. The content can sometimes be
  aggressive or sexual, or you could suddenly think
  about a mistake or a worry.
• You might feel distressed when this happens, but
  having an intrusive thought once in a while is a
  typical part of life.
• Types of intrusive thoughts
• There are several different types of intrusive
  thoughts. Some people may have intrusive thoughts
  about
• Germs, infections, or other kinds of
  contamination
• Violent acts, aggression, or causing harm to
  other people
• Doubts about doing tasks wrong or leaving tasks
  unfinished
• Religion, blasphemy, or being an immoral person
• Sexual acts or situations
• Acting out or saying the wrong thing in public
• Its also possible to have other types of
  intrusive thoughts that do not fit into these
  categories.

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• Sometimes, people who experience intrusive
  thoughts become worried about what they mean.
  This can lead to someone trying to control or
  stop the thoughts. People may also feel ashamed
  and want to keep themselves secret from others.
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• What causes intrusive thoughts?
• Intrusive thoughts may not have a cause. They can
  just happen randomly. Some thoughts wander into
  your brain. Then just as quickly, they exit,
  leaving no lasting impression.
• Less commonly, intrusive thoughts are related to
  an underlying mental health condition, like
  obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or
  post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These
  thoughts could also be a symptom of another
  health issue, such as
• Brain injury
• Dementia
• Parkinsons disease

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• Signs that there might be an underlying cause
  include intrusive thoughts
• Last longer than a brief moment
• Continue to pop back into your head
• Cause distress over time
• Make you feel like you need to control your
  thoughts
• Changes to mental health are nothing to take
  lightly. Early symptoms of some conditions may
  also include
• Changes in thought patterns
• Obsessive thoughts
• Thoughts of disturbing imagery
• These thoughts are nothing to be ashamed of, but
  they are a reason to seek a diagnosis and
  treatment so that you can start to feel better.
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