Intrusive thoughts are out of control. Coping mechanisms?

[Anxioisme]

I’m due to start therapy soon but been on a waiting list. I have severe intrusive thoughts that make me ask multiple questions to check things, I get anxious if I feel like someone has lied to me.

At the moment I wake up with a pounding heart and feel a bit dizzy until I calm down. Just hoping anyone might have some coping mechanisms at least before therapy starts

Following. I feel the same. Then I ask myself..is it intrusive thoughts or is it my gut telling me.. then around I go again.

I have a "safe place" that i created in therapy. It's a white tropical beach (its actually Takisker beach in Skye but needed warmth! palm trees....noone else around and a huge waterfall coming off a cliff. That's where I go, remind myself that I'm safe and do breathing exercises.

If you don't have this set up yet, you need to take a minute, remind yourself you are in the present, they are just thoughts. Nothing bad is going to happen. Try locate a firm happy memory to go to.

Google meditation and breathing exercises.

They aren't nice and I don't get them as often now but I know the feeling of fear, fight or flight x

@superplumb yes exactly this!!! I ask myself if it’s actually my gut and I need to take notice

@CombatBarbie thank you. Yes it’s that feeling of fear fight or flight. I feel out of control when it happens as I can’t control my thoughts and it’s so scary and panic inducing

Therapy will train you and your brain to go elsewhere. Are you able to draw your mind elsewhere when it's happening, happy memory, kids artwork on fridge etc? Breathing and counting can help and just keep repeating this is not real, I'm not in danger.

@CombatBarbie i think the problem is that my anxiety tells me it could be this occasion that IS danger and I will miss it. I can’t get out of the spiral

Two things that helped me with debilitating intrusive thoughts (also therapy):

One, imagining the thought as an anxious person knocking on the door of my lovely fairytale cottage (not really where I live!). I open the door to them and feel so much compassion for them. They mean well but it's not helping. I let them in and we sit down at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and I let them get it all out. They finally finish and I pat their hand and then they say thank you and are able to leave, much calmer than before.

Two, I realised with the help of my therapist that where I thought I was letting the thought go, I really wasn't. I was pushing it away in fear which made my brain feel even more like it was something to worry about. I don't seem to be able to let it go so I actually have to grab on to the thought, let it play out and do its worst basically. (For me quite a lot of things are image based so it's like watching it - I don't know how thst would work with more verbal thoughts. Actually, thinking about it, that is what my cottage image above works for.) At first you do panic, it shocked me how much the first time, but then you habituate to it. It's effectively ERP therapy as I understand it.

Big caveat that this is just what works for me but maybe there's something here that can help while you wait. I still get intrusive thoughts but I now have the tools to manage them and they're no longer debilitating. It feels great! Hoping for the same for you.

I struggled for a long time with intrusive thoughts. On reading up about it I used to try and think oh well if that happens it happens, trying not to desperately push the thought away but to think about it and try and rationalise it a bit. If I was really panicky I’d do things like think of a character in Coronation street with a name beginning with A…B…C… etc.

Citalopram really helped me too…

I feel for you OP. My son (14) has OCD and he's driving himself and our family insane by his repeated questions. "Is this glass clean? Are you sure? Are you REALLY sure?" I try to tell myself that it's not his fault and he's suffering because I'm on my wits end having to cater to all these questions. He has found different coping strategies like touching the wall multiple times in a certain way to refrain from asking. He's on Sertraline for the OCD which did help a bit. Have you tried medication?

I have been there and still occasionally visit.
I know how exhausting and scary it is.
It's so hard to just say "Ok, you're not real, we've been here before, so voice your concerns and go."
Especially when you're not strong enough to do that because you're tired and anxious already.

My tip until you get therapy is to try and keep up the self care. Even in the middle of an anxiety attack still try to make a nice cuppa, have a bath, watch programmes you find comforting and easy to watch. When your heart's not racing do a bit of gentle exercise. These things add up to make your mind and body stronger, and that in turn makes it easier for you to see anxiety/intrusive thoughts as the imposters they are.

I hope you get some peace soon.

I really like the first of these a lot

If you have the same thoughts give them a name. Something like Barry something you can remember easily. Then when you have the thought say ah its Barry again. And then you have the thought in your head you're just saying ah it's the Barry thought. It makes it so much easier to deal with.

I have OCD with horrible intrusive thoughts. One if the things I hate doing, but works, is exposing myself to them but this was done with guidance from psychology and psychiatry (ie I was convinced that I would drown my baby in the bath, so much so that I made plans to totally remove myself from her life.) I was supported to slowly learn to bath my baby and now I do it most nights. Does this make any sense? The fear was chilling and felt so real like I would do this appalling thing

Singing. Sing the loudest, daftest song you possibly can. By the time I’ve made it through Wannabe or Material Girl, it usually passes

I'm reading this with tears in my eyes. So sorry you're going through this and so glad you've the help you need x

@arcticpandas did the medication not fully deal with it then? It’s so hard to cope with and I’m a bit scared of medication!

Gut feelings are quiet. They are more like a calm voice saying ‘hmm, something isn’t right here’

If it’s anxiety, it’s loud and urgent and you will ruminate on it.

Learning the difference between the two is crucial

Thanks @Evaka

it is really hard and scary xx

When things are at their worst, I just think, there was a time before I had these intrusive thoughts, and there will be time where I don't have them anymore as well. This too shall pass.

I'm so sorry you're spiralling.

You might want to think about some grounding techniques that take you out of your thoughts and bring you to the present.

This is a good list:
https://www.healthline.com/health/grounding-techniques#physical-techniques

See 'asoulcalledjoel' on fb . He shows this technique, not for intrusive thoughts but I find it helps. Put your hand on your chest in the area of your heart. That affects your brain, as if you are being hugged or comforted. Controlled breathing, slowly in, slowly out. Start at a count of 3 if you haven't done it before. Focus all your attention on the breathing.

This may not help you now as you seem to be through it but just wanted to add my experience.

I had intrusive thoughts when I had a baby and vividly imagined throwing him down the stairs when I was walking up and down the landing with him. I reframed it in my head - I decided that it was my brain trying to protect him - that it was making me vividly imagined this awful thing to warn me to be careful at the top of the stairs if that makes sense? Like I was scouting for danger to try and protect him

The day when you realise you've not had one of those thoughts for a whole day is bliss. Like being let out of a prison.
Hope OP knows she'll get there.

I've just recently started the STOPP technique. It incorporates breathing and trying to look at things from a different perspective. I was dubious but I'd tried everything else and thought I might as well try this too. It took a little bit of practice but it worked surprisingly well.