How to manage intrusive thoughts
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): you’ll work with a therapist to learn ways of thinking that can help you become less sensitive to intrusive thoughts. In a controlled setting, your therapist may also expose you to triggers for your intrusive thoughts so you can learn to react to them differently.
- Medication. Sometimes, medications are used to treat conditions like OCD and PTSD.
- Self-care. A good step toward treating intrusive thoughts is recognizing what they are: just thoughts. You can learn to label them when they happen and recognize that thoughts are not the same as intent or behavior.
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Intrusive thoughts are unexpected images or thoughts that seem to pop into your head.
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