intrusive thoughts

[boxofdelights]

Do you have any advice for dealing with intrusive thoughts? I've always found a good hard face-slap effective, but I really need something I can use in public.

Comments

[wordweaverlynn]

Changing focus helps -- anything from deep breathing to (internally) reciting prayers or multiplication tables. If a sudden physical sensation works for you, how about sucking a SweeTart or one of the Altoid sours? Anything intensely flavored (spicy, sour, bitter) would do it. Biting down on a candied habanero pepper would be good.

Or carry a small vial of rock salt dampened with a *strong* essential oil -- lavender, clove, cinnamon, peppermint. A good deep sniff of that should help. Same principle as smelling salts. You could also use ammonia in it, which is a classic aversive stimulus.

[boxofdelights]

Thank you for all the creative suggestions.

[bibliofile]

Nothing more than having a plan in place, such as turning on loud music in the headphones or SOME sort of distraction/interruption. Verbal? Visual? Do a little dance? Experiment a bit.

(For me, well, that's why ghod made antianxiety drugs.)

[boxofdelights]

Thanks! Do the antianxiety drugs keep the thoughts from returning, or just make the experience less painful?

[bibliofile]

Yes, I suppose. THe antidepressants meant that my thoughts run to more normal patterns. When under tons of stress, though, I'll start obsessing about something, and the antianxiety meds rein the brain in and bring it all back to normal sorts of strength.

Remember when the Gulf War started in 1991? After work, we'd come home and watch CNN and then go to bed. Didn't think of much else for like a month. The antianxiety drugs let me think of other things, and I can go to sleep because my brain's not focusing on thinking quite so much. THe thoughts are still there, but they have a more normal scale of presence, if that makes sense.

[jesse_the_k]

Classic smacker is a rubber-band around the wrist; it's a constant reminder, too, in a positive way, of your plan.

[lizw.livejournal.com]

If the thought is about something that legitimately needs my attention - but not right now - then I find that writing it down helps. I usually do this my making a note in the Tasks list in my Blackberry, which tends to be socially acceptable in most of the situations I deal with, provided it's done quickly. The more specific I can make it, the better it works, so "argh, why does Y hate me?" might become something like "Talk to X about how to resolve misunderstanding with his partner Y", with a due date of the next time I expect to see X. But even writing "resolve situation with Y" will work better than brooding about it without writing it down.

If it's more of the "inappropriate self-criticism" variety, I do the CBT thing of inwardly countering/reframing it and then re-focusing on what I'm actually supposed to be paying attention to. I need to be careful to phrase it gently, though, or else I just end up hating myself more. So if the thought is "I'm fat and unattractive", I might tell myself say something like "I'm really sorry you still feel that way, but remember, it's really just an echo of your mother, not what you really believe. Now, let's get back to figuring out the problem at hand, which is: how the heck do we get home now that the Tube has been shut down by snow?" Being compassionate to myself was one of the hardest things to learn, but so valuable.

[boxofdelights]

Thank you. Compassion is the hardest thing here.

[labluething.livejournal.com]

I have a "place" I go to in my head, like an image of something I call up to distract my attention from the circular argh-argh-argh. Mine's a pool of water, but story scenarios work, too. I use the story scenarios for sleeping, too. It helps if they're old material so you don't get yourself excited about how they turn out.

[boxofdelights]

Thank you.

[ljgeoff.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it depends what the thought is and what kind of public -- with friends, coworkers or out shopping. I have this breath thing that I do -- just a deep breath and push it out. It's like the thought leaves with the breath. And I deliberately turn my focus on something else.

[boxofdelights]

Thank you.

[elissaann.livejournal.com]

This comes up in my studio often. One of my students will be singing merrily along, and suddenly, she will think, "I sound awful," and just like that, her singing goes to pieces.

A brain researcher told me that people can only think about two things at once. So I teach my students to pick two things to concentrate on, for example, the words and the music. Or maybe their outgoing breath and the words.

If you can pick two other things to concentrate on, the intrusive thought won't have a pipeline to come down.

[boxofdelights]

Thank you. I'll try that.

[nellorat.livejournal.com]

In addition to what everyone else said: I find many annoying thoughts, of specific kinds, come up mainly or only when I have been working too much and/or am tired. Criticizing myself for thinking them just made me spiral, and refuting them doesn't seem to help, as it does with other kinds-- I find if I just acknowledge the cause, rather than the thought, that seems to work best. "Oh, yes, I'm very tired." They still come back, but less than with any other method I've tried.

[boxofdelights]

Thank you.

[marydell.livejournal.com]

1. Memorize a somewhat complex poem. Recite it inside your head when needed--it derails other thoughts.

2. For a physical solution more subtle than face-slapping, wear a wide rubber band on your wrist and snap it against your inner wrist when needed--quite ouchie, but not injurious (unless you get carried away, I suppose)

3. Tetris in the sky. Zone out and visualize tetris blocks fitting into whatever scenery or furniture you're looking at. This probably only works if you have played a lot of tetris.

[boxofdelights]

Those are really helpful. Thank you.

[eeyorerin]

I say in a very firm internal voice to myself, "Enough. We are not thinking about this now. Save it for later." I don't know why it works but it does for me.

[boxofdelights]

I've used "Don't fret" that way, and often it does help, but sometimes it's just not good enough.

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

I don't really find this a problem (much) except when it interferes with sleep. Which, happily, isn't at all often nowadays. Either way, my only experience with what I'd call intrusive thoughts is rat-in-a-trap thoughts of anguish. I know there are other sorts.

I used to just suffer, really, and either play wordmaking or listing primes in a fairly futile attempt to sleep when it was night. Or, in daytime, stop travelling or cleaning or cooking or whatever-such ASAP and read something engaging.

Now, I usually remember after a bit to pray, and that works quite well for me. But I don't think it's an available for you. As far as I know.

*love*

[snippy]

I used an NLP concept: I started associating an action (for me it's drawing my thumbnail down the index finger pad on the same hand) with feeling confident. When I feel confident I practice the gesture; when I get distracted, I perform it and the confidence follows. It's unobtrusive and it has worked for me.

[pennski.livejournal.com]

Lots of good suggestions here!

One that helps me is to visualise the thought and put it in a wooden box "for later". If it's people-related, I mentally put an image of their face on a silk sheet and fold it up (so it fits in the box). I guess this may not work for you.

Are you familiar with the decision tree about worry? Here's one rather complex version of it http://www.healthyrelationshipsforlife.com/stop-worrying.html

I thought there was a simpler version you could memorise (but I tried to write it out and realised I'd forgotten it!).

Take Care of yourself.

[plasticsturgeon.livejournal.com]

Smuggle a book into the bathroom and read it for a while.

[boxofdelights]

But my brain always comes with me!

[pyrzqxgl.livejournal.com]

Some great suggestions above!

Sometimes, especially when I'm wanting to go to sleep but some worry keeps running around in circles in my head, I have to kind of "manually" (well, that's how it can feel) move my attention to something else, whether an enjoyable daydream type story or something I'm now going to do some work on or whatever.

Thinking about this just made me remember a party some years back which included an outdoor bonfire -- the kids wound up writing down on little pieces of paper bad things they wanted to see the end of, and then throwing them into the fire, all while marching around chanting "BURN *IT*! BURN *IT*!" Probably not something you could generally use in public, though!

[boxofdelights]

Hee! Not generally, no.