Get rid of bad thoughts. Intrusive negative thoughts - what to do

Probably every person has encountered obsessive thoughts at least once. It could be a line from a random song or a more serious problem: an obsession with an idea. Let's pay attention to the latter. Find out from the article how to deal with persistent ideas arising from the desires and anxieties of the individual.

The pathological manifestation of the phenomenon in psychology is called obsessive-compulsive disorder, or (OCD). However, there is no need to be scared right away. I'm sure this is not your case.

Healthy people sometimes become fixated too. We are not talking about the fictitious rituals characteristic of OCD. Healthy people become hostage to their desires, needs, phobias, and expectations. Surely you have encountered something similar: you could not sleep peacefully or think about something else until an important event occurred.

Why is it dangerous?

Even the healthy manifestation of obsessive thoughts is dangerous for a person. Obsession interferes with life, distorts life, and prevents work. Any obsession, even a pleasant one, gradually depletes the body. In addition, when talking about pleasant anticipation of something, it is worth mentioning such a possible option as disappointment.

Reasons for obsession

Negative thoughts take over the mind more often than positive ideas. The most popular obsessive thoughts:

  • The world is dangerous, people are antisocial.
  • Nobody loves me.
  • I don't know what's best to do.
  • This is a hopeless situation.
  • What if I make things worse?
  • I can't get what I want.
  • Maybe they'll take advantage of me.
  • Everyone only wants benefits from me.
  • Why did I do this?

Behind every such negative thinking lies a psychological problem, anxiety, etc. “No one loves me” usually means one specific person. “I won’t succeed” is a typical attitude of a person with low self-confidence. “The world is dangerous” is a consequence of personal negative experience.

The media also contribute: crime news, scary advertising. Thus, adequate concern about one’s health first develops into an obsessive thought, and then into hypochondria. Or a healthy fear for your life - first into an obsessive thought, and then into social phobia.

How to get rid

It will sound banal and ridiculous, but you don’t have to think about it. The more fixated you are on the idea of ​​deliverance, the more fixated you are on the obsessive thoughts themselves. And yes, “how to get rid of it” is a new obsession. What to do? If the problem is real, then solve it. If it is far-fetched or you cannot influence the situation, then accept and worry.

Action plan:

  1. You will have to suffer a little more, since you need to disassemble the thought into its components. Determine the basis of thought: need, condition. After that, work in the identified direction. There is no point in describing all possible options here. As for the need, make a plan to meet it. What tools do you have, which ones do you need to purchase, where can you get them.
  2. Distract yourself by getting your brain to work. Connect. It is better to engage in neutral activities, but if thoughts interfere, then engage in playing with them. The brain has drawn only one scenario for you. Take a piece of paper and a pen, draw or write down several possible scenarios. Pay special attention to the positive scenario, but do not build castles in the air. Have a healthy assessment of your capabilities and adaptive abilities.
  3. Analyze the thought using four questions: “How true is this?”, “Am I 100% sure that this is true?”, “How do I react to these thoughts?”, “Who would I be without these thoughts?” This will help you realize the irrationality of what is happening.
  4. Obsessive thoughts are the result of the work of the subconscious. Analyze whether the situation is so terrible: write down all the real facts and your actions in response to each of them. If you find a hole, then think about whether the result depends on you. If yes, then determine where to get the missing knowledge, skills, and abilities. If not, for example, you cannot bring some event or meeting closer, then you just have to wait and live for your own pleasure.
  5. Try to see the winning conditions for yourself. And think about whether the situation itself will be important in 5 years. Let's say you're nervous about a conversation with your boss. You may be fired. But can't you find another place? You might even get promoted there faster.
  6. Write down on paper everything that brings you joy and satisfaction at the moment. This will help overcome negative thinking.
  7. If you doubt something, do not dare to act, then think about whether your current situation will change in a situation of failure. If you have nothing to lose, then you need to try. If you can lose, then prioritize, determine the value of all the pros and cons.
  8. Think about whether and are bothering you. If this is the case, then it's time to get rid of them.
  9. Is your obsession based on negative past experiences? Find the cause of the fear and get rid of it. Think about a situation from the past that affects you in the present. Analyze it. What has changed in you and your life since then? Are you sure you still can't handle this situation? Think about it, you've probably learned a lot and changed a lot since then.

