Bad thoughts and anxiety. How to get rid of bad thoughts in your head: advice from a psychologist. We cure nightmares

Fear is a holding anchor.

You need to gather all the forces to fight him and defeat him.

We need to understand that fear does not easily slow us down or hinder progress.

It doesn't let us move forward at all. Many people know absolutely nothing about how to overcome fears and insecurities.

Examples of how fear limits people:

  • If you are afraid to speak English, you will never speak it.
    Until you close your questions about how to conquer fear in yourself, it will continue to silence you.
  • If you are afraid to fight, which means that at the right time you will not be able to protect your close friends in battle.
  • If you are afraid of losing your husband or wife, boyfriend or girlfriend, you will never be his or her ideal as long as fear lives in you.
    In the end, your fear of losing your partner will only push him away, and you will part only because your fate was initially determined by fear that you could not cope with.

The constant feeling of anxiety and fear severely limits and holds us back in many aspects of life.

Get over it and rewrite the script of your life.

Leave the heavy anchors of fear behind and experience the full joy of life.

Where do these phobias come from, the reasons for the appearance

1. False beliefs and concepts, misperceptions of the world

All your obsessive and restless thoughts are taken from false beliefs and concepts in the head.

If there are no false beliefs and concepts, then there are no disorders, experiences.

Watch them, notice them in yourself, and they will start to clean up. Thus, you will worry less and less about how to get rid of fear and insecurity.

2. Faith and nourishment of this feeling by the person himself

You won't be able to overcome your fear until you let him be in charge and as long as you believe in him.

If you believe in fear, it will only increase. And then your treatment of constant feelings of fear and anxiety will be useless, because the conviction in their existence will only increase.

Remember that fear in psychology is just an emotion. This emotion should not affect you.

3. Doubt before something unknown and unknown

When a person is waiting for something new and unknown, the self-assessment process begins. When you evaluate yourself, your strengths are called into question.

Assessing yourself, there is an unnecessary need to always reinforce and confirm this assessment.

Jump into this unknown with pleasure, go towards the new.

In fact, it is the unknown that opens up new horizons, it is there that there is life and new space for growth opens up.

Get out of your comfort zone more often, strive to explore the unknown and no longer think about how to get rid of phobias on your own.

4. The instinct of self-preservation is your cowardly self.

Any feeling we have is justified by evolution and is rooted in the instinct of self-preservation. The reason for the appearance of feelings of fear and anxiety is precisely this instinct.

  • If you are feeling jealous, then this is one of the manifestations of the instinct of self-preservation.
    Jealousy protects you from sexually transmitted diseases, which can be fatal.
  • If you are lazy, laziness saves you energy in case of a predator attack, so that you are ready to run or fight with fresh forces at any moment.
  • Even love It's a feeling for the preservation of life. Being in love gives you a purpose in life that overshadows everything else.
    Love makes the process of procreation pleasant and free from problems. Lovers simply close their eyes to problems.

Love is a feeling that makes sure that nothing interferes with the reproduction of individuals.

Every feeling that we have has a main purpose - save the lives of us and our family.

Fear is just one of these feelings. Know the reason for its appearance, and you will no longer be so worried about how to deal with the fear of death.

After all, this is a simple instinct for self-preservation.

1. Understand that there is nothing valuable in life to cling to.

There is really nothing in life that you can truly cling to.

If you dig deep, then for people, in fact, the most valuable are just sensations (pleasures, good emotions).

But they don't add much value.

To get rid of constant fear forever, you have to be free inside.

People do everything in the world for the sake of sensations, good emotions, tactile pleasures.

All human evolution is a race for emotions and sensations.

People are driven by emotions, they want to experience them.

Hence they are afraid of losing them, people cling and depend on sensations, emotions.

See the world with your own eyes, not the eyes of society.

Otherwise, all your life you will remain shy and timid. More about how to remove shyness and modesty, we .

The inaction of a person and his inactivity determine the degree of development of his cowardice.

Fear is like a virus, it cannot be measured. But can be judged by the reactions of the body.

Antibodies are produced against the virus. Doctors find antibodies in the blood and understand that a virus lives in the body.

The same is true of fear.

Few admit that he has it. But fear can be seen in the results of a person's life.

People stricken with fear show inaction. The person is afraid and does not know what to do with the feeling of fear and anxiety.

He can also be cowardly because of his big ego and. It all limits people.

When the level of fear goes through the roof beyond all permissible norms, it causes complete paralysis of activity.

Since then, all types of treatment are pills, powders and promises of how to conquer fear and self-doubt.

But they do not work while the virus of fear lives in a person.

What you used to call laziness- are not lazy. It is the fear of stepping out of your comfort zone, which has been carefully masked by your excuses.

Fear - real reason for inaction and not laziness. You will know by knowing its reason for appearing.

As soon as a person's fears are removed, the so-called laziness immediately recedes, and activity comes.

3. To deal with fear and anxiety, you need to analyze not the consequence, but the cause of its occurrence.

Otherwise, they will never leave for the rest of their lives.

Subconsciously, people themselves move away from the fight against fear.

People fight not with reason- fear, and with consequences fear is inaction.

It’s easier for people, because fighting inaction is much more pleasant than fighting fear.

So people occupy themselves with all sorts of actions, the effectiveness of which is no higher than simple nose-picking.

It doesn't work. Questions about how to remove fear and embarrassment and be self-confident remain unresolved.

