Nothing changed my perspective on intrusive thoughts like learning they are directly related to mental exhaustion. If you notice them, you need mental rest.
Sleep is helpful but just not doing anything for a little while is helpful too. Sitting around staring into space or looking our a window, no TV, no phone, no book, no shampoo bottle instructions; rawdog reality. Not for super long, 2 or 5 minutes is enough, don’t need to push thoughts away or think of nothing or meditate if that’s not your thing. Just try doing nothing at all for a little bit, let your brain rest.
HazardousBanjo@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Your brain naturally presents you with thoughts of scenarios that would bring danger or great distress to you or your loved ones. There’s an evolutionary purpose in it that isn’t necessarily a secret or slight desire for it to happen.
And, of course, if you have OCD, the feature is broken and plays like an uncontrollable spam-fucking stream of intrusive thoughts that escalate as you try to dismiss them. Also isn’t an indication of secret desire or anything like that. Just that specific mechanic of your mind being on the fritz due to a lack of serotonin.
Macchi_the_Slime@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 day ago
Yeah, my wife has particularly severe OCD in that regard and was constantly dealing with either little things that were somehow going to lead to one of our deaths, or that “danger function” presenting her with a veritable buffet of self harm options.
Funnily enough, when she finally found a combination of meds that got her OCD more under control we found out that it had been making pretty bad ADHD her entire life. That was a wild time. Like, it’s not that she didn’t believe me about my own ADHD symptoms, but it hits different when you’re actually experiencing them yourself y’know?
RustyShackleford@piefed.social 1 day ago
I have a similar problem with OCD, what medications did she find helpful?
other_cat@piefed.zip 9 hours ago
I genuinely wonder if it’s something that’s meant to aid our development of things like empathy too. I only mention it because I remember when I was a child having an intrusive thought, while fishing, of splatting a fish against a cinderblock I could see poking out of the water and actually followed through on it. Hit by INSTANT regret and sorrow. It was a very shitty thing I did but since it still sticks with me I think it did teach me something about the value of animal life. So I wonder if that plays a part–getting kids to do stupid things to learn from them.