Do you have intrusive thoughts?
I do!
A shit load of them.
I’m actually writing a book on the topic.
Let’s say it’s a near and dear one (kind of).
I could talk about the subject for days.
But tonight, one little thing came to me.
Why do people get intrusive thoughts?
Well, let’s zoom out to a general, high level for a minute.
Every person that I’ve ever meet seems to be driven to achieve something in order to feel secure.
For my husband, it’s stuff. Luxury real estate. Nice cars. Fancy vacations.
For some it’s order and cleanliness.
For others it’s a sense of being in control or in a place of power.
For others, it’s staying invisible.
For me, it’s thinking and feeling “nice” things.
And that, my friends, is where intrusive thoughts originate.
If you don’t really care what you feel or think on a moment to moment basis,
Or maybe I should say if you don’t feel threatened by what you think on a moment to moment basis,
Then you will never have intrusive thoughts.
You just have thoughts.
For example, I know someone who has thoughts about committing violent acts when other people drive poorly.
This person would never actually act on the thoughts, but they don’t find the thoughts troubling at all.
In fact, they rather enjoy the fantasy of it when they are experiencing a fit of rage, knowing full well that they will never make it a reality.
Anybody thinking of that Bible verse that says that thinking something is just as bad as doing it?
Yeah, I call bull shit on that one.
Bull Shit.
I digress.
My point is that an intrusive thought “problem” is the result of a learned belief that you need only certain kinds of thoughts to be safe and secure, to be ok.
That’s it.
What’s even better, however, is that the intrusive thought experience itself is actually showing you that you don’t need a spotless mind to be ok.
You can have the wildly violent, sadistic, and grotesque thoughts, and yet, you are still just fine in reality.
Pretty cool huh?
You’re welcome.
Photo by kevin turcios on Unsplash
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