Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts : How You Can Handle Them
By Chloe Cochran
For those of you who are just reading my articles, my name is Chloe and I’m a junior at Southern Virginia University. I’ve spent the last two semesters working (and publishing) multiple articles of all different styles. So, follow me on Medium and stay up to date on my content!
As you may know, February is Mental Health Awareness month. Just because it’s not February, doesn’t make mental health any less important. In my personal blog, Homegrown Perspectives, I make it a goal (outside of just February) to explain how important mental health is.
For me, I love talking about mental health because it’s not discussed enough. We hear things like “take a mental health day” or “treat mental health like your physical health.” Does anyone actually understand what that means? (If not, you’ve come to the right place).
Throughout this article, I’ll try to answer the above questions in correlation to the topic of dealing with negative and intrusive thoughts.
More than likely, you’ve dealt with intrusive thoughts. That voice inside your head saying you can’t do something, or that the outfit you’re wearing makes you look “too small” or “too big.” In reality, that voice will never leave you. But, you can take steps towards shutting out that voice. Some people rely on social media, or their friends for reassurance. This is a good way to push out your own intrusive thoughts, but it’s certainly not the best way. The best way to defeat those thoughts is through your own positive mindset (sounds cheesy, I know).
Think about it; what’s the first thing you say to someone who’s sad? You speak kind words to them, maybe you give them a hug and tell them “it’ll be okay.” You offer those kind words in hopes to change that sad person’s mindset from negative to positive.
When someone’s sad, you reach out an open hand and offer them soft words and warmth. When someone’s sick, you give them warm soup, maybe you even offer them a barf bag. The point to all this being, you take care of that individual who can’t help themselves. If you’re able to extend that gratitude to a loved one or stranger, why can’t you extend it to yourself?
Loving yourself is understanding your mental state and your surroundings and how they play affect each other. When you understand those factors of yourself, it becomes a lot easier to understand your “negative and intrusive” thoughts. Of course, you can’t just say “no” to your thoughts. But, you can acknowledge them by saying something along the lines of “I know that I feel this way, but I also know that I’m stronger than my negative thoughts.” Again, I understand that the above sentence may be cheesy, but with repetition, it works. Positive affirmations are scientifically proven to fire up your neural pathway, creating a happy and calming effect.
