Your brain comes up with around 60,000 thoughts a day.
99% of them are untrue and thought out of habit.
When you have a thought that has an emotion attached to it,
it grabs your attention.
Especially when it is dark, or scary.
These are called intrusive thoughts and they will
freak you out if you give them too much attention.
You’ll end up thinking there is something evil or wrong with you.
(Why would anyone sane EVER think something that horrible!?)
You’ll start to question yourself,
your safety and everyone else’s who is around you.
(I’m going insane!)
You’ll think maybe it’s a premonition.
(What if I actually do that?! )
You get more worked up and afraid and
end up thinking the same thought again and again.
But really, it was 1 thought out of 60,000
and it grabbed your attention because it made you feel a negative emotion.
If it were a happy emotion, you’d likely have barely noticed and let it go.
But since it was the exact opposite of what you want to do or think, it stuck.
These thoughts are common with people who struggle with OCD, anxiety, and stress.
They come in out of nowhere and are usually in direct contrast to what you would ever do, say, or want.
Which means they don’t deserve more than two seconds of your time.
One second to think the thought.
And one second to call the thought out as only a thought.
After noticing the thought, get back to whatever you were doing.
Even and especially if you notice you feel anxious.
The sooner you let the intrusive thought go,
the less likely your brain is to make it bigger and worse.
To learn how you can lower your overall stress and anxiety, and
Trust yourself to be the amazing person you are,
(Who isn’t going to stab themselves or chop off their fingers on purpose)
- Now you know two of mine 😉
Talk to you soon.
<3 Megan
P.S. Stop letting anxiety call the shots. You can decide now to change how your body feels and how you respond when you're anxious, so anxiety loses its power. The question isn't, “Am I ready?” The question is, “Have I decided to be ready?”
P.P.S. Be sure to check out Episode 76 of the More than Anxiety Podcast to hear more about Why Would I Think That? wherever you listen. While you’re there, take a quick minute to leave a review and follow so you don’t miss a beat and help others find the podcast as well. Thanks!