  1. The man who fights fear, does what is most effective, regardless of whether he is afraid to do it or not.
    As a result, a person quickly achieves success,.
  2. A person who struggles with inaction avoids everything that he fears and occupies himself not with what is effective, but with what is pleasant to do.
    Such people spend their whole lives on different nonsense, because their goal is just to be busy. And they get what they want - employment. They get employment instead of results.

All people around tend to be busy and do not even look for an effective method to overcome their fears and phobias.

There are no results because the selected activity is selected people only to avoid their fear, not to achieve results.

Everyone struggles with inaction and not with fear.

Because of this, a person experiences experiences all his life and soars about what.

Engage in self-education, self-development!

  • Self-learning teaches us overcome fears. It teaches us to do what is effective. Thanks to self-development, we are no longer bothered by thoughts of how to deal with fear and anxiety.
  • Fighting inaction teaches us just to be busy. The endless search for employment and blind action bypass fears.

4. Realize that you are not inside the body (all Buddhists know)

The body saves its own skin and is almost always afraid.

Many questions about how to overcome the fear of death or other misfortune will disappear forever and will never return when you realize that you are not in the body.

This does not mean at all that you will deliberately mutilate your body. Not at all!

No need to exaggerate.

You will also continue to do your favorite things, but there will be an awareness that you are not inside the body.

99% of fears are connected precisely with the feeling that that you are this mortal substance. This is where the worry that you might lose something or be deprived of something comes from.

Associating yourself with some object, in this case with the body, you understand that you are mortal. From here, thoughts constantly appear that you can disappear, or the body can fall into danger at any moment. This creates a huge amount of fear. How incredibly helpful it is to realize that you are not the body, the skin.

Realize this and you will no longer be bothered by thoughts of how to get rid of the feeling of fear.

5. Let him do whatever he wants inside of you - an effective non-resistance technique

Fear is illusory.

The main points and essence of this technique:

During this process, you become aware that fear can do nothing but create an emotion or sensation.

After all, fear it's a ghost without reason or basis.

Look straight into fear.

It's just not a real emotion, it can't affect you.

Allowing fear to be, you understand that it is like a ghost. There is no real danger. There is only emotion that appears. And if you do not run away from it, it appears, increases and then disappears. The more often you do NOT run away from fear, the faster the fear will disappear.

By not resisting what comes and goes, you close your questions about how to get rid of obsessive thoughts and fears.

6. Know that fear has no power over you, it is simply experienced in the body.

With this mindset, you realize that fear will be experienced in the body and this is the maximum that will happen to you!

Gradually you do not pay attention to him.

For you this is another emotion that comes and goes.

There is nothing at the root of fear. There is no basis on which he would rest.

Watch the following helpful video on how to deal with the fear of death, the future, failure and all sorts of unnecessary thoughts.

Meditate

If you are haunted by the noise in your head and internal dialogue, then meditation will help you.

Meditation will not help you get rid of fear, but it will allow you to be at peace and remove the internal dialogue.

7. Laugh in his face, he should have only one role in your life - entertaining

Laugh at the mere feeling of fear.

This laughter destroys any of its manifestations.

This is the only weapon. This is how you can overcome anxiety and fear with one laugh.

You cannot fight it, solve it or negotiate with it.

You can just see it's just fake.

Fear is a reflex that develops on its own.

This reflex bypasses the cerebral cortex.

Persuasion and reasoning do not work on him..

Fear does not go through the cerebral cortex and does not respond to persuasion.

If fear or fear arises, laugh and smile at it, and you will be able to get rid of the inner fear.

It makes your life more interesting and exciting. This is how wise fighters in the ring close their questions about, and from all sorts of phobias.

8. Do Your Own Introspection in Writing

Self-analysis allows you to clearly analyze the problem and write independent answers to it.

Grab a pen and paper and do a written introspection.

The benefit is that in this way you can independently remove fears from a person and get answers yourself without the need to turn to someone for help.

For example ask yourself these questions:

  • What worries me now, and what is the cause and source of the problem?
  • What makes me experience this?
  • Is it really real or is it just a feeling?

Everyone will have their own unique answers to questions about how to get rid of fears and phobias.

Everyone can solve the problem himself.

9. Create New Reference Experiences, Break Old Limiting Beliefs

When you face fear and do what was previously scary, the brain creates a new reference experience.

The brain understands that there is no fear and there is no reason to be afraid of something.

So you get new insights on how to treat anxiety and fears.

To leave it behind you have to go through it.

Only by walking through the fear will you rewrite and create a new reference experience that breaks down the old limiting beliefs.

  1. If you run away out of fear, he will chase you all your life. He will wear you down and make your life a rout.
  2. If you walk on fear, then at some point you will realize that it is not there. After all, he was left behind and nothing will hold you back and cannot stop you.

That's all. Now you know everything about how to overcome the fear of death and live in harmony.

The information flow faced by modern man, on the one hand, provides people with the necessary knowledge, on the other hand, it can lead to its incorrect perception. Obsessive thoughts visit everyone, but for some they take on the scale of a mental disorder, especially if they are associated with upheavals in the past or justified by facts in the present. There are many types of such psycho-emotional disorders, most can be eliminated on their own, with simple methods and exercises.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW! Fortuneteller Baba Nina:"There will always be plenty of money if you put it under your pillow..." Read more >>

The impact of anxiety on health

Experts say that the most common causes of illness are the following emotions:

  • anger;
  • resentment;
  • envy;
  • fears;
  • constant restlessness and anxiety due to intrusive thoughts.

