Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts: A CBT-Based Guide to Getting Over Frightening, Obsessive, or Disturbing Thoughts

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If you suffer from unwanted, intrusive, frightening, or even disturbing thoughts, you might worry about what these thoughts mean about you. Thoughts can seem like messages— are they trying to tell you something? But the truth is that they are just thoughts, and don’t necessarily mean anything. Sane and good people have them. If you are someone who is plagued by thoughts you don’t want—thoughts that scare you, or thoughts you can’t tell anyone about—this book may change your life. Some ADAA professional webinars focused on diversity or cultural competency subject matter are eligible for the Cross-Culture Competency Diversity Credit. If a webinar is eligible for this credit, it will be reflected on your credit certificate. If you suffer from unwanted, intrusive, frightening, or even disturbing thoughts, you might worry about what these thoughts mean about you. Thoughts can seem like messages-- are they trying to tell you something? But the truth is that they are just thoughts, and don't necessarily mean anything. Sane and good people have them. If you are someone who is plagued by thoughts you don't want--thoughts that scare you, or thoughts you can't tell anyone about--this book may change your life.

I’m not a religious person but I would pray to God that if I got myself christened he would make these horrible thoughts go away. I would then get it into my head that because I never did get christened I was going to be possessed and become evil. I would stop myself from watching the news or certain films because my thoughts would tell me that I was going to carry out the horrible things I saw, or that something bad was going to happen to me. Intrusive thoughts are unwanted, involuntary thoughts that are usually disturbing or distressing in nature. They usually seem to appear out of nowhere and may reoccur again and again, which makes them feel even more powerful. The thoughts are often out of character and may be against the person’s values or beliefs. It turns out that commonsense approaches to stopping our worries, such as pushing thoughts away, arguing with them, or seeking reassurance, actually feed these worries and help them grow. Sally Winston and Martin Seif—two of the brightest minds in our field—deliver a simple yet powerful two-step process for change.”

For example, you could picture your mind as a blue sky, and your thoughts as passing clouds. Some of the clouds are light, and some dark, but none of them are permanent. In most cases, intrusive thoughts do not have any particular meaning. As long as you recognize that these are only thoughts, and you have no desire to act on them, intrusive thoughts are not harmful.

It's natural to feel worried every now and again, but our anxious thoughts can sometimes be unhelpful.Very very very very ..............helpful. Thanks. Please read/listen to this if you’re struggling with thoughts.