6 Ways To Stop Intrusive Thoughts

Guy de Maupassant once said: “A sick thought can consume the body’s mass more than fever or consumption”. Everyone has negative thoughts from time to time. The problem is when they become obsessions. But how can you stop intrusive thoughts?

What happens when we have repetitive, negative thoughts for hours or days at a time? They can become dangerous obsessions and even affect your health. But there is good news. All you need to do is apply specific strategies to change your mental habits and stop intrusive thoughts.

Imagine waking up with an anxious thought or perception in your head before you leave bed. As the day progresses, this idea pops into your head again and again. This is an intrusive thought.

What are intrusive thoughts?

We all have occasional, temporary and negative thoughts once in a while. These thoughts only become a problem when you fail to let go of them, and instead let them grind in your head and turn into deep-rooted ideas. When you come here, your thoughts can be troublesome or even harmful.

These thoughts are obviously not good for anyone’s well-being. If they were, we would welcome them with open arms. The unpleasant truth is that these thoughts are always about phobias, fears, worries, traumas or something we feel very vulnerable about. And they do not let us focus on anything else.

In addition to the emotional pain you first experience, intrusive thoughts can also make you exhausted. Repetitive, negative thoughts wear out both yourself and the person you trust. On top of all this , intrusive thoughts will distort reality. It can go so far as to imagine outrageous situations that have nothing to do with reality.

These distortions can be very detrimental to your emotional health, increase anxiety and have a negative impact on your mood. The result is negative thoughts about yourself and your life, such as:

• It’s hopeless.
• It’s going to be a disaster.
• I’m worthless.
• I hate myself.
• I’m useless.
• I’m a loser.

And the worst part is that you believe in them. However, these thoughts have arisen due to anxiety. So if you want to stop intrusive thoughts, take a look at some of the interesting options below.

6 ways to stop intrusive thoughts

Effective measures are needed to stop repetitive, negative thoughts once and for all. Here are a few simple but effective suggestions:

Do not try to stop them

Not only is it useless, but several scientific studies confirm that it can make things worse. The brain is only forced to remember them.

Accept and rationalize

Accepting that anxiety deceives you and causes such thoughts will help you relax and think less about them.

Write them down

Writing down intrusive thoughts is not only a great way to air your head and relax, but your brain then also interprets the thoughts that registered. This helps your brain to stop pulling them forward in time and out of time. In addition, reading this later will make you realize how irrational your thoughts really were.

Exercise and meditation

Exercise reduces cortisol and adrenaline levels in the body, and increases dopamine, endorphin and serotonin levels. In other words, it causes the body to replace anxiety, stress and depression with calm, happiness and self-confidence. This will help you put away the intrusive thoughts for a while. On the other hand, meditation is a great way to teach yourself to control your thoughts and get your attention back to the present. It also does not hurt that it is very relaxing.

Let thoughts go

When intrusive thoughts come, do not lose your composure and try to stop them. Rather accept that they are there. Try to relax, and while doing so, the brain will find something else to focus on and the thought will disappear by itself.

Take B vitamins

Vitamin B deficiency can directly interfere with the effective functioning of your nervous system. Make sure you get enough B vitamins by eating vegetables, fruits, fish, meat and dairy products.

As you can imagine, there are many measures that can help you stop intrusive thoughts. But that they all have one thing in common: they only work if you use them consistently over time.