Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts

Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts

• Everyone has them.

• Differentiation between normal, intrusive thoughts and obsessions linked to OCD.

• These thoughts do not define your character.

  
  Overview of the 7-Step Process

  1. Relabel – Recognize the intrusive thoughts and feelings as just thoughts, not truths.
  2. Reattribute – Remember that the intensity and intrusiveness is caused by our brains, not the content of the thought.
  3. Refocus – Redirect your attention to a positive or neutral activity.
  4. Revalue – Do not take these thoughts at face value. They don’t define you.
  5. Reframe – Change your perspective on your thoughts. See them as they really are: meaningless, random firings of the brain.
  6. Relearn – Understand that by changing your response, you can train your brain to process these thoughts differently.
  7. Respond – The ultimate goal is not to suppress the thoughts but to respond with indifference.
  
  Exercise: Reframing Intrusive Thoughts
  1. Guided Imagery – Close your eyes and imagine they're at a train station. The trains passing by represent their intrusive thoughts.
  2. Visualization – As each thought (train) approaches, you should see the thought written on the side of the train.
  3. Reframing – Instead of getting on the train or interacting with it, visualize it passing by, acknowledging it without judgment and let it go.
  4. Consider– Did you find it challenging? What trains (thoughts) kept coming up?