![]() These include believing that our thoughts are important to monitor and control (‘thought control beliefs’), that thinking about ‘bad’ things can cause them to happen (‘thought likelihood fusion beliefs’), or that having intrusive thoughts about doing something ‘bad’ is the same as acting immorally (‘thought moral fusion beliefs’). Several research studies have shown that holding certain beliefs about our thinking (called metacognitive beliefs) may lead us to worry about our thoughts in an obsessive spiral. We train our brain that unwanted thoughts are important or significant in some way, and therefore usually end up with more of them. In short, the harder we try to suppress intrusive thoughts, the more attention we actually give them. These strategies often reduce the anxiety caused by unwanted intrusive thoughts in the short-term but cause the thoughts to pop up more in future. ![]() We may be tempted to use distraction, replace or neutralise the thought with a positive one, argue/reason with the thought, confess the thought to others to get reassurance, pray the thought away, do a physical compulsion such as excessive checking or cleaning in response to the thought, or even completely avoid situations that trigger the thought. We may try to suppress intrusive thoughts in a range of different ways. This ‘ironic thought rebound’ effect is usually even greater for unwanted thoughts that are about something we find truly uncomfortable or upsetting, such as a situation we fear. ![]() Long story short, trying to suppress thoughts about white bears reliably increased the number of times the unwanted thought occurred. This finding has been named the ‘White Bear Suppression Effect’ after experiments in which participants were asked not to think of a white polar bear, and then monitored how often a thought about a bear intruded into their consciousness. Remember our white polar bear at the beginning of this article? Repeated scientific studies since the 1980’s have shown that the harder people try NOT to think a particular thought, the more they tend to think about it. You can find a useful explanation of the role that obsessions play in OCD here In this case, the intrusive thoughts have become ‘obsessions’, and the attempts to stop the thoughts are called ‘compulsions’. Those living with OCD, for example, may be extremely distressed by the intensity or frequency of their intrusive thoughts and go to great lengths to try to avoid, stop, or cancel out their intrusive thoughts. While unwanted intrusive thoughts are very normal, they can sometimes cause feelings of anxiety, panic, disgust, or even shame. They do not seem to fit with the situation we are in at the time, how we are feeling, or how we see ourselves and others. These are common examples of intrusive thoughts – ideas, mental images, urges, or sensations – that pop into our minds spontaneously when we least want them to. Perhaps you are a very cautious driver, but recall once having a disturbing intrusive thought about hitting a pedestrian with your car? Or an unwanted thought that you have left the house unlocked when you are away on holiday? An unwanted image of dropping your newborn baby, or of your parents becoming sick and dying? Or an unrealistic and unwanted violent or sexual mental image that goes against your actual desires and moral values?
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