If you are reading this article, it means that obsessive thoughts regularly torment you. Understand the deeper reasons. Determine which thoughts bother you most often and give them a name. For example, “what if I make a mistake, what if it doesn’t work out” is a fear of failure. And “why did I say that” is excessive self-criticism, a tendency to self-examination. Sometimes you don’t even need to catch thoughts. They speak for themselves: I am ashamed, scared, offended, sad.

Learn to perceive obsessive thoughts as a signal, an indicator of a problem. Determine the main emotion and its cause, fight it. Gradually the thoughts will go away on their own. If you can’t cope on your own, consult a psychologist. He will professionally study your subconscious and help you find the hidden emotion-cause.

Afterword

An obsession is accompanied by a stressful state. – excitement of the body, accumulation of energy. Spill it out. Physical activity helps you think clearly, frees up your mind, makes you work more actively and find new ways to solve problems. In addition, sport increases self-confidence and stimulates the production of joy hormones and anti-stress hormones.

In addition to this, try to get plenty of rest. A tired brain is capable of various pranks, including obsessive negative thoughts. Try meditating in the morning. To make the task easier, concentrate on the rhythm of the clock or pendulum. As soon as you catch yourself thinking the same thoughts, forcefully return to the metronome. Gradually it will become easier to concentrate, and your psychophysiological state will improve.

Bad, Obscene, Blasphemous and Evil thoughts.

What bad thoughts mean, what thoughts really are and how to get rid of bad thoughts in your head.

Good time friends! Many people are bothered by “bad” thoughts and images that come to mind, for example, when I want to do something terrible or obscene thoughts associated with God, and they often ask how to deal with this, they say, you write that thoughts cannot be driven away, but must accept, but how can I accept these thoughts, because they are so terrible.

This is one of the most difficult understandings for people and I believe that not all of you will immediately grasp the essence, nevertheless, let's try to figure it out.

What bad thoughts mean and what they really are.

So, you believe that many of your thoughts are somehow wrong, bad, and you should not have them, and perhaps even someone thinks that you can harm other people with these thoughts.

But if you think soberly and calmly, in fact, in principle, there are no wrong and bad thoughts, just like there are no decisions. There are more suitable or less suitable, ineffective and effective, useful and useless, meaningful or harmful and absurd thoughts.

By nature itself, “good and bad”, “wrong and right” thoughts simply cannot exist, because all thoughts, as a phenomenon, are just thoughts, and initially they neutral, and what makes them bad is our preconception, that is, ours morality(some beliefs are far-fetched by us or adopted from someone).

And in some non-standard situation, a thought that is bad in your understanding may become the only suitable one.

For example, thoughts come into your head that say that you can kill someone, the very word “kill” already scares you, but this thought may become justified or even necessary if it suddenly happens that you need to save yours or someone else’s. - that's life.

And in a situation when this thought suddenly, without any reason, comes and touches your loved ones (surroundings), you simply realize that it is inappropriate, that is, absurd, and calmly ignore it.

Understand the important thing: all thoughts in their deep essence are nothing more than mental “labels” once invented by people to designate certain things and phenomena.

And what we now mean by the word, for example, “devil,” is simply a fictitious “label” that tells what is behind this word. For example, our ancestors could call the “devil” with the word “angel” and now by angel we would perceive something terrible.

And the very fact of the appearance of even the most blasphemous, terrible, desecrating and bad thoughts (images) is not something wrong and something that should not happen, it is simply some kind of knowledge (memory) deposited in the memory. And the fact that something like that comes to your mind, doesn't mean you're bad at all, after all, our brain, as a natural organ, has no moral principles; it doesn’t care what thoughts (information) it throws at us.

But when you think that you should not have such thoughts, you argue with nature itself, and a internal conflict: on the one hand, in reality there is a thought (it appeared), on the other hand, you resist it, mistakenly thinking that the thought is bad and you should not have it. This internal contradiction is what creates the whole problem!

And now, to give you an example, I specifically thought: “What is the worst thing I could do to my woman?” - and my brain immediately gave me a bunch of ideas: “I could now stand up and stab her in the stomach, and I could come up and strangle you." Moreover, the brain not only gives me ideas, but also itself, using the breadth of imagination, diversifies it, introducing details: “not just to stab me with a knife, but in the stomach.”