The causes of anxious experiences and obsessive thoughts about the failures and horrors that can happen are often emotional upheavals that happened in the past. They can be based on the fear of repeating an unpleasant situation and not knowing how to get out of it. But such thoughts can be born groundlessly, in absolutely healthy people. Accumulating, anxiety leads to nervous tension, in which the work of the digestive system is disturbed first of all. The most common pathology resulting from an unstable emotional state is stomach ulcers.

In second place are "nervous" diseases - disorders of the cardiovascular system.

In addition, constant stress and bad thoughts provoke the following problems:

  1. 1. Addictions: alcohol, drugs, food.
  2. 2. Excess weight, which appears due to overeating or the constant release of a large amount of the hormone cortisol. During an emotional upheaval, cortisol is released into the blood in order to help the body cope with difficulties. But if the stress is prolonged, then this hormone slows down metabolic processes.
  3. 3. Diseases of the reproductive system due to hormonal surges. In women, the hormonal cycle, the microflora of the genital organs are disturbed, neoplasms may appear. In men, potency decreases and the quality of sperm deteriorates.
  4. 4. General immunity decreases, the body becomes more susceptible to infection and bacteria.
  5. 5. There are mental problems caused by depression: complexes, phobias, suicidal tendencies, serious mental illness, including obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Experts believe that all mental disorders develop against the background of depression.

One of the serious mental disorders that occurs due to obsessive thoughts is obsessive-compulsive disorder, a symptom of which is constant anxiety. In addition to the fact that a person constantly thinks about possible danger, he performs the same actions to avoid them. But, according to psychologists and psychotherapists, in some cases, such manipulations only increase the manifestations of the syndrome.

The process of occurrence of obsessive thoughts is associated with the instinct of self-preservation:

  1. 1. A person is initially inclined to enter into internal dialogues with himself.
  2. 2. He has negative emotions because of a certain problem.
  3. 3. There is a belief in the validity of these emotions.
  4. 4. The brain signals that the problem needs to be solved.

But often the significance of the difficulty that a person constantly thinks about is exaggerated.

The most common types of OCD are:

Type of OCD Description, examples
DoubtA person often doubts:
  • in everyday matters: did he close the window, door, taps, did he turn off the gas, are haunted by obsessive ideas about the dangers that could happen if he did not;
  • in the professional field: whether he correctly prepared a presentation, report, report, whether he correctly indicated information in business papers.

Obsessive-compulsive doubts are not logically justified: the sufferer can check many times whether he has performed the necessary action, but this does not make the experience less

attractionFrom time to time, a person is tormented by thoughts of committing a dangerous act: throwing himself under a train or car himself or pushing a loved one, throwing someone from the others out of the window, hitting a relative, raping someone. Such desires cause torment and fears that such a thing might someday happen. There is scientific evidence that people who suffer from compulsions are not capable of doing terrible things, otherwise they would not be afraid of thinking about them. In addition, this has been experimentally confirmed: not a single case has been recorded when obsessive thoughts about causing physical harm ended in actions.
Representation
  • pictures arise in the head about the results of the actions of obsessive drives;
  • absurd, unsubstantiated fears: they buried a living person, and at the stage of exacerbation of the disorder, doubts about the implausibility of ideas disappear and the patient is completely confident in the reliability of his belief
AntipathyThere is a sharply unreasonable negative attitude towards any person from the environment, most often close ones. Annoying, angry thoughts about his bad qualities appear
ActionsGuided by the fear of contracting some kind of disease, a person can wash their hands 40 times a day, endlessly clean the house or meticulously put everything in its place, change clothes, avoid shaking hands, contact with money, sinks and other potentially dangerous objects.
fearsThe most common phobias:
  • hypochondriacal - fears of contracting serious diseases such as AIDS, syphilis, cancer, an eloquent symptom - frequent appeal to medical staff for help and unreasonable intake of a large number of medications;
  • mysophobia - fears of contamination with clay, sand, feces, poisoning, penetration of microorganisms and insects into the body;
  • isolated - associated with the fear of being in certain conditions: in a closed space, in the dark, at a height, in a crowd of people, at a doctor's appointment, on the street during rain and thunderstorms, etc.

A common symptom of obsessive phobias are rituals that people perform with the belief that they will help protect them from terrible events: prayers, casting spells, spitting, various gestures

Affectively neutralThe patient suddenly has memories of some things that he learned before: formulas, wise sayings, rules from a school textbook, quotes from films, lines of poetry. They globally have a neutral emotional color, but interfere with the normal thought process.
AggressiveSuch thoughts are associated with cravings, phobias, and actions. Most often they concern:
  • malicious unfair characterization of another person;
  • the desire to finish or comment on the phrase of another person with one's own with a sarcastic negative meaning;
  • desire to shout cynical and contradictory to the rules and norms of morality of the phrase;
  • fear of causing physical harm and injury to oneself and loved ones - then a person is afraid and avoids contact with weapons, shells and sharp objects;
  • obsessive thoughts about perverted sex: pedophilia, violence, bestiality

To cope with obsessive-compulsive disorder, you need to make sure that the person has intrusive thoughts, and not schizophrenia or Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. In the first case, the state of a person at the time of an attack is characterized by panic and the association of random objects, events and things with his phobias. In the second - uncontrollable tics of the face, sticking out the tongue, grimaces. A qualified specialist can diagnose the disorder.

In severe mental illness, the patient is individually prescribed treatment, which consists of taking medications and psychotherapy sessions of various directions.

