So is intrusive thoughts like call of the void or something else? Cause I do get strange images whenever I’m about to do something. Like for example whenever I look at a pair of scissors I get a vision of cutting my tongue in half down the middle with them, I kinda can feel it too if that makes sense.
But then again I wouldn’t call them thoughts myself cause it’s not like it’s me doing it imo
The good news is it’s part of you mind realizing something dangerous is possible and it’s more or less just warning you about it. Maybe just a tad overactive though…
Intrusive thoughts cause distress or dysfunction. Impulsive thoughts, which don’t, are almost universal among humans as far as I can tell. People call the latter the former basically all the time because they don’t know what actual intrusive thoughts are like (I don’t either).
Intrusive thoughts are also fairly universal among humans, to some degree. Most people will have experienced them at some point, it's more about the frequency and impact on the person/how distressed it makes them
I’ve only had a couple in my life that actually distressed me and they are ones which involve me harming people I care about. Eg. Leg kick grandma, throw my youngest baby off a balcony
Normal ones just give me a