Intrusive Thoughts And Memories

[wolfie205]

How do you cope with intrusive thoughts and memories? I can't make them go away. I've tried distracting myself by keeping myself busy but they still pop into my head at random times of the day. I can't sleep because they keep me awake at night. I've tried alcohol which stopped working after a while.

I don't know if this is anxiety or ptsd related. It is not directly related to trauma memories but it is related to memories of the time when I tried sharing about my trauma and no one believed me. People said all kinds of things about me and that I was lying and the memories and thoughts about this have been replaying over and over again in my head.

Please help because I don't know what else to do...

 

[Petchen]

Zen
Its a philosophy not a religion.
Repeat positive things in your head.
Sleep
Dream
Sleep
Dream over and over.

I am washing the dishes to wash the dishes.

So the bad thought is back..... Change the channel. Say it to your self.

I am driving the car to drive the car..... the car goes fast I go fast....I Know is sounds stupid but it works if used consistently.

Thich Nhat Hanh is brilliant for this. Present moment perfect moment.

Drinking won't help and don't talk to people that won't believe you...you can always test people out like...hey so what do you make of all this talk on the news about PTSD....a good test for trustworthiness.

I am blunt sorry if this bothers....

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I'm so sorry. I know the obsessive thoughts can be hellish. Meds help when I'm at my worst and can't control them with coping skills. Sometimes I take a homeopathic supplement that seems to help as well. Other times CBT skills help. And for me personally, my spirituality helps.

 

[franciemarnie]

Doing something that brings more powerful energy helps me. Like certain music can wipe out a deep rutted painful neural pathway. It must have more powerful and positive associations though.

Usually the lines of thought that have been obsessive for me make me angry so I will work out and it feels productive. Also cleaning out closets or the like. Somehow the physical reorganization of things can move the thoughts along and out. Once they have hit crazed repetitive mode, I cannot meditate it away from my brain. It is too late. I have to physically move.

Time has helped me a lot. The increased certainty of my experience and the stronger my sense of self - the less the jerks that didn't believe me affect me. It's the worst if they are family or like family because we are all tribal people in our primitive brains and if our tribe turns on us - God help us! - that's what the primitive brain thinks. How will we survive? It learns we can survive just fine without a tribe that didn't support us, that showed us no loyalty, that called us liars.

But oh the betrayal! Nothing has burned quite so much as that -particularly at 3 in the morning.

 

[Seasounds]

Intrusive thoughts had been a major issue for me.
I did quite a few things, and over a decade they have almost completely subsided. I suggest you experiment with different options and use the ones you like. Getting the INtrusive thoughts to be EXpressed is the key, along with replacing the negative thoughts with positive ones.

Things that helped me:

• Writing the thoughts out on paper. Write responses to the thoughts, proving them wrong.
• Working with an a therapist; first saying them as "I" statements, then say the as "you" statements.
• Sometimes I would beat pillows when I said them. This would sometimes lead me to crying, and then a release, of knowing they were not true, would appear. (Like feeling so much better after you throw up.)
• Voice Therapy is particular therapy, that you can look up. It may give you some additional ideas.
• Doing 'observing thought' exercises in Mindfulness meditations.

To replace the messages, I'd:

• Write lists of any 100 positive traits that I have, or want to be, even if they only appear a few seconds a week (e.g. alive, joyful, expressive, funny, thoughtful, silly, helpful, musical, sensitive, durable, enjoyable, lovable, respectful, etc.). I these to myself when walking or when in a crisis.
• Take a minute every morning, and look at myself in the mirror, close up, and tell myself some of the positive traits (listed above).
• Get a self-hypnosis cd with positive suggestions, or remind myself of my positive traits as I went to bed.
• Repeat the above, for years. I still do.
• Take self-defense classes; they seem to help turn around the victimizing, haunting nature of intrusive thoughts.
• Hung out with people who weren't critical and liked me.

 

[Marf]

Find a good therapist that does believe you.

 

[rodya]

What Petchen said has been a very useful coping strategy for me as well.

One very simple mindfulness excersize that has worked for me is to find a small object (for me it's a lighter, just something I always had in my pocket from my cigarette-smoking days) and hold that object in your hand. Focus on the way it feels in your palm... the weight of it, its shape, texture, smoothness or roughness. Allow yourself to make observational thoughts about it.

What I am suggesting may sound strange at first, but it's a grounding technique which forces your brain to have thoughts based in reality, instead of the intrusive ones that may not always be rational.

I hope you find a technique that works well for you.

 

[Leah123]

The two things I find most helpful are sharing the thoughts, in detail, with my therapist, getting through the emotions behind them and being heard and supported. Also, one intrusive thought in particular I had (abuse related) she actually suggested a very violent counter-attack fantasy against it, and that idea was so shocking and powerful, it really helped.

 

[Seasounds]

That was my experience with Voice Therapy.