How to deal with intrusive thoughts

For the treatment of a disorder that is symptomatic of paranoid thoughts and ideas, it is best to seek the help of a specialist. But you can try to get rid of it yourself. For this you need:

  • to realize the nature of many obsessive thoughts - namely the emotions of fear, to understand that they cannot be removed with the help of logical arguments and rational thinking, this is possible only at the level of the emotional sphere;
  • find out whether obsessive thoughts are based on a real problem (for example, fear of a repeat of a situation from the past, the manifestation of symptoms of a serious illness) or are absurd;
  • work on yourself daily.

If fears are justified, you need to deal with them according to a scheme that provides for logical thinking:

Advice Implementation
AnalysisWhen the panic attack has passed, you need to be alone with yourself, your thoughts and emotions, cast aside fear and assess the overall situation:
  • what are the real reasons for the development of events in the worst way;
  • what can happen in the worst case scenario: dismissal, infection with a disease, the presence of a disease, a fall and other consequences
AdoptionAccept what can happen and evaluate such a development of events: "Is this really the worst thing that can happen, can it be corrected or continue to live a full life?" Dale Carnegie, author of How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, argues that it is at this stage that peace occurs, and the situation ceases to be beyond the control of a person. He seems to "survive" her and wins
ActionsNext, you need to plan adequate actions that will help prevent the worst scenario:
  • visit a doctor if a disease is suspected;
  • think of ways to earn a living in other activities, if fired;
  • analyze debt repayment options other than existing ones.

If you have experience of getting out of such a situation, then annoying memories should be used to the maximum benefit for yourself: take into account the pros and cons of behavior at that moment, learn lessons, reassure yourself that the difficulty has already been overcome once, which means it will work out in the future

Expert advice will help you get rid of absurd obsessive thoughts:

Advice Explanation
Do not believeNot everything that comes to a person's head reflects the features of his personality. Some thoughts arise under the influence of many external factors:
  • events that do not concern him personally, but which he witnessed;
  • films watched, books read;
  • advertising or news on various websites, social networks;
  • living conditions at the moment.

The subconscious, consciousness, emotional sphere and memory constantly interact, store a lot of information in themselves, which only at first glance appears suddenly in thoughts. It can mirror phenomena that are not related to the real views of a person, if now favorable conditions have developed for this at the level of feelings and sensations, so not everything that came to mind is true and a reason to fear for your condition

Don't fightPsychologists say that attempts to resist ideas and thoughts will never be successful, just like the command "no food" causes appetite. You need to come to terms with them and allow their existence in consciousness. Let thoughts appear, but what meaning to give them depends on the person’s self-control and the ability to abstract
Observe and feel emotionsIt is very important to allow yourself to experience your fear, to feel all the emotions that appear along with the thought. When the attack has passed, they can be analyzed and tried to relate to the circumstances: often an observant person notices that they occur in typical situations. Knowing what events and situations provoke the emergence of fears and experiences will allow you to control these emotions. In addition, according to psychologists, the sensations will be sharp and painful only the first time, then the nervous system adapts, and the thought will no longer cause so much horror, and over time it will become obviously absurd
withdraw into yourselfExperts do not recommend sharing the problem of obsessive fears with others because of their subjective assessment. You need to fight this disorder on your own, analyzing, changing the type of thinking and trusting your emotions
change attitudeConcentration on one fear leads to its constant occurrence. You need to learn to think bigger by comparing the problem with something more serious:
  • fear of death - imagine how great it will be to live happily ever after with your family, take care of your grandchildren and how important it is for loved ones;
  • fear of illness - how good it is to be healthy today and stay that way for a long time
ChangesIf the monotony of life is the conditions in which obsessive thoughts arise, you need to try to change them: move, get another job, go on a trip. Being busy with interesting changes will help to switch the focus of attention and forget about the problem at least for a while
RelaxationA similar disorder develops against the background of depression, and it occurs when a person is too overtired emotionally or physically. Good regular rest will minimize the risks of this condition. Be sure to get enough sleep, do something pleasant on the weekend
Spiritual practicesMeditation is recognized as the best method of preventing neurosis and other mental disorders. They help restore the nervous system and streamline all thoughts, make them positive. How to arrange meditation:
  1. 1. Take a comfortable position in which the back is straight.
  2. 2. Close your eyes, inhale slowly through your nose and exhale through your mouth 6 times, try to relax with each exhalation.
  3. 3. Focus on your body as much as possible, "scan" it, but avoid tension.
  4. 4. All beginners are distracted by thoughts from this concentration, this is normal. They must be returned to parts of the body without mental jumps - slowly and carefully.
  5. 5. Do not try to do everything "correctly" the first time, ask yourself the questions "Am I doing everything right?", Just observe.

This practice, along with mindfulness and the ability to focus attention, develops silence in the mind - this is the main goal for a person suffering from obsessive thoughts.

Fix the stream of consciousnessA very effective exercise for getting rid of obsessive fears. Its essence is to write on paper every thought and word that arises in the mind during an attack until the negative emotions disappear. Experts say that all feelings written on paper are visualized and begin to seem insignificant and insignificant, sometimes even funny.
Art therapyOne of the best and most economical methods of treating any mental disorder, which is used both as a primary and as an auxiliary. It can be implemented in many ways without resorting to the help of specialists. Art therapy includes:
  • watching films;
  • listening to music;
  • Reading books;
  • visiting exhibitions and galleries;
  • drawing, including coloring anti-stress coloring pages;
  • singing;
  • modeling;
  • creating a collage using magazine clippings;
  • sewing;
  • production of any crafts;
  • writing stories, poems, etc.

