meggo

Its kinda embarrasing but does anyone else have uncontrollable thoughts. Like i sumtimes think these disgusting thoughts that i cant stop. and i dont want to think them

Debra

What thoughts do you have? 'Disgusting thoughts' is very vague. Thoughts of suicide? Thoughts of hurting other people? You need to be more specific.

WildChild

You can discipline your mind just as any other tool you have. Discipline doesn't mean punish by the way, it means training that develops self control. When unwanted thoughts creep into your brain simply say, "Thank you for sharing" and let it go. You could even add, "we aren't dealing with that right now".

If you have some bothersome reoccurant thoughts, especially the "ugly" type why not try first accepting them.They are there, you don't have to act on them. Sometimes our minds explore ugly or fearful things as a way of coping with concerns or fears and lessening the response if they would happen. I have a habit when I enter any new space of identifying all possible exits and defenses. It's done in the space of a second and isn't obvious but I do it. Don't know why but that's ok, if I need to get out, I'll know my options - no worry.
Try writing them and then burin them to release them. Or if you find your self thing of ugly thing try pushing it further to the point of ridiculousness. Rather like the work against the bogarts in Harry Potter. Making the ugly or fear inducing ridculous can rid you of that.

Everybody has some degree of this. Don't stress over it unless you think it may be socio or psychopathic and pushing you to do harm.

KaytKayt

I sometimes have 'ugly' (as you put it) thoughts as well. I didn't really realize it was a common thing. I always just thought I was kind of weird. I guess we all have some what of a 'dark' side. Thanks for posting this thread, it's helped me. And thanks to wildchild, your advice is great

mewhenim

I use thought stopping when I'm having a hard time dealing with everything. All you do is when you're having thoughts you don't like physically say stop out loud and if it doesn't work do it again more forcefully, you may feel a bit silly, but at least you're thinking about that instead of whatever you were thinking before.

meggo

wow i thought i was the only one. but i guess one of my more common thoughts is of people dying. no i dont want to kill anyone, and im not depressed. im really bubbly. but yeah just anything disturbing that i see or here of i cant push out of my head. and thanks wildchild. good advice

jss2000

Meggo,
As the above posts show, you're far from alone in experiencing intrusive thoughts.
The reason why these kind of thoughts seem uncontrollable is fairly straightforward, and is related to how you react to them, and then whether you try to get rid of them. In short, disturbing images like the ones you told us about trigger an anxiety cycle that maintains itself. It happens in a few simple steps:
1.) Disturbing image comes to your mind.
2.) Feel anxiety about the image (because it's so disturbing, it's something you don't want to see, and because the thought has gotten out of your control)
3.) Attempt to put the thought out of your mind
4.) Avoiding the thought confirms your anxious reaction about it (i.e., that the thought of people dying is actually a threat)
5.) By avoiding the thought and confirming its status as a threat, you become more vigilant for the thought to return.
In one of the great ironies of how our brain works, becoming more vigilant about keeping the thought out of your mind actually increases the likelihood that the thought will come to your mind. Think about that one--by trying not to think about dead people you are actually unintentionally retrieving those stored images from your memory.

WC's advice about letting the thought come and go is good. I wouldn't recommend using thought stopping for this problem, though. Thought stopping is good for thoughts that you like (like if you are having cravings for a food or a drug--you like the thought, but it doesn't help you meet your goals). In your case, the thought is "ego-dystonic," meaning you don't want the thought at all.

The way to reduce the frequency of those images is to actually try to think about people dying. Hold those images in your mind. You'll feel anxiety, but it will lessen. Keep the thought in your mind until the anxiety is gone. What you are doing is training your brain to recognize that those mental images are not actually dangerous. When they do come to your awareness, you will feel less anxiety/discomfort. They will seem less threatening.
Then, in one of the great ironies of how our brains can work, those images will start to come to you less frequently. Good luck, I'd love to hear how this works for you.

meggo

wow that actually helped a lot!! ive been doing what you said and trying to keep the image s in mind and they are actually subsiding a little. Thanks!

jss2000

Hooray!! Thanks for passing on the good news.

sallyskellington

I get it quiet often. Once I get worked up about something I don't stop until I cut or burn myself out and then pass out from exhaustion. It's a bad cycle