Sending good vibes and reassuring thoughts. Intrusive thoughts are tough. Mine tend to come when I am fatigued and yet still have to accomplish my work load. I wish I had an answer for you but I guess to know it is not uncommon to have intrusive thoughts and so you are not alone. I think it’s part of our mental system trying to find balance in a way or reacting to the imbalance. Peace.

Hi Livingly,
I deal with intrusive thoughts as well, also like Mark said I’ll definitely get them more when fatigued. but also I can get them more frequently when I’m super stressed as well. Try to be kind to yourself & give yourself the same compassion you would give to another struggling with something (so easy to tell you that & I have to remember that for myself :)

Ps there were a lot of Saints that struggled with intrusive thoughts, all kinds of mental illness’ & addiction ect. & they were some pretty great people.

Sending support, strength & hope
Big hug <3

why are you trying to overcome the habit of seeking reassurance? i hold reassurance and validation as a basic human need. i work to find more effective forms and sources of validation and reassurance.

i opine that it is better to train that habit than to cure a basic human need.
just opining, , ,

steadying support while you work your own opinions.

Well when I say seeking reassurance I mean turning to the Internet for it since the internet does not always help and since I know not everything on the internet Is true or a reliable resource.

For me, the best way I know how to manage intrusive thoughts is to not fight them. The more I push against them the more I seem to focus on them. I try to let the thoughts just kind of pass by and replace them with positive mantras, or if I’m stuck in them, I visualize the intrusive thoughts as just a pesky insignificant gnat flying around my head. I try to visualize gently sweeping the gnat away and then redirect.

I agree we all need validation and reassurance sometimes. Learning to trust yourself can help manage self doubt when those intrusive thoughts start flying around.

It sounds like you have religious scrupilosity. I have it. I just say forgive me and move on.

Ideally, religion can make you a better person, focus on helping others, and making a positive impact in the world. Sometimes it can divert from that, and the thoughts get really intrusive, you should think about getting psychiatric or other help.

The first thing to recognize and keep forefront in your mind is these thoughts are driven by anxiety. Most if not all our thoughts are influenced by anxiety. Get the anxiety down and it enables us to think clearer without the influence of the anxiety. Dr Claire Weeks developed an acceptance method that can do that. It is a simple method of accepting these thoughts as they are, anxiety driven. We learn not to react to them which lessens their influence on our thinking. Reacting is fighting, simple as that. Fighting only reinforces these thoughts and they can overwhelm us. Practicing the method retrains the brain to stop fighting and allows the anxiety to dissipate. I highly recommend this method, it has helped me tremendously.

Sending virtual hugs!

the internet is dandy for looking up facts and figures but not so much for esoterics like reassurance, friendship, romance, etc. for those goodies it is good to remember. "virtual" means "almost." almost reassured is not worth much for my psycho nickel. real time works better for this grizzled, old tech warhorse.

I have been struggling with intrusive thoughts as well. They aren’t like mist people’s intrusive thoughts. I’m not worried that I will hurt someone or embarrass myself. My thoughts are very bizarre, and I worry that this means that I am crazy. I don’t believe the thoughts, but I worry what do they mean about me. I’ve been very sad and very anxious. If you can relate to this at all, maybe it will help both of us feel a bit better. I hope you find joy and peace very soon

I’m new at this so please forgive me if I already posted this. I struggle with intrusive thoughts as well. I’m not worried that I will hurt someone or embarrass myself. My thoughts seem to be different than what most people’s intrusive thoughts are. Mine are bizarre and I worry that this means I am crazy I don’t believe these thoughts, but I guess I worry that I’ll worry that I believe them if that makes any sense. Mostly though I just worry that I’m crazy. If you can relate to this in any way I’d sure like to know. I wish peace very soon

Hi lwest I guess that makes a bit of sense. I sometimes worry that if I’m having these thoughts it means there true