But I understand perfectly well that I have a choice , I’m not going to do anything like that because it’s not in my principles, and I have completely different plans for her :) But thoughts themselves are possible, the brain itself helped me to assume all this, as soon as I directed it, and gave me a bunch of different variations that I am not obliged to listen to, much less follow them.

What else could bad thoughts be associated with?

Most often, people’s bad thoughts are associated with their personality traits - suspiciousness(belief in evil eyes, omens and prejudices) and self-doubt. I already wrote about this in the article - "". Many people just got used to it think about bad things and doubt everything, not trusting either yourself or others. And they worry about the slightest reason, even for something that did not happen and that is impossible to know and verify.

And very often, uncertainty stems from our distorted attitude towards ourselves and the world around us. Because of false beliefs, rigid and harmful aspirations that make you constantly nervous, angry and worried, dissatisfied with life, yourself and others. We are talking about what in psychology is called neurosis. This is a difficult point to understand, so you can learn about it in detail in the article - "".

In general, if we look carefully inside ourselves, we can notice many absurd, harmful, alien and simply trash thoughts. These thoughts, if you listen to them, begin to destroy us from the inside and do not allow us to move towards.

The reason was - thoughts, they are the ones who drain our energy the most, spoil our mood and constantly lead to unnecessary stress. And most often because of them, people suffer from depression and other disorders.

How to get rid of bad thoughts in your head.

1. To stop being tormented by blasphemous and indecent thoughts, stop considering them wrong and bad from this day forward. Any of our thoughts is just thoughts and no more. And remember that your thoughts are not your identity, but only a part of you, and thoughts are just virtual shortcuts.

You are not bad or abnormal if such thoughts come to you, it’s just the work of the mind (plus your memory).

2. To make it easier and calmer get rid of bad thoughts, start fully morally rest means mentally and emotionally. Relax, watch a good movie or just do something without overthinking yourself. Dream more about your cherished goals in a positive, rosy way and think about the good things that already exist in your life (believe me, this is not enough).

Also, pleasant music and communication, physical exercise and a contrast shower help to mentally calm down and restore your mood. Pay attention to what works best in your case.

3. Be sure to learn to manage your mind and become conscious people, this is simply necessary for health and happiness. I write quite a bit about this on my blog and, in particular, I highly recommend that you try it, which I do myself.

4. To have less in your head bad thoughts were spinning, you need to try to spend less time with negative people and watch less zombie TV with the news and everything that only talks about bad and terrible things, this only negatively excites your brain. Energy and mood are where there is joy, inspiration and peace.

Finally: remember that even after realizing your delusions and starting to look at some thoughts differently, there will still be an emotional “residue”. And here you just need a certain time until everything passes.

It is also important to remember that we cannot just stop bad thoughts from appearing. We all regularly have many harmful thoughts that do not help us live, but make our lives even harder, but we can start treats them right And handle them wisely.

And how to do all this, how to get rid of negative, obsessive and all bad thoughts, I explained in detail in this article.

Best regards, Andrey Russkikh

The formula for mood, psychoemotional and psychophysiological well-being is simple: “As I think, so I feel”. However, some people have, as if automatically, many different negative, obsessive, sometimes bad and even evil thoughts in their heads, which, in fact, organize negative emotions, bad mood, sometimes obsessive (obsessive-compulsive), often bad behavior and physiological , autonomic reactions of the body leading to depression and.

Most of these emotionally distressed people would like to know how to get rid of bad, obsessive, negative and evil thoughts in your head in order to come to harmony within your personality, not suffer mentally and move towards success in life.

In psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, there are many different techniques and methods for getting rid of thoughts in the head, including obsessive, negative thoughts. Today we will look at how to use in practice, sometimes, perhaps independently, or with the help of a psychologist-psychotherapist, one of these techniques: “Social significance” or “Distancing”.

Find out how to get rid of negative, obsessive, bad and evil thoughts in your head using this psychotechnics

This technique for getting rid of negative, bad thoughts in the head is both simple and complex - at the same time. It’s simple because it’s easy to understand and master; it’s complex because in order for it to work and for you to get rid of your obsessive, bad thoughts in your head, you need to practice a little. Those. you need to have a real desire, motivation and be ready to work on yourself and your negative thoughts.

