We are surrounded by our thoughts for our whole life. It’s a scary thing to realise and highlights just how important our mental health is.
In light of Mental Health Awareness Day that happened this month, I want to focus on what we think, how it affects us and in particular, the intrusive type.
It’s difficult to say how many thoughts we have a day, considering the philosophical debate in itself around what a ‘thought’ is. The range is 6,000 to some studies saying 60,000, and many of these are repetitive. What can be gathered is that our thoughts have an impact on our daily lives, especially for those with mental illness.
"I guess mine definitely are always rooted in things I don’t believe in."
Intrusive thoughts are commonly experienced by those with OCD, body dysmorphia, ADHD, or similar conditions, but can occur for anyone. They can range in severity from ‘I can’t pick number eight it’s unlucky’ to ‘Everyone is looking at me’ or ‘Run that red light’. And they are intrusive - this automatic label displaying how these thoughts are distressing - can be violent or unpleasant and are always unwanted. Most importantly, they are not an impression of the individual.
For Blaine Babbidge their intrusive thoughts come from OCD: “I guess mine definitely are always rooted in things I don’t believe in like ‘I’m worried I’ll become attracted to a relative’ or I’m always afraid when I go by open mailboxes that I’ll have the urge to steal their mail so I close their mailboxes.”
I want to make one thing clear: intrusive thoughts do not define the person who deals with them.
"Even though logically I know I’d never want to do any of that, they still make me feel like a bad person and so I feel like I can’t talk to anyone about them because they’ll think I’m creepy."
But it is a struggle to cope with and remember that, as Blaine says “Even though logically I know I’d never want to do any of that, they still make me feel like a bad person and so I feel like I can’t talk to anyone about them because they’ll think I’m creepy. Which definitely makes me feel a lot more isolated from my friends because I have these creepy thoughts a large amount of the time that are just there.”
To illustrate further, take one’s instantaneous judgement on passer-by. That first thought is generally an indicator of how you have been conditioned by society and your environment. These thoughts can be challenged, ignored, or changed through improving one’s surroundings.
What matters is the response, which shows our true self. It can be understood a thought is intrusive when it is not welcomed.
Our mind is delicate. It is true that, if we think neutral and positive thoughts consistently, our mindset and attitudes will change. But sometimes thoughts are out of our control.
Your reaction is what matters. Do not hate what is not truly you.