Constant development, proper rest and saturation of life with vivid emotions are the main conditions for getting rid of obsessive thoughts. The more diverse and interesting a person's life, the less often he experiences fears. Severe forms of the course of the disorder should be corrected only under the supervision of specialists.

And some secrets...

The story of one of our readers Alina R.:

My weight especially bothered me. I gained a lot, after pregnancy I weighed like 3 sumo wrestlers together, namely 92 kg with a height of 165. I thought my stomach would come down after childbirth, but no, on the contrary, I began to gain weight. How to deal with hormonal changes and obesity? But nothing disfigures or rejuvenates a person as much as his figure. In my 20s, I first learned that fat girls are called "WOMAN", and that "they don't sew such sizes." Then at the age of 29, a divorce from her husband and depression ...

But what can you do to lose weight? Laser liposuction surgery? Learned - not less than 5 thousand dollars. Hardware procedures - LPG massage, cavitation, RF lifting, myostimulation? A little more affordable - the course costs from 80 thousand rubles with a consultant nutritionist. You can of course try to run on a treadmill, to the point of insanity.

And when to find the time for all this? Yes, it's still very expensive. Especially now. So for myself I chose a different way ...

A person may develop a state in which false ideas, thoughts try to take over consciousness. They attack daily, turning into an obsessive-compulsive disorder. This greatly complicates life, but there are ways to get rid of obsessive thoughts and fears. Without help, over time, the condition will only worsen. It will be more and more difficult to focus on really important things, to find the strength to overcome problems in everyday life. Subsequently, depression sets in, bad thoughts, desires, and sometimes the disorder escalates to schizophrenia.

Why does obsessive-compulsive disorder occur?

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) occurs when the mind is unable to suppress impulses to do something. At the same time, they crowd out all other thoughts, although they are meaningless or unfounded at the moment. The persistence of these impulses is so great that they cause fear. The development of obsessive-phobic manifestations, obsessive neurosis is influenced by biological and psychological factors with varying degrees.

The obsessive-compulsive disorder syndrome has different manifestations, but they all boil down to the main symptoms of this nature:

  • repetitive actions, rituals;
  • regular checks of their own actions;
  • cyclical thoughts;
  • dwelling on thoughts about violence, religion, or the intimate side of life;
  • an irresistible desire to count numbers or fear of them.

In children

OCD also occurs in children. As a rule, the causes of development are psychological trauma. A neurosis develops in a child against the background of fright or punishment; an unfair attitude towards them by teachers or parents can provoke such a state. Separation from a father or mother at an early age has a strong influence. The impetus for the obsessive state is a transfer to another school or moving. A number of factors in the field of family relations that form a disorder in a child are described:

  1. dissatisfaction with the sex of the child. In this case, qualities unusual for him are imposed on him, this causes high anxiety.
  2. late child. Doctors have found a link between the age of the mother and the risk of developing psychosis in the child. If a woman is more than 36 years old during pregnancy, then the risk of anxiety of the baby necessarily increases.
  3. Conflicts within the family. Often the negative from quarrels affects the child, he has a feeling of guilt. According to statistics, in families where a man actively participates in upbringing, neuroses in children occur much less frequently.
  4. Incomplete family. The child lacks one half of the behavior pattern. The absence of a stereotype provokes the development of neurosis.

In adults

In the older generation, the occurrence of obsessive-compulsive disorder is influenced by biological and psychological causes. The first appear, according to doctors, due to disturbances in the metabolism of the neurotransmitter serotonin. It is generally accepted that it regulates the level of anxiety, having a connection with the receptors of nerve cells. They also take into account the influence of living conditions and ecology, but the connection has not yet been scientifically proven.

Psychological factors are manifested in certain life upheavals and stressful situations. You can not call this the causes of neurosis - rather, they become a trigger for those people who have a genetic predisposition to develop obsessive thoughts and fears. It is impossible to identify such hereditary features of a person in advance.

obsessive states

People with certain personality accentuations or those who have undergone psychotrauma are predisposed to an obsessive state. They are subject to an involuntary invasion of feelings, images, actions, they are haunted by obsessive thoughts about death. A person understands the groundlessness of such phenomena, but cannot independently overcome and solve such problems.

The clinical signs of such a condition largely depend on what exacerbated and arose a cognitive-behavioral disorder. At the moment, there are two main types of obsessive thoughts - intellectual and emotional manifestation. They provoke human phobias and panic fear, which sometimes completely break the life and habitual rhythm of people.

intellectual

Obsessive states of the intellectual type are commonly called obsessions or obsessions. In this type of disorder, the following common manifestations of obsession are distinguished:

  1. "Mental chewing gum". Unreasonable thoughts, doubts for any reason, and sometimes without it.
  2. Arrhythmia (compulsive counting). A person counts everything around: people, birds, objects, steps, etc.
  3. Intrusive doubts. Manifested in a weakened fixation of events. The person is not sure that he turned off the stove, iron.
  4. Intrusive repetition. Phone numbers, names, dates or titles are constantly replayed in the mind.
  5. Intrusive presentations.
  6. Intrusive memories. Usually indecent content.
  7. Intrusive fears. They often appear in the field of work or sexual life. A person doubts that he is capable of doing something.
  8. Contrasting obsessive state. A person has thoughts that do not correspond to typical behavior. For example, a good and not evil girl by nature has images of a bloody murder.

emotional

Emotional obsessive states include various phobias (fears), which have a specific direction. For example, a young mother experiences unreasonable anxiety that her child will be harmed or killed. Household phobias can be attributed to the same type - fear of the number 13, Orthodox churches, black cats, etc. There are many different types of fear that have been given special names.