For that, those who learn to automatically apply it in practice, in life, will be given not only the knowledge of how to get rid of obsessive, bad thoughts in the head, but also the ability (skill) to get rid of grief, fears, anger, panic, etc. ., in various life situations.

So, the principles of the technique, how to get rid of bad (bad), obsessive, negative thoughts in your head

The principles of this psychotechnics are related to the “Depersonalization of Personality” method, i.e. the basis is how you perceive various events (situations) in your life and how and what you think (think).

Any life situation (event) has both a personal, subjective (internal), private meaning and a public, external, public one.
Personal significance relates to the intensity of the emotions you experience during an event - you are subjective about this. Social significance- this is the external interpretation of the event, from the point of view of observers.

The difference between the two can be compared to the difference between our reaction to suddenly bruising our own finger with a hammer and our reaction to seeing someone else fall victim to the same misfortune. The only way to change your negative, obsessive thoughts, which give a strong emotional component that leads to preconceived perceptions, is to learn to depersonalize (see) your inner beliefs - somewhat change your worldview, look at the world and this event from an objective point of view, from the outside.

A technique on how to get rid of your negative, obsessive, bad and evil thoughts in your head

1. You need to learn to differentiate between a perceived event and your thoughts about that event.

2. Look at the event from the perspective of social and personal significance. Social significance can be seen if you practice seeing the situation from other people's point of view. The event must be objectified. Remember that you already have a social outlook because throughout your life you have been able to observe others in a thousand different situations. Transfer your perception of other people onto yourself.

3. In order to transfer the meaning of events from the private to the public, you must learn to remove the following from your own perception: emotional variables, intense introspection, and certain metaphysical assumptions. Obviously, this cannot be achieved fully, but the closer you can get to it, the more objective your view of what is happening will be.

4. Once the concept of public meaning is understood, make a list of the main situations you have encountered and the public and private meanings for each.

5. You will first need to interpret the event from a public point of view, after you have automatically perceived it from a personal point of view. As you gradually develop, you will be able to bring the objective view of the event closer and closer to the time of its occurrence and eventually replace the personal perception with the public one during the event itself.

Examples of using techniques for getting rid of obsessive, negative (bad, evil) thoughts in the head

First example

1. Event: anxiety attack. Personal meaning: "I'm going to die."

Public value: Adrenaline and other substances are released into the bloodstream.

2 Event: criticism by another person.

Personal meaning: “I must have done something wrong. I'm incomplete."

Public value: “Someone expresses their disagreement with what I did. The reasons for this are unknown."

3 Event: failure in a business project.

Personal meaning: “I’m incompetent, I’m a failure, I’m going down the ladder of success.”

Public value: “Planning and preparation were not effective enough.”

4 Event: lack of arguments.

Personal meaning: “I’m a weakling, a babble and a bore.”

Public value: “He knew more about the subject than I did and was perhaps more experienced in arguing.”

5 Event: few friends.

Personal meaning: “In essence, it is impossible to love me.”

Public value: “I don’t try to make friends and I don’t treat people very kindly.”

6 Event: failures in sports.

Personal meaning: “I’m not a worthy man.”

Public value: “I don’t have enough reflexes, training, practice.”

7 Event: She became seven kilograms heavier than she was at 17 years old.

Personal meaning: “I forgot about self-discipline.”

Public value: “A 37-year-old woman and a teenager have different metabolic processes.”

Second example, getting rid of obsessive, negative (bad, evil) thoughts in the head:

Personal meaning human fear is such a perception of the world when it seems that something terrible is about to happen and this must be avoided at all costs.

Social, objective meaning is that a real danger may or may not be present, and it is necessary to look at the situation and determine whether it actually exists.

People who need guidance in looking at danger from a social rather than a subjective perspective can use the following five principles.
In general, fear is objective if:

1. There is a real danger to the individual that can cause real harm. It is unreasonable to be afraid of monsters under the bed, since they do not exist, and what does not exist cannot harm us. (Some people are afraid of witches and warlocks).

2. The level of fear is equal to the level of possible damage. The fear of putting a small splinter in your heel would be unjustified, since it outweighs the potential danger. (Some individuals are afraid to behave immodestly in public.)

