Intrusive thoughts - Anyone else?

I get these from time to time. You have my utter sympathy, I hate myself for ever entertaining but they can just come uninvited. Like I'm holding a big sharp knife in a kitchen next to a beloved family member, or driving with someone giving me a hard time, or standing on a balcony, or even perhaps just even thinking about saying something really shitty and unfixable and the words sit dangerously in my mouth. Then have to nearly put the knife down, slow down, step away from the balcony, squeeze my mouth shut til the moment passes. To remind myself the outcome is not what I want l, and maybe it's just my mind being a little hyper, perhaps even just having a bit of fun with itself to think of such a nutty thing. I wonder sometimes when you read a story of a murder or a suicide, and in the case of the former certainly where the narrative is that no one suspected that the culprit could be capable of such a thing, maybe they weren't in their normal mind but were overcome by the thought to act out and did so? Not enough to be considered temporarily insane, but perhaps operating in a similar sphere
It's not a daily or weekly occurrence, in fact it's really rare thankfully, and I think it does me good to basically read another persons version of it to know I'm not a one off. I'm in my 40s and do not believe I will act out ever like that, but yeah, hands up to them dark thoughts right here!

Definitely OCD. It's a cruel thing to have.

Hi op , you aren’t alone 🌹 I have them .I’v had them since my very early 20s and I’m 45 now , ramped up when my teen daughter passed a few years ago and some other significant things happened, if I’m stressed or my anxiety is peeking up they tend to get worse . Lots of love to you 💜

I can relate to this so much. I’ve suffered with these since my teens (I’m now 50). It reached a point in my early twenties where I couldn’t sleep, eat or focus at work. I thought I was going mad, but confided in my lovely mum who explained they were obsessive intrusive thoughts. She gave me a book about anxiety and it explained that you have to try and accept the thoughts, however awful, and know that they are just thoughts, and you won’t act on them. They do not mean bad things will happen. I felt like a weight had been lifted off me and I was able to cope and manage it much better.

I get them too, a hundred times worse since I got pregnant!

I just wanted to say, particularly when it comes to thoughts of you causing harm, they’re almost always connected to the things you care about most. When I have a thought like this I remind myself it’s appearing because of just how much I care about them.

Although it’s difficult, it’s best to ‘diffuse’ the thought, ACT therapy is great for learning how to do this. They wouldn’t be a problem at at if you had an intrusive thought and then your reactive thought was ‘what a strange thought!’. It only becomes an issue when we cling to the thought and start to wonder why we’ve had it, or if it’s true. Understanding them helps a lot but I’m needing to remind myself a lot at the moment.

My mantra: Anxious thoughts are not premonitions

Yes I do since I had my children. Definitely got worse since having my second 8 months ago. My brain always goes to worst case scenario, especially when someone else is looking after them and I have spiralled into a panic before when they’ve haven’t answered my calls/messages within 10 minutes 🙈. No wonder I’m going grey!
I’ve never had them where I have been the one doing anything untoward though. Always external factors/other people.

I get them, have done since I was a teen. Became unbearable about 18 months ago. I’m now having talking therapy to address the underlying issues. Long story short - these thoughts/visions have developed as a protector part from previous difficulties. I’ve learnt how to thank the ‘inner monologue’ for trying to help but explain it’s not needed (my internal response is ‘thanks but stop’). It’s gradually improving.

It’s often OCD related - the ‘pure O’ form of OCD.

(I have it.)

It does sound like your intrusive thoughts might be related to OCD. I would make an appointment with your GP and ask for a referral for treatment. In most cases it's very treatable. Intrusive thoughts are really horrible and have a significant impact on your life and mental wellbeing. Look after yourself lovely 💐

It's perfectly normal - there was a long thread on the subject here just this week although I don't know how to look for it.

I had it a lot when my eldest was a baby and do still get it occasionally now. I linked it to anxiety.