{"id":10551,"date":"2025-08-04T13:23:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T17:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vanessaboglio.com\/?p=10551"},"modified":"2026-05-28T12:40:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T16:40:15","slug":"when-the-mind-loses-control-understanding-intrusive-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanessaboglio.com\/en\/when-the-mind-loses-control-understanding-intrusive-thoughts\/","title":{"rendered":"When the Mind Loses Control: Understanding Intrusive Thoughts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Intrusive thoughts<\/strong> are ideas, images, impulses, or memories that appear suddenly and involuntarily in the mind and are usually disturbing. They slip into our minds without being invited.<\/p>\n\n

Main characteristics:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

    \n
  • Involuntary<\/strong>: They appear without us seeking or wanting them<\/li>\n\n
  • Repetitive<\/strong>: They tend to come back again and again<\/li>\n\n
  • Disturbing<\/strong>: They cause anxiety, guilt, or distress<\/li>\n\n
  • Persistent<\/strong>: They are difficult to eliminate voluntarily<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n

    Related to doubts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

      \n
    • \u00abDid I lock the door\/turn off the stove\/lock the car properly?\u00bb<\/li>\n\n
    • \u00abWhat if I hit someone and didn’t realize it?\u00bb<\/li>\n\n
    • \u00abDid I say something offensive without realizing it?\u00bb<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n

      Related to contamination:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

        \n
      • \u00abWhat if I touched something dirty and got sick?\u00bb<\/li>\n\n
      • \u00abWhat if I didn’t wash my hands properly?\u00bb<\/li>\n\n
      • \u00abWhat if there are germs on this surface?\u00bb<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n

        Violence or harm:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

          \n
        • \u00abWhat if I accidentally push someone down the stairs?\u00bb<\/li>\n\n
        • \u00abWhat if I lose control and hurt my pet or a loved one?\u00bb<\/li>\n\n
        • \u00abWhat if I grab that knife and do something terrible with it?\u00bb<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n

          Fear of losing control:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

            \n
          • \u00abWhat if I scream something offensive in a church or meeting?\u00bb<\/li>\n\n
          • \u00abWhat if I suddenly go crazy?\u00bb<\/li>\n\n
          • \u00abWhat if I accidentally undress in public?\u00bb<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n

            Intrusive thoughts become a problem when they are interpreted as dangerous or when attempts are made to control them compulsively, as in some disorders. It’s important to remember that they are normal, don’t define who you are, don’t predict the future, and resistance tends to strengthen them.<\/p>\n\n

            What to do?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

              \n
            • Don’t fight against them. The more you try to block them, the more intense they can become.<\/li>\n\n
            • Recognize that they are just thoughts, not facts or real desires.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n

              \u00a0<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Intrusive thoughts are ideas, images, impulses, or memories that appear suddenly and involuntarily in the mind and are usually disturbing. They slip into our minds without being invited.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[94,95],"tags":[100],"class_list":["post-10551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anxiety","category-selfhelp","tag-en_us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessaboglio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessaboglio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessaboglio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessaboglio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessaboglio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10551"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vanessaboglio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10559,"href":"https:\/\/vanessaboglio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10551\/revisions\/10559"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessaboglio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessaboglio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessaboglio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessaboglio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}