3. Fear corresponds to the likelihood that something bad will happen. If a person is afraid that a meteorite will kill him, then his fear will be irrational, because the probability of this event is too low. (Some people are noticeably afraid of such low-probability events as plane crashes, although it is clear that the frequency of car accidents is much higher.)

4. Hazard can be controlled. The fear of the sun going supernova is meaningless because the event is beyond human control. (Many people fear that they may have a hidden hereditary disease.)

5. Fear is useful if it manifests itself in a situation where it will keep a person on alert in the face of danger that can be avoided. (Being vigilant about having a "nervous breakdown" in no way reduces the likelihood of this happening.)

Help from a practical psychologist online in getting rid of obsessive, negative (bad and evil) thoughts and the emotions that accompany them.

Almost every person at least once was overcome by unpleasant, disturbing thoughts that took over their thoughts for a short time. However, such experiences did not interfere with fulfilling daily obligations and did not force them to radically adjust their behavior. Unlike such short-lived and unsettling sensations, obsessive thoughts, called in medicine obsessions, “besiege” the brain involuntarily, for a long time and contrary to the volitional efforts of a person.

Peculiarity

Obsessive thoughts are similar to a bad habit: a person understands their illogicality, but it is very difficult to get rid of such experiences on your own. When frightening and disturbing ideas arise, a person maintains a clear consciousness, and his cognitive functions do not suffer. He is critical of his painful condition, and he understands the irrationality of his “obsession.” Often, obsessive thoughts are very frightening due to their obscenity, which in reality is uncharacteristic and alien to a person.

Intrusive thoughts may be adjacent to compulsive actions- an obsessive stereotype of behavior that a person resorts to in order to prevent or eliminate painful ideas that have consumed the consciousness. In this case, we can assume the development of a mental abnormality of a chronic, progressive or episodic nature.

Obsessive thoughts can be accompanied by a high level of pathological or go along with symptoms of depression: depressed mood, ideas of one’s own worthlessness and guilt.

As a rule, a person chooses one of the ways to deal with obsessive thoughts: active or passive. In the first case, the person will deliberately act contrary to his overwhelming idea. For example: if he is haunted by the thought that he will definitely die under the wheels of a car, he will deliberately walk along the side of the highway e. In the second, more common version, he chooses avoidance behavior: he tries to prevent and avoid situations that are scary for him. For example, if a person is convinced that he will inflict a wound with a sharp object around him, he will never pick up a knife and will try not to keep cutting objects in sight.

Classification

How unique each person is, so diverse and extraordinary are the obsessive thoughts that overcome people. Psychologists have repeatedly made attempts to describe and classify obsessive thoughts. Among the most authoritative sources is the classification proposed by Jasper. He divided obsessive thoughts into two large groups: abstract - those ideas that do not lead to fear, and figurative - intense experiences with an affect of anxiety.

The first group includes experiences that are useless and essentially harmless:

  • reasoning - fruitless verbosity;
  • Arithmomania – irrational need to count objects;
  • unnecessary division of words into syllables, and a sentence into words;
  • the need to constantly retell your memories to people around you.

The second group consists of more threatening ideas, which are characterized by a persistent affect of anxiety:

  • persistent doubts and uncertainty in performing any actions;
  • haunting fears of doing something improperly;
  • attraction and desire to commit obscene, prohibited acts;
  • psychopathic experiences of past events, perceived by the patient as occurring in reality;
  • mastering ideas – transferring the individual’s thinking into virtual reality.

People who are haunted by obsessive thoughts can be roughly classified into the following categories:

  • « Raccoons" The fear of infection and contamination creates in patients the need for continuous hygiene procedures, washing linen and things, cleaning and disinfecting the apartment.
  • « Reinsurers" The anticipation of imminent danger forces people to constantly double-check that electrical appliances are turned off, water and gas are turned off, and the door is locked.
  • « Blasphemous atheists" Such persons tend to strive to do everything impeccably, because they are guided by considerations that they will inadvertently sin.
  • « Pedants" They are haunted by obsessive thoughts about the need to maintain ideal order, a certain sequence in the arrangement of things, their strict symmetry.
  • « Guardians" Such individuals are convinced of the importance of storing any items reminiscent of the past that are absolutely unusable or unnecessary in the present. For them, the idea of ​​accumulation is a kind of ritual, insurance against the “inevitable” catastrophe that will occur if such things are thrown away.