Human phobias

  1. Oxyphobia. The problem manifests itself in the fear of any sharp objects. A person is worried that he can injure others or himself.
  2. Agrophobia. Obsessive fear of open space, attacks cause squares, wide streets. People suffering from such a neurosis appear on the street only accompanied by another person.
  3. Claustrophobia. An obsessive problem is the fear of small, enclosed spaces.
  4. Acrophobia. With this obsessive state, a person is afraid to be on top. There is dizziness and fear of falling.
  5. Anthropophobia. The problem is the fear of large crowds. A person is afraid of fainting and being crushed by the crowd.
  6. Misophobia. The patient is constantly worried that he will get dirty.
  7. Dysmorphophobia. It seems to the patient that everyone around is paying attention to the ugly, incorrect development of the body.
  8. Nosophobia. A person is constantly afraid of contracting a serious illness.
  9. Nyctophobia. A kind of fear of the dark.
  10. Mythophobia. A person is afraid to tell a lie, so he avoids communicating with people.
  11. Thanatophobia is a type of fear of death.
  12. Monophobia. A person is afraid to be alone, which is associated with the idea of ​​helplessness.
  13. Pantophobia. The highest degree of general fear as such. The patient is afraid of everything around.

How to get rid of intrusive thoughts

The psychology of fear is designed in such a way that obsessive states cannot go away on their own. Living like this is extremely problematic, fighting on your own is difficult. In this case, close people should help, and for this you need to know how to get rid of obsessive thoughts and fear. Support can be provided by psychotherapeutic practices or independent work on the advice of psychologists.

Psychotherapeutic practices

With a clear psychogenic nature of the disorders, it is necessary to carry out therapy with the patient, based on the symptoms of the obsessive state. Apply psychological techniques individually for each patient. Obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment can be done individually or in a group. To cure a person, use such psychological types of therapy:

  1. Rational psychotherapy. In the course of treatment, the specialist reveals the "trigger point" of the neurotic state, reveals the pathogenetic essence of the conflict. He tries to activate the positive aspects of the personality and corrects the negative, inadequate reactions of a person. Therapy should normalize the system of emotional-volitional response.
  2. Group psychotherapy. The solution of intrapersonal problems occurs through the study of defects in interpersonal interaction. The practical work focuses on the ultimate problem for dealing with intrapersonal obsessions.

The degree of obsessive states can be different, so the presence of the latter is not a direct road to psychiatry. Sometimes people just need to figure out how to distract themselves from the bad thoughts that originate in the subconscious. To overcome obsessive fear and anxiety, you can use the following techniques:

There are a number of reasons that complicate the process of recovery from obsessive fear. For some, this is due to lack of confidence in themselves and their strengths, others lack perseverance, and others do expect everything to go away on its own. There are a number of examples of famous people who, on the way to success, managed to overcome their phobias and fears, coped with internal problems. To do this, psychological techniques are used to help a person remove obsessive fear from the path.

Psychological tricks

  1. Fighting negative thinking. They call this technique a “knife switch”, because the essence is to present your obsessive fears in the form of a switch as clearly and in detail as possible and just turn it off at the right time. The main thing is to imagine everything in your imagination.
  2. Proper breathing. Psychologists say: "Inhale courage, exhale fear." Uniform breaths with a slight delay, and then exhalations, normalize the physical condition during an attack of fear. This will help you calm down.
  3. Action response to an alarm. A difficult practice when a person "looks fear in the eye." If the patient is afraid to speak, then you need to put the patient in front of the public. It will be possible to overcome fear due to the “drive”.
  4. We play a role. The patient is invited to play the role of a self-confident person. If this state is practiced in the form of a theatrical game, then the brain at some point may respond to it, and the obsessive fear will disappear.

aromatherapy

One of the causes of obsessive-compulsive disorder is stress and psychological fatigue. To prevent and treat such a problem, it is necessary to be able to relax, restore the emotional state. Aromatherapy helps with stress or depression. It must be combined with psychotherapy, because aromatherapy is just a way to relieve stress, but not solve the root problem.

Video: How to deal with intrusive thoughts

Sometimes people may have a mild form of obsessive-compulsive disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder and not be aware of it. When the condition worsens, they are embarrassed to seek help. The video below shows ways to get rid of anxiety and anxiety. The notes will help you work on the problem yourself and improve your condition. The methods used are different, so you can choose the one that suits you best.

2018-08-07 Intrusive thoughts (obsessions)

Intrusive thoughts (obsessions)- these are images or impulses that uncontrollably, against the will of a person, invade consciousness. Attempts to get rid of these thoughts lead to outbreaks of anxiety and bring great discomfort. A person experiences constant fears and bad thoughts. If you do not seek help in time, obsessions lead to psychological exhaustion, social isolation and depression.

Obsessive thoughts are found in many diseases: neuroses, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and even schizophrenia.

Features that distinguish obsessive thoughts syndrome:

  • a person cannot influence the appearance of such thoughts, thoughts arise against desire;
  • obsessive thoughts are not connected with the usual thoughts of a person - they are separate, alien images;
  • the syndrome of obsessive thoughts cannot be overcome by an effort of will;
  • the disorder is associated with intense anxiety, irritability;
  • clarity of consciousness and critical perception of one's condition are usually preserved.

