Are intrusive thoughts normal? Why thoughts are not intentions.
Updated: Oct 2
Two men stand on a busy rail platform. They spot their train moving down the tracks towards them. At that moment both men experience the same thought:
“Jump!”
One of the men, feeling a sense of panic, steps back from the edge of the platform. The other man stays where he is and thinks, “there’s one of them weird thoughts again.”
Both men board the train and get on with their day.
According to research, most people experience unwanted intrusive thoughts from time to time. Rachman and De Silva (1978) found that unwanted thoughts, images and impulses were a common experience and not exclusively a characteristic of OCD. This study was replicated by Salkovskis and Harrison in 1984.
What makes unwanted thoughts a problem?
Besides being very uncomfortable, unwanted intrusive thoughts become problematic when we give them time and attention. Unwanted intrusive thoughts tend to be about the things that matter to us most, or represent what we most fear becoming.
A deeply religious person has a blasphemous thought, a parent has a thought about hurting their child, a worker has a thought about throwing hot coffee over their trusted colleague, a person that values equality will have a racist thought. Imagine the worst possible thing you could be or do, and this will form the basis of an unwanted intrusive thought.
Most thoughts will come and go in a matter of seconds. However, when we hook into a thought it will hang around much longer. When we try to fight or solve or control our thoughts they can seem to become more frequent and intense This is when unwanted thoughts become a problem.
A thought is not an intention
If I ask you now to think the words, “I am going to shout my name as loud as I possibly can!” Do you have to do this?
Of course not. There is a whole process of decision making and action between a thought and a behaviour. For example, you may have the thought, “I fancy a drink” and this will be followed up with several other thoughts around what kind of drink, what is available, does anyone else want a drink? Should I ask or just go and make one for myself? Even then, you may decide against making a drink.
If I told you I was thinking about performing charitable acts but had no real intention of doing them, would you consider me a good person? I don’t think so because we recognise that thinking and action are two very separate things.
The mind constantly produces ideas, images, fantasies, judgements without our permission. If your mind produces something unpleasant it does not mean you agree with it or that it really says anything about you.
The difference between the two men on the railway platform was not the thought of jumping. They both had that thought. The difference was that one of the men reacted to the thought as if it was a warning, while the other recognised it as mental noise.
Experiencing the occasional unwanted thought is perfectly normal. It may be worth seeking help if these thoughts become frequent, interfere with your everyday life or cause high levels of distress. This is not because the thoughts make you dangerous or are evidence that you are a bad person, but because living in fear of them can be exhausting.
Russell Wharton is a BABCP accredited CBT Therapist and Supervisor, an EMDR Europe approved consultant and a Registered Mental Health Nurse.