Causes of obsessive thoughts

At this stage of medical development, there is no common understanding of the cause of obsessive thoughts. The most substantiated are two hypotheses that combine provoking factors.

Biological factor:

  • congenital anatomical features of the structure of the brain, leading to the peculiar functioning of the nervous system;
  • disruptions in the neurotransmitter metabolic chain, deficiency of serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine and GABA;
  • genetic mutations of the serotonin transporter – the hSERT gene, localized on chromosome 17;
  • infectious influence of streptococci (PANDAS syndrome).

Psychoneurological factor

  • problems of growing up: the emergence of complexes in childhood;
  • a type of higher nervous activity existing in humans with characteristic inert excitation and labile inhibition;
  • the predominance of anancastic traits in the personality;
  • chronic traumatic situations (read more about);
  • severe fatigue and exhaustion of the nervous system.

Treatment of obsessive thoughts

A variety of techniques have been developed to treat obsessive thoughts. In most cases, they can be eliminated without resorting to pharmacological treatment, using the arsenal of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy.

Psychotherapeutic treatment

  • Cognitive-behavioral technique involves an iterative impact on the source of a person’s illogical and inappropriate beliefs, which constitute the essence of obsessive thoughts. During sessions, the patient is gradually limited, leading to a complete ban, in the use of forced compulsive behavior - habitual defensive actions that alleviate anxiety.
  • Cognitive-behavioral approach allows you to completely “reprogram” the brain thanks to a conscious, purposeful focus on catastrophic experiences. In parallel with this, the individual achieves a weakening of the hypertrophied sense of responsibility, learning ways of functional healthy response to emerging obsessive thoughts.
  • Group psychotherapy sessions– a useful measure for obsessive disorder. Interaction with people who have similar problems allows a person to dissuade himself from his “abnormality”, gain confidence in the success of treatment, become a more active participant in therapeutic procedures and quickly get rid of obsessive thoughts.

Pharmacological treatment

Drug therapy– an additional measure in the treatment of the disorder, designed to alleviate the symptoms of obsessive disorder. As a rule, a combined treatment regimen is used, consisting of various groups of drugs:

  • antidepressants;
  • tranquilizers;
  • neuroleptics.

In case of involuntary occurrence of disturbing obsessive thoughts, monotherapy using selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) is preferable, for example: venlafaxine. When attention deficit disorder occurs, it is advisable to combine SSRI drugs with the latest developments - drugs from the SSRI group, for example: combination sertalina (Sertralinum) And atomoxetine (Atomoxetinum).

If there is intense anxiety, treatment is carried out at the initial stage anxiolytics, For example: diazepam (Diazepamum). Benzodiazepine tranquilizers, influencing the limbic system of the brain, regulate emotional functions. There is an assumption that these medications inhibit the action of the neurons of the “punishment system”, which determine the occurrence of subjective negative feelings, including obsessive thoughts. However, treatment with these drugs should be exclusively episodic or short-term due to the risk of developing persistent drug dependence.

For the chronic course of obsessive thoughts in the absence of effect from antidepressant therapy, antipsychotics are used ( antipsychotics), For example: risperidone (Risperidonum). It is worth noting that, although taking antipsychotics reduces the intensity of the emotional sphere, there is a direct relationship between increased obsessive thoughts, the development of depression and prolonged use of large doses of antipsychotics. Therefore, in some countries, for example in the USA, the treatment of progressive mental disorder is not carried out with these medications. In the post-Soviet space, in psychiatric practice for severe forms of OBD without depressive symptoms, it is customary to use long-acting drugs, for example: Zuclopenthixolum.

How to get rid of obsessive thoughts without pharmaceuticals? An alternative remedy for the treatment of obsessive thoughts in depression is a herbal product - St. John's wort extract, for example: in the form of a drug HelariumHypericum. A vitamin-like substance has a beneficial effect on the condition of people suffering from obsessive thoughts inositol.

Treatment with biological methods

In severe forms of the disorder and unrelenting obsessive thoughts, an advisable measure is use of non-comatose atropinization, which involves intramuscular or intravenous injections of high doses of atropine. This biological method leads to depression or complete shutdown of consciousness, which makes it possible to relieve symptoms by improving the suggestibility of patients during hypnotherapy.

