your mind WON'T STOP! Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts
 

Intrusive Thoughts are one of the symptoms so many with OCD deal with.

Here's a really well done video to hopefully be of some help

your mind WON'T STOP - YouTube

Thanks Chemar,
That was very interesting.

It seems a little similar to panic attacks, where I've found if a person can come to understand the actual physical manifestations of a panic attack, it can help demystify them or simplify them to the extent that they can sometimes be stopped before they happen. Takes time of course.

For other forms of anxiety, another tool that's helpful is taking a particular amount of time in every day. Not a long time, just say ten minutes, and writing down into a diary anything that is particularly worrying or causing anxiety on that day.

It seems to be more helpful if it's done for the same amount of time at the same time every day. It can almost become like a "purge" by transferring our anxiety onto paper. Getting it out of our mind and giving it to the paper. I don't mean journaling or having a diary about everything, it's only for specific thoughts or anxieties.

My clinical psychologist has taught me some deep breathing exercises which usually help with an anxiety attack.

I sometimes forget to breathe properly when in very stressful situations. That's what makes it worse.

I think we all need to learn to breathe properly but in the case of OCD and intrusive thoughts though, if one is already hyperaware of their breathing sounds and rate as can happen if you have those OC tendencies, then it can make it very difficult to practice such things as meditation and relaxation exercizes.

I have other issues presently, but years ago I had a driving phobia that would plague me from time to time. A rising panic would take hold of me, I felt like I was losing feeling in my hands and feared I'd pass out. What 'cured' me was simply reading a newspaper article about phobias, and how they can be treated simply. Just knowing that it wasn't just me, and that treatment was simple is all it took to free me from that 15+ year hell.