The disorder is extremely difficult to bear. Usually a person realizes what obsessive thoughts mean, understands all the irrationality of the images that arise in the head, but cannot fight them. Attempts to stop the appearance of thoughts and the coercive actions associated with them are unsuccessful and lead to even greater experiences.

It is not difficult to convince people who suffer from this disorder that their obsessive thoughts have no basis. But it does not help to get rid of the problem. Situations repeat themselves over and over. A necessary step to get rid of painful conditions is to seek help from a specialist until complications occur.

What are intrusive thoughts

Obsessive thoughts torment a person, they are unpleasant and disturbing, you want to hide from them, run away. There are all kinds of obsessions.

Here are some examples of intrusive thoughts:

  • concerns about pollution and the spread of disease;
  • pathological need for order and symmetry;
  • obsessive and uncontrolled account;
  • obsessive thoughts about the bad: a person constantly thinks about accidents that can happen to him, to his loved ones, to his property, or even to humanity as a whole;
  • groundless and unreasonable avoidance of certain actions or objects;
  • thoughts of a religious, sexual, aggressive or any other direction, which are alien to the thinking of the patient and arise against the will.

Constant intrusive thoughts cause unbearable discomfort. Of course, a person has a desire to succumb to these ideas and try to correct the situation. In this case, compulsions appear - actions that a person is forced to periodically perform, even if he does not want to, in order to control what is happening in his head. When obsessive thoughts (obsessions) and obsessive actions (compulsions) are present together, take a lot of time, interfere with life and cause suffering, this indicates the presence of such a disease as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) .

A person begins to avoid cracks in the pavement or touches every tree on the road, because alien thoughts "tell" him that if he does not do this, something bad will happen.

Usually compulsions make you do something over and over again, like a ritual. By giving in to coercion, the person hopes that they can prevent or reduce the anxiety that accompanies obsessions. For example, he begins to avoid cracks in the pavement or touches every tree on the road, because alien thoughts "tell" him that if he does not do this, something bad will happen. Unfortunately, such actions do not bring relief and only get worse over time, taking the form of an endless ritual.

In addition to OCD, there are other diseases in psychiatry that are characterized by different types of obsessive thoughts. Here is some of them:

  • phobias
  • neurasthenia,
  • schizophrenia.

TsMZ "Alliance"

Date:2016-01-22

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OCD neurotic disorders, panic attacks, their causes, how obsessive fears develop and how to get rid of them.

Good time friends! In a previous article, I talked about what obsessive thoughts are, their causes, what OCD is (), and how to deal with obsessive thoughts.

In this article, we will continue to analyze this topic and take a deeper look at the root causes of such neurotic disorders as panic attacks (PA), phobias and OCD. And I will tell you with an example how obsessive fear functions and develops, this will give you an understanding of why and in what direction you need to move in order to finally begin to gradually get rid of these disorders.

Causes of OCD, Phobias and Panic Attacks

Why is it so important to understand the reasons why it all comes from?

Most people suffering from neurotic fears, PA and OCD, not understanding how our psyche and body are arranged and work, pay all attention to the fight against the consequences, that is, for example, they begin to fight the obsessive thoughts themselves, or actions (rituals), but at the same time they ignore the main cause, which forms the problem.

Of course, it is important to work with individual thoughts and behavior, but this will not be enough and, as I have written more than once, one must know well the nature, where and how mental disorders arise, and what reinforces them, this will give an understanding in which direction it is necessary to act.

Variety of causes in OCD and PA

People who suffer from disorders such as OCD and PA seem to have a unique case.

It seemed exactly the same to me at the time. But I assure you, this is only an apparent impression. The causes of panic attacks and OCD are only hidden from the surface.

When we first experience a panic attack or begin to realize that we have been captured by some annoying thought (idea) or obsessive (compulsive) action, for example, counting numbers or constantly washing hands, etc., we think that this is something the extraordinary and abnormal that it is a disease (it has been scientifically proven that panic attacks and OCD are not diseases). We can’t get rid of it in any way, and thoughts like: “What is happening to me, why is this so, maybe I have problems with my head, why am I all this, and what should I do?”.

Some begin to search for information on the Internet, others turn to doctors, which does not always lead to an understanding of the problem and its resolution. And often, people, having read something, immediately panic and put themselves"diagnoses", one by one, finding similarities and confirmations of their symptoms in different sources.

Studying the information, people also realize that this problem is not only with them, but with many people, it even calms for a while. At the same time, everyone continues to believe that their case and cause are unique, because for some PA happened against the background of illness, for others OCD arose due to a difficult life situation and stress, for a third everything happened out of nowhere.

Of course, everyone's cases are different, as well as fears and symptoms - someone is afraid of a closed space, someone is afraid to ride the subway, and the third has an obsessive fear of getting sick or doing something terrible.

The symptoms are also varied and related to the heart, respiration, trembling, etc.

This variety of symptoms and situations creates false the impression that there are many reasons for the appearance of panic attacks and OCD, and it is not clear where, what to look for, how to deal with it. One thing is clear to a person that something is wrong with him.

The True Causes of Panic Attacks and OCD

In fact, the causes of OCD and PA are essentially the same for everyone, and this is due to personality traits, or more precisely, with the childhood traits of an anxious and suspicious nature and way of thinking. This eventually forms a certain disturbing perception of oneself and the world around.

