unwanted thoughts really need help

Hi Gillian. I too have experienced what you are going through. CBT is excellent for tackling this type of issuel. It helps you train yourself into thinking more positively. It tackles intrusive thoughts and negative thought patterns head on. I had 9 sessions of high intesity CBT and they asked me to work through a book before and during my sessions. Its called 'overcoming low self esteem' by Melanie Ferrel and its a book which uses self help cbt techniques. Its great for dealing with the issues youve described above. May be worth giving it a shot? Also, CBT would be good for you, you can enquire about it through your GP and they will refer you to the CBT waiting list....

When i experience intrusive and unwanted thoughts, sometimes it helps to imagine a box, put all my unwanted thoughts into the box and tie it up with pretty ribbons. If the thoughts are quite severe this doesnt always work. but sometimes i even try and decorate the box too. Doing this takes the heat out of the fire if you like. helps you focus on something else... Another good one which i was tought during my cbt was to imagibe the thoughts getting on a train. I could then either choose to go with them (think of the consequences) or let the train go off alone. I personally prefer the box idea and this works well for me....

I would definilty give the book a go Gillian. Really is great.

xxx

They are called intrusive thoughts. dr seif has a great write up about them online, google it. 

I have had them. I once was walking the dog and saw a rope tied to a tree and thought omg what if i lose control of myself and hang myself. Very absurd and unrealistic thing to think which i had no intention of ever carrying out but it scared me. Once i read up on it I havent bothered about it.

80% of people nevermind people with anxiety have unwanted thoughts but the people without anxiety dont worry about them they just let them pass by.

The most important thing to realise is they are just thoughts, not true/false/going to happen. Just sentences the mind spurts out. Having them doesnt make you unlike anybody else. You are not going to act on them either.

As someone else said the fact they uset you, show you that you don't believe them.

When you get one acknowledge its just an intrusive thought, allow it and don't argue with it and carry on doing what you are doing. Theycan only affect you if you give them importance. 

You can do this. xxx

Hi Golden, I know exactly what you are going through. I started having unwanted thoughts about a year ago. My anxiety all started about 3 years ago when I started college. My panic attacks seem to be under control but my thoughts are not. I have seen s councilor which was great. Ialso do Cbt (cognitive behavioural therapy) online, I think it will help you alot. It aims to change the thought process and believe me it works!!! 

Some days I get myself in such a state worrying that I'm loosing control, I can't concentrate on anything and I just feeling like hiding away. 

Honestly I highly recommend Cbt. Although it is very time consuming it is worth every minute. 

Peace and take care!

Im also suffering with thoughts Gillian and they can be very hard to deal with. 

If there is one thing I can offer you is that it have been through this many years ago and the thoughts just disappeared. I know that doesn't help when you are going through this,it doesn't help me much now as I am going through it again...It's scary. 1 thing I have learnt is that I can cope and they almost disappear at times and seem to come back when I'm anxious.So I'm working on the anxiety part and hoping that works xxx

Hi 😊 was just wondering how everyone is getting on? I've been suffering the past few months with intrusive thoughts, some days I can get on with things and other days I sit and panic and worry about them. Really just won't to feel better 😞 xx

Hey.. My name is Kayla. I'm 18-years old. I don't know where to start. I guess, I have always struggled with anxiety, throughout my life. I had symptoms like a lump in my throat, a fear of being around new people, etc. Over the past couple of months, mg anxiety has escalated. I feel like im going crazy!! Like I might get locked up in a mental hospital, with possibly, a straight-jacket. I hate it.

My anxiety got worse, after this one time I smoked weed with one of my "friends," you could say. I usually, only smoked with him. We didn't hangout, outside of partying stuff. Y'know? Now, the bud I smoked, looked like real marijuana, though it was hard to tell exactly what it looked like. Mind you, I've been smoking since I was 14. It's always been a relaxing & fun experience. It never made me feel bad. At least, not for too long. One time, before this, I had gotten too stoned and it felt like everything was swaying, as if I was on a boat in a storm or something. It wasn't anything compared to this one night.

My boyfriend tagged along, by the way. He doesn't smoke weed and rarely, drinks. Thank God. I'm glad he didn't choose a partying life. At times, I thought he was crazy not to "let loose," and a part of me started to feel like I wasn't right for him, because I wasn't as controlled as him, in that department. My friend asked him several times, if he wanted to, but he never gave in. This was only a couple of months ago. I never would have imagined that I would later, get panic attacks, and..and..these "invasive thoughts" that I have now.

Anyways!! After I smoked a bowl with my friend, my heart started to beat very fast. Normally, I wouldn't notice this. (To this day, I have no idea what caused this attack.) My chest started to feel like it was tightening, it was hard to breathe, and my chest ached badly. I started shaking, along with those feelings, and I couldn't stop. Quickly after those symptoms surfaced, I told my friend and my boyfriend that I needed to go home, fast. I told them that I was having a panic attack and didn't feel well. I have NEVER, before that, had one. I always had slight anxiety, but never any attacks. That attack will go down as the worst attack I have experienced.