How to get rid of obsessive thoughts: effective self-help methods

  • Step 1. An important step in overcoming unpleasant obsessive thoughts is to collect as much useful information as possible about the nature of the disorder by choosing reliable, verified sources. The more knowledge a person has, the easier it is for him to overcome painful sensations.
  • Step 2. How to get rid of obsessive thoughts? The main task in independent work is to understand and acknowledge the fact that obsessive thoughts are not a reflection of the events of reality, but an illusion created at the moment by a sick imagination. You should convince yourself that the fantasies that arise are temporary and surmountable, and they do not pose a threat to life.
  • Step 3. Changing negative obsessive thoughts requires daily painstaking work, which requires a responsible approach and does not accept fuss. You should put it on paper, or tell a friend, exactly what experiences are preventing you from living, and what events are associated with their occurrence.
  • Step 4. Remember that the “goal” of obsessive thoughts is to protect your brain from the flow of reliable information, isolating you from friends, family, and acquaintances. Therefore, no matter how much you would like to be left alone with your thoughts, you should not withdraw into yourself and refuse friendly communication or support.
  • Step 5. In the case of obsessive thoughts, the following method helps many: “They knock out a wedge with a wedge.” For example, if you are convinced that you will definitely become a victim of bites from even a tiny dog, get yourself a reputable service dog. In your practice, you will see that your fantasies are absolutely groundless, and fear can be tamed, just like successfully taming a pet.
  • Step 6. An excellent means of self-help for obsessive thoughts are water procedures:
  • taking warm baths while simultaneously applying a cool compress to the head;
  • contrast shower, dousing alternately with warm and cool water;
  • long swims in natural reservoirs.
  • Step 7 You should learn and apply relaxation methods, meditation techniques, yoga, which will help relieve anxiety - a companion of obsessive thoughts.
  • Step 8 It is necessary to exclude psychologically traumatic situations in the work team and in everyday life. A very important task for parents whose children are predisposed to emotional disorders: to raise the child correctly - to prevent the formation of an inferiority complex or an opinion about his superiority, not to cultivate the idea of ​​​​his indispensable guilt.
  • Step 9 How to get rid of obsessive thoughts? Take measures to maximize room lighting: remove thick curtains, use lamps with bright light. Remember that sunlight activates the synthesis of serotonin, the pleasure hormone.
  • Step 10 Treatment for obsessive thoughts includes following a proper diet. The diet should contain foods high in tryptophan: bananas, dates, dark chocolate, figs.

A prerequisite in the program is how to get rid of obsessive thoughts: to prevent the development of alcoholism, drug addiction and substance abuse - powerful killers of the nervous system.

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03/26/2018 at 22:55 For such offensive definitions of types of people with OCD, for example, “raccoons” and others, I would sue half-educated psychologists and deprive them of their license. Or better yet, hit him over the head with a stick! You are moral freaks, not psychologists!

Good day, dear readers!

We have already talked about the possibility. And, if you remember, the main point in this matter is a positive attitude.

However, what to do if you can’t tune in to the positive. Therefore, today we will talk about how to get rid of bad thoughts in your head.

Bad thoughts in the head: reasons for their occurrence

Many people think that thoughts in their heads appear out of nowhere. However, the appearance of many negative thoughts has quite objective reasons:

  • Tendency to self-examination

This can easily be attributed to personal qualities. If a person has the habit of replaying in his head the events that happened to him throughout the day, then anxiety will definitely increase. Simply because we are not perfect. And it is quite possible to find some incident in your actions during the day;

  • Low self-esteem

If a person is not confident in his abilities, then performing any, even the simplest action, is a real test. Lack of self-confidence forces a person to calculate all possible scenarios two hundred times. And since there are no ideal circumstances, many thoughts about a bad outcome appear in your head;

  • Suspiciousness and increased levels of anxiety

Therefore, if you begin to fear something after hearing a story from someone, then you should try to pay more attention to positive events in your life;

  • Intrusive thoughts

For example, if you can’t make a choice for a long time. As a result, the emotional state deteriorates significantly. By the way, in a situation of choice, a person may even get sick just to avoid making a decision;

  • Feeling helpless

For example, if a person cannot solve a problem on his own. For some it’s normal to ask for help, for others it’s a whole problem. Therefore, in a situation of complete helplessness, bad thoughts come into the head that the person is completely hopeless and good for nothing.

