Probably, every person at least once faced with obsessive thoughts. It could be a line from a random song, or a more serious problem: obsession with an idea. Let’s pay attention to the latter. Learn from the article how to cope with persistent ideas arising from the desires, needs, anxieties of the individual.
Normal or pathological?
The pathological manifestation of the phenomenon in psychology is called obsessive-compulsive disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, there is no need to be intimidated immediately. I’m sure this is not your case.
Healthy people sometimes go in cycles too. This isn’t about the fictionalized rituals that are typical of OCD. Healthy people become hostages of their desires, needs, phobias, expectations. Surely you have come across something like this: you could not sleep well, think about something else, until an important event came.
What is dangerous
Even a healthy manifestation of obsessive thoughts is dangerous for a person. Obsession interferes with life, distorts perception, does not allow work. Any, even pleasant, obsession gradually depletes the body. Also, when it comes to pleasant anticipation, disappointment is worth mentioning.
Obsession reasons
Negative thoughts take over the mind more often than positive ideas. Most popular obsessive thoughts:
- The world is dangerous, people are asocial.
- Nobody loves me.
- I don’t know how best to proceed.
- This is a desperate situation.
- What if I make it worse?
- I can’t get what I want.
- Suddenly they will use me.
- Everyone wants only benefit from me.
- Why did I do this?
Behind every such negative thinking is a psychological problem, anxiety and fear. “Nobody loves me” usually means one particular person. “I won’t succeed” is a typical attitude of a person with victim syndrome, low self-esteem, self-doubt. “The world is dangerous” is a consequence of psychological trauma, personal negative experience.
The media also do their bit: crime news, scary advertisements. So an adequate concern about your health develops first into an obsessive thought, and then into hypochondria. Or a healthy fear for your life – first into an obsessive thought, and then into social phobia.
How to get rid of
It sounds corny and ridiculous, but you need not think about it. The more you are fixated on the idea of deliverance, the more you are fixated on the obsessive thoughts themselves. And yes, “how to get rid” is a new obsession. What to do? If the problem is real, then solve it. If it is far-fetched or you cannot influence the situation, then accept and worry.
Action plan:
- You will have to suffer a little more, since you need to disassemble the thought into its components. Determine the basis of thought: need, emotion, state. After that, work in the identified direction. It makes no sense to describe all possible options here. As for the need, then make a plan to meet it. What tools do you have, what you need to buy, where to get them.
- Get distracted by making your brain work. Connect your imagination. It is better to engage in neutral activities, but if thoughts get in the way, then play around with them. The brain has only pictured one scenario for you. Take a piece of paper and a pen, draw or write down several possible scenarios. Pay special attention to the positive scenario, but don’t build castles in the air. Be judicious about your capabilities and adaptive abilities.
- Analyze the thought on four questions: “How true is this?”, “Am I 100% sure that it is true?”, “How do I react to these thoughts?”, “Who would I be without such thoughts?” This will help to realize the irrationality of what is happening.
- Obsessive thoughts are the result of the work of the subconscious. Analyze whether the situation is so terrible: write down all the real facts and your actions in response to each of them. If you find a hole, then consider whether the result depends on you. If yes, then determine where to get the missing knowledge, skills, and abilities. If not, for example, you cannot bring some event or meeting closer, then you just have to wait and live for your pleasure.
- Try to see the winning conditions for yourself. And think about whether the situation itself will be important in 5 years. Let’s say you’re worried about a conversation with your boss. You may be fired. But won’t you find another place? You may even get promoted there faster.
- Write down on paper everything that brings you joy, satisfaction in the present moment. This will help defeat negative thinking.
- If you doubt something, do not dare to act, then think about whether your current situation will change in a situation of failure. If you don’t lose anything, then you need to try. If you can lose, then prioritize, value all pros and cons.
- Consider if stereotypes and prejudices are getting in your way. If that’s the case, then it’s time to get rid of them.
- Is your obsession based on negative past experiences? Find the cause of the fear and get rid of it. Remember a situation from the past that affects you in the present. Analyze it. What has changed in you and your life since then? Are you sure you still cannot handle this situation? Think, you probably learned a lot and changed a lot since then.
Since you are reading this article, it means that obsessive thoughts regularly torment you. Understand the deep reasons. Identify which thoughts are bothering you most and give them a name. For example, “what if I’m wrong, suddenly it won’t work” – this is the fear of failure, self-doubt. And “why did I say so?” – excessive self-criticism, a tendency to self-delusion. Sometimes thoughts don’t even need to be caught. They speak for themselves: I am ashamed, scared, offended, sad.
Learn to perceive obsessive thoughts as a signal, a pointer to a problem. Identify the underlying emotion and its cause, and fight it. Gradually thoughts will pass by themselves. If you can’t cope on your own, contact a psychologist. He will professionally study your subconscious, help you find the hidden emotion-cause.
Epilogue
The obsession is accompanied by a stressful state. Stress is the excitement of the body, the accumulation of energy. Throw it out. Physical activity helps to think clearly, frees up consciousness, makes you work more actively and find new ways to solve problems. In addition, sport increases self-confidence, stimulates the production of joy hormones and anti-stress hormones.
In addition to this, try to get enough rest. A tired brain is capable of all sorts of pranks, including obsessive negative thoughts. Try meditating in the morning. To make the task easier, concentrate on the rhythm of a clock or pendulum. As soon as you catch yourself on the same thoughts, return by force to the metronome. It will be easier to concentrate gradually, the psychophysiological state will improve.