Almost everyone, with some exceptions, who has one or another neurotic disorder, is restless people who themselves find reasons for concern, tend to exaggerate problems and worry about insignificant trifles, that is, they are already prone to such disorders.

This tendency usually develops during childhood. For example, when parents somehow forced the child to be correct, demanded a lot from him or convinced him that it was bad to be angry, and that there should not be such emotions as irritation and anger, demanded to study well and often (physically or morally) punished him .

In such a situation, the child, having committed some kind of offense or received a bad mark, could go home, worry and think to himself what to say, how to get out in order to avoid punishment. With growing up, such an internal dialogue develops into a habit.

People have the beginnings of obsessive thinking, anxiety and some unpleasant symptoms even before the onset of panic attacks or OCD.

And then the following happens to a person: some kind of strong stressful situation arises, which is really unique for everyone (dismissal, illness, conflict with someone, parting, etc.), this leads to exhaustion of an already weakened nervous system, because of which the sensitivity, anxiety and symptoms of VVD sharply increase and, at some point, an exacerbation occurs, against which some have a panic attack, others have OCD in its various manifestations, and often both.

Here I just want to give you a very important recommendation: rely as little as possible on logic, trust your internal Observer i.e. learn just watch behind everything that is inside you (thoughts and sensations), or what is happening around, and don't let your mind drag you into countless doubts.

Try to just calmly and detachedly look at all this, don't be afraid to return some thoughts, because fear feeds and strengthens itself.

Obsessive fear and thought control

Another mistake that does not allow you to get rid of obsessive fears is that many believe that they must control and be responsible for all their thoughts.

It is not uncommon for an OCD sufferer to mistakenly believe that they must control their thoughts.

And if, for example, an anxious mother in an obsessive state thought something bad about her child, then she begins in vain believing that she shouldn't have thought like that, and she needed to control her thoughts. With this guilt, she brings herself to stress and subsequently begins to be frightened of her own thoughts and feelings, which only exacerbates the problem.

But it is important to consider that any normal person gets tired during the day, experiences stress, for example, this is facilitated by a conflict at work or some problems. Because of these temporary emotions can visit unpleasant thoughts and irritation. Yes, and the child himself can, oh how, contribute to his behavior.

And an ordinary person in such a situation is well aware that these arose only on his momentary, negative feelings, and in fact he, of course, doesn't want anything bad and loves her child.

After all, a lot in our thinking depends on our state (good or bad) at the moment. I think everyone noticed that in a bad mood we are mostly visited by gloomy thoughts and vice versa when we arrive in a good mood.

And here it is very important to realize that not everything depends on us , and we cannot be held responsible for the thoughts that arise, we are responsible only for what how we use them(if we use it at all).

Because by nature we can't control our thoughts, a process of thinking can take place in our head, in which we can, to a certain extent, control it and direct our thoughts, for example, when we solve some problems, plan something, or consciously think about something.

But there are so-called mechanical (wandering) thoughts that often pop up in the mind in the form of ordinary memories of various kinds, images, often completely absurd, unpleasant, or are only assumptions.

And for most people, such thoughts will not be something frightening, they will just take it easy.

A person with obsessive fears (particularly with OCD) it seems wrong that no one can think so badly, and he should not have such thoughts, and he must control them. And he starts trying to fight thoughts, but in the end it turns out that the more he tries to remove them (to forget), the more they overcome.

I already wrote in the first article , if we try not to think about something, then we are already thinking about it, the brain just works like that, it turns out that some part of it should remember what we should not think about, and since it should remember, it tries to remind all the time . Here is such a paradoxical circle.

This is a very important moment for those who now believe that they must control everything. When I realized this in due time, I immediately felt much better, and my recovery began from this.

What happened to me is happening to many of you now, the brain literally became the master of your life, it simply made you a slave, but you must agree that the owner himself should be the master in the house.

Main conclusions: your own mind and what you react to all his antics , and create the vast majority of your problems; second, we are not able to directly control thoughts.

The most important step in getting rid of OCD and PA is to unlearn your mind from fear habits and get hung up on anxieties, and gradually, in right way start taking control of it.

In a separate moment I will say that also very important learn not to suppress, but to correctly express and work with your emotions.

And it will help you a lot here. It is not only needed in working with emotions and obsessive fears, but in general it is very useful from all sides, I highly recommend it. Through it you will be able to feel and realize very important things.

P.S.

There is already enough information on my site so that you can deal with the problems that are discussed here. But I tried to create a book that would really be able to help. In this book, in addition to information about OCD, PA and the relationship between the body and the psyche, I explain how and thanks to what I myself was able to get rid of obsessive fears, thoughts and. I realized long ago that only by understanding how and what works, how the whole mechanism works from the inside, we have faith and motivation to use it.

In the book, I gradually analyze the moments why and how thoughts become obsessive, what keeps them, how the mechanism of phobic anxiety disorder works, obsessive states, rituals, and what are the reasons that provoke them. What are the grossest and most hidden mistakes people make that do not allow them to get rid of the problem forever; what are the preparation steps without which it is difficult to move forward and the tools themselves to solve the problem.

I also give a detailed description in it: how to learn to observe your thoughts from a distance and how to most effectively eliminate the habit of obsessive thinking, because in many cases this is the main problem. What is "Acceptance", and how to approach it? How exactly should one act in real situations during an OCD flare-up or during a panic attack?

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