How do you get rid of Intrusive thoughts?

Answer 1

Apparently, you really cannot. The key seems to be making peace with them, making them less threatening, and making them less triggering. Here are some things people try and a few extra possibilities although the jury is out on them.

EFT - Emotional Freedom Technique is a method to help process emotional trauma using tapping, affirmations, eye rolling, humming, and counting.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - This is a way to process common emotional issues by learning to recognize behavioral patterns and learning new responses to emotional stimuli.

Medication - Low dose antidepressants and atypical antipsychotics can help some people. However, the effects may wear off and more medication may be required. Maybe someday there will be medication to help you forget things, though medical ethicists have problems with that idea.

Meditation - Learning to clear your mind can help. Just sit in a comfortable location for 10-15 minutes one or more times a day and just stare at a spot on the wall and try to think of nothing. Be warned that some complain of more intrusive thoughts or complain that the thoughts are too intense to allow them to meditate. However, it is possible that may decrease with time.

Answer 2

It seems that you cannot stop intrusive thoughts. You can only 'detach' from them, which means to pay them no attention when they arise in your awareness & realize they are meaningless. Thoughts then loose their power to disturb you. I suggest researching Karma Yoga (Hinduism) or Mindfullness (Buddhism) or Present moment awareness / the here & now (Eckhart Tolle / Gestalt Therapy).

If you are religious, you could try singing hymns to displace unwanted thoughts. Another effective way for some is to get so involved with work or something else to distract from the other thoughts. Video Games are good way to forget for the moment, unless certain games trigger more unpleasant memories. You could try making a list of all your regrets, unfinished business, etc. and then go through them one by one and say "I let this go", "I let this go", etc. That signals to your subconscious mind that it's time to move on.

Another technique is to tell yourself, "Something within me is bringing this memory to mind, and I say 'Hello' to it." If there are accompanying physical symptoms, then touch those areas. It could be that you are quite detached from your feelings, and your emotions are trying to get your attention. The goal here is to let your emotions know that you are paying attention, thus keeping them from having to try so hard. At first, it may make things worse, but you have to continue doing this. It may be frequent at first, but once you are in a habit of listening to your emotions and being empathetic to yourself, the frequency and intensity should diminish.

Answer 3

Probably by talking to such thoughts. Think of them as something within you, and not as a permanent part of you. Try learning how to greet them and just listen to them. If they cause physical sensations, then touch those areas. It may be a matter of learning to trust your emotions and letting your emotions learn to trust you. But you have to do what is in your common best interest, and trying to fight or eliminate a part of yourself won't help.

Another way:

You have to train your mind to ignore them and make them go away as soon as the unwanted thoughts or memories start. When unwanted thoughts or unhappy memories come to mind, there are a few things you can do to try to forget them, at least temporarily. One thing you can do is pick out a favorite song, poem, story, memory, etc. and mentally recite it each time the unwanted thoughts or memories come to mind, and keep going over and over it until the unwanted memory is gone.

Another thing you can try is phoning a close, trusted friend or relative, and have them talk to you until the unwanted memory is gone. It doesn't matter what you talk about; it can be something as trivial as what you cooked for dinner the night before, or talk about a good movie you've seen, or a book you've read. The point though, is to get the unwanted thoughts or memories out of your mind.

You can also replace the unwanted thoughts with your favorite daydreams (we all have them). For example, you can think about what you would do with the money if you won a huge lottery. You can think about where you would go if you could go any place in the world you wanted, and think about what you would like to see or do while there.

Another option is to replace the memories with something creative, such as how you would like to remodel your home or redecorate a room. Even better would be to mentally build your dream home, because that would take a lot of thought for all the details that go into building a new home. You have to first plan the location, then the floor plan. And then the 'real work' begins with the details such as what kind of woodwork, floor types, wall types, colors, kitchen tiles, drapes, carpet, lighting, door types, etc.

In very extreme cases, such as pedophiles fantasizing about young children, they are taught to keep a rubber band around their wrist, then 'snap' it every time they have thoughts of molesting a child. The snapping of the rubber band is uncomfortable enough to distract them from the unwanted thoughts, but not so painful as to cause injury (just make sure it's not tight enough to interferre with circulation).

The main thing is to find what works for you in ridding your mind of the unwanted memories or unhappy thoughts. It may take you a few tries to find what does work best for you, but once you do, I think you will find what helps you.

Answer 4

It can be helpful to practice mindfulness, challenge the thoughts with evidence-based thinking, and seek support from a mental health professional if needed. Engaging in activities that are grounding, such as exercise or hobbies, can also help reduce the impact of intrusive thoughts.