intrusive thoughts

Bella Santulli, NAMI Intern

The definition of obsession is: an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person’s mind. In some lights, obsession can be beautiful–a devotion to a routine, a person, an object of desire, and others–the mere actions of making you whole again are also tearing you apart. To have someone kneel to your every want and emotional satisfaction while their gloom spreads over their heart. To twist the doorknob three times before opening, so the doors in your mind will not collapse around you. But how far does that insatiable light extend? What are the connotations attached to the extent of our illness that consumes our souls? 

In the realm of psychopathology, or mental health disorders, obsessions frequently look like fears about becoming contaminated by things, aggressive impulses that one fears acting on, thoughts about keeping things in order, doubts about whether something happened or is true, or sudden and intrusive sexual thoughts. As you might imagine, given the content of these thoughts, they are frequently experienced as upsetting, especially by people with diagnoses of obsessive-compulsive disorder or an anxiety disorder. 

While people with certain mental health disorders experience more frequent, long-lasting, and distressing obsessive thoughts than people without mental health disorders do, most people–as many as 90% of adults in the general population–report that they have had obsessive thoughts at least once. These obsessive thoughts tend to be similar in their nature to the obsessive thoughts of people with OCD or anxiety, but just not as intense and difficult to learn to cope with. For this reason, psychologists think of obsessive thoughts as existing on a spectrum from relatively harmless to extremely distressing or impairing.  

I find the stigma surrounding obsessions an interesting study due to the particular standards we uphold as a society. Why is it that obsessing over your craft or work in attaining greed, fame, or pleasure is deemed acceptable, but it is “weird” or you are framed as a “geek” if you have obsessions about special interests or comic books? I have always been seen as a nerd/geek since my younger years. Whether through my obsessions with the Marvel Universe, the genre of horror, or my love of reading, there have always been those comments that have spread into my life. I believe it is essential to ask ourselves why we always look to judge others when we should be looking at ourselves. Because in the end, we never know what someone else is going through or what thoughts corrupt our minds. 

Compulsions are repeated behaviors aimed at dealing with obsessive or intrusive thoughts. Obsessions differ from compulsions, but they often go hand in hand–some obsessions may even cause people to develop compulsions. However, compulsions can take on obsessive or extreme intensity. For example, here are some common examples of compulsions:

• Reiterating the notion that you cannot hurt anyone—by removing all knives from your kitchen
• Making sure appliances are turned off multiple times
• Checking if doors and windows are locked various times before leaving home
• Checking your body to make sure you don’t have physical symptoms
• Reviewing or going over events or conversations that have happened

Sometimes, people develop compulsions because they feel they can keep negative things from happening by taking these compulsive actions.

The National Library of Medicine proposes that obsessions are caused by catastrophic misinterpretations of the significance of one’s thoughts (images, impulses). These obsessions will persist as long as these misinterpretations continue and diminish when the misinterpretations are weakened. On the contrary, weakening or eliminating these misinterpretations is expected to lead to a reduction in the intensity and frequency of obsessions. I recommend taking a look at a fellow NAMI Intern’s blog, Angelina Villalva, specifically the Observing OCD Post that outlines obsession in OCD and how to cope with intrusive thoughts. Additionally, multiple toolkits outline resources, help, and coping strategies for living with OCD/intrusive thoughts.  

Book of the Week: The Secret History by Donna Tartt 

The Secret History by Donna Tartt explores the psychological unraveling of a close-knit group of classics students at an elite college, driven by intellectual elitism and a growing obsession with beauty, power, and control. As their fixation deepens, moral boundaries dissolve, illustrating how obsession can distort reality and lead to destructive consequences—echoing the these themes of psychological fixation. “I am nothing in my soul if not obsessive.”

Resources

• NAMI Mercer Helpline Phone Number: 609-799-8994 x17
• NAMI Mercer Helpline Email: helpline@namimercer.org
• https://iocdf.org/ocd-finding-help/other-resources/

References 

• VanDerBill, Brittany. “The Psychology behind Obsessions.” Psych Central, 8 Apr. 2022, psychcentral.com/ocd/psychology-of-obsessions.
• Rachman S. A cognitive theory of obsessions. Behav Res Ther. 1997 Sep;35(9):793-802. doi: 10.1016/s0005-7967(97)00040-5. PMID: 9299799.