If you know this feeling, then remember that any crisis is just temporary difficulties, so you just need to wait it out.

Now we know why bad thoughts come into our heads. And if you are familiar with at least one of the listed conditions, then you know exactly how difficult it is to set yourself up in a positive way.

But since, unfortunately, it is impossible to turn off the flow of thoughts in your head, you and I need to learn how to quickly switch to the positive. But first, let's look at the consequences of a negative thinking style.

Negative thoughts in the head: consequences

It would seem that there is such a danger in negative thinking. Well, we think about a bad outcome, so what. After all, not so much depends on us in some situations anyway.

However, there are still negative consequences and quite serious ones:

  • Materialization of our ideas

Last time we already discussed how to materialize positive dreams and desires into reality. However, if there is always negativity in your head, then what prevents it from becoming a reality.

Believe me, the mechanism for materializing dreams and negative expectations is the same. Therefore, it is worth filtering what is in our heads;

  • The nervous system suffers

Remember those moments when your not-so-rosy thoughts were constantly spinning in your head. Do you remember? Now focus and remember how you felt at that time emotionally.

Usually in this state people feel increased anxiety, the level of suspiciousness increases, and many fears appear. And this definitely negatively affects the nervous system;

  • The emergence of diseases

It's no secret these days that our thoughts affect our health. If you stay angry, offended, or afraid for too long, you can get a real disease with a whole bunch of accompanying pathologies.

As you can see, the consequences of a negative thinking style are quite serious. And here the question arises: do you need it? I think not. Therefore, it is important to be able to remove unnecessary thoughts from your head.

How to get rid of annoying thoughts in your head

So, now let's figure out how to get rid of bad thoughts from your head. And the first thing you need to know is that having positive thoughts doesn’t happen quickly.

The reason for this is simple: if you are already accustomed to looking for a catch in everything and thinking about how badly everything can end, then it is quite difficult to get all the negativity out of your head at once. But if you constantly work on yourself, then I am sure that over time you will stop thinking negatively.


And now a little about universal methods that can throw bad thoughts out of your head:

  • Sports activities

There are many advantages in this case: it unloads the nervous system, and distracts oneself from unpleasant thoughts with the need to move one’s legs (especially if one’s strength is already running low). Moreover, with regular exercise, your figure improves, which means your self-esteem increases;

  • Complete rest

Please note: it is much easier to get rid of bad thoughts from your head if you have had enough sleep and rest. If you live in a constant rush mode, then the level of anxiety constantly increases, and it becomes more and more difficult to tune in to the positive;

  • Music

Just don't choose sad compositions. Relaxation or optimistic melodies are more suitable for stopping the flow of negativity in the head;

  • Pictures will also help remove bad thoughts from your head.

To do this, we find positive pictures on the Internet. And the thoughts in your head will also begin to tune in to an optimistic mood. The main thing is to hang them in places where you often stop your gaze. For example, on the wall near the desktop or on the refrigerator.

  • Focus on your passions

If you do what you like, then you won’t need to spend a lot of effort and energy on getting rid of negativity from your head. You will only have time.

Now let’s talk about psychological techniques that can help if the thoughts in your head are confused.


This kind of thinking is eradicated as follows:

  • We write down all fears and negative attitudes on a piece of paper;
  • We divide them into two groups: real and far-fetched. As for far-fetched fears, usually when a person himself classifies them as non-existent, they disappear on their own.

After all, a prerequisite for the disappearance of attitudes that exist only in our imagination is the awareness of their unreality;

  • Now for the real issues that cause concern. Each of them must be written down on a separate piece of paper. Under each problem we write 3 to 5 solutions.

Attention! It is necessary not only to write down solution options, but also to turn them into reality - therefore, opposite the method that is most acceptable to us, we must set a completion date.

For example, if we are afraid to speak in public (and before a speech there are always 250 options for failure), then one of the solutions to the problem may be to enroll in public speaking courses. And we need to determine exactly the date and time when we will deal with this issue.

This is how we deal with every real problem.

You can also use visualization to get rid of negative thinking. But remember that not everything you want can come true just because we imagined it.

For example, it is impossible to restore a relationship with the power of thought. To do this, you also need to establish real contact with the person.



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