I got home and I laid in bed, but I kept wanting to sit on the side of my bed, facing where my TV was on the wall. I was shaking, rocking back & fourth, terrified. My chest and heart kept feeling the same way, I had trouble swallowing my own spit, mostly because of my mouth feeling completely DRY. This was like cottonmouth x1000. At this point, I kept clinging to my boyfriend, trying to get him to convince me that I'm not going crazy. I kept asking him if he's ever had panic attacks. He said he's only ever had a couple of them and his symptoms weren't as bad as mine. His didn't last more than a couple of hours. Needless to say, that made me feel crazier.

I convinced him to take a bath with me, BECAUSE I was scared to take one alone. He washed my neck, back, and shoulders, trying to talk to calm me down. He talked to me and kept telling me that I was OK. I certainly, didn't feel like I was. I felt like I was going to die. I was so scared. I tried eating bread to see if it would take away the horrible high I was now experiencing. By the way, my high didn't go wrong, until about the 5th toke from the bowl. I was feeling happily high, to be honest.

We got out of the bath tub, 20 minute's after getting in and trying to calm me down. It helped a bit, though I still had that pressure in my head and I was still shaking a bit. The fear of impending doom as you would call it, went down immensely. It was still a bit unbearable. We went to the room and watched TV together. I wanted to distract my mind. We sat close, cuddled a bit, and after a couple more hours, I was feeling almost normal. Haha. Normal..

Ever since that night, my friend told me the next day when he smoked that weed, his heart throbbed. He didn't get a panic attack like I did, though. Lucky him. I still don't know what caused me to go into such a full-blown, terrifying panic attack like I did. And thinking about my heart beating fast, shouldn't cause a panic attack that bad. Maybe a bit of anxiety, but really? A full-blown, severe panic attack. I couldn't stop going from laying down, to sitting up, and I often went to the bathroom, as some sort of refuge.. Ugh.

Now I have bad anxiety on the daily. Moments where it feels like I might get an attack, but all I feel is pressure in my head and slight panic. That's it. Up until, yesterday, around 1-2am.

I had just gotten my period (I don't care if tests TMI), AND I was feeling hot & cold. My palms were sweaty and my heart started beating fast. I was shaky and weak, too. My heart started beating fast. After a couple of hours, my chest felt like it was being squeezed. That squeezing feeling was off and on. I made the mistake of drinking half a cup of coffee, around 8:30am, with my grandma. She had just gotten up and I was still having cramps, and dealing with anxiety that I didn't tell her about, until 9-10am, which is when I told her I needed to go to the hospital. I had just poured out the rest of my coffee and was exhausted. I tried sleeping, but my heart was beat in fast, my head was hurting, and it felt like there was pressure in my head. Every time I tried to sleeo, I thought I would die in my sleep or something. I tried breathing exercises, that later made me feel like I couldn't catch a breath well and it sort of hurt to.

When we got there, they took blood samples, did an EKG, and did a chest x-ray. They said everything came back perfect. I was physically, really healthy. The doctor made sure he put an emphasis on "physically." I said a few times that it might be anxiety and that's what everyone was pretty much thinking. I felt dumb for making a big DEAL out of apparently, nothing.

I went back to my grandma's and talked to my mom on the phone for about an hour, then after 10 minute's, I was actually able to fall asleep. I only slept for 3 hour's that time, but that was because my grandma woke me up around 6pm, to tell me she wanted me to eat with her. Even though, I had only gotten 3 hour's of slee, and spent 2 hour's at the hospital, mind you. It was frustrating.

I ate my spaghetti and meatballs, and my salad. Drank my glass of iced sweet tea. But while I was sitting there, for some reason, I kept thinking of stabbing her with my fork. I would NEVER do that to someone. It scared me, but the thought kept playing in my head, over and over again, until I started feeling disgusted with myself. I got scared, because I kept thinking that I was a killer or something, and I was disgusted with myself. My grandma may be annoying and blotchy at times, but I still love her!! I feel like I'm a monster..and I hate it..

When I went back to bed and woke up, 5 hour's later, right as my grandma was going to bed, I thought about stabbing her with a knife. I saw that she was sleeping, so that made it worse. I don't want to do that, but I'm getting scared at the fact that it keeps coming to my mind. I don't even want to think about it. Just thinking about it, scared me. I feel like I need to be locked away for good.

When my grandma woke up out of her sleep, I felt panic and disgust. Why would I have ever thought those thoughts, that were still sort of there, even when she was awake, like earlier, with the fork thoughts. Ughhhh. After she got out of the bathroom, I was thinking about how some killers will sneak up on the person and kill them. All I was WANTING to do, was hug her, for a few seconds, hoping it would calm my nerves. And it did calm quite a few, though, as you can tell, I'm still shaken up over this. After typing this, I feel halfway better, if that makes sense..

Oh, and these thoughts started after I started getting my anxiety again, not long after I woken up to eat spaghetti and meatballs and a salad with my grandma, for dinner. They came back, 10-15 minute's after I woke up again from sleeping for 5 hour's.

I would just really like it if someone, who doesn't mind talking to me about these problems, would reply. Preferably, someone who has gone through and came out of this horrible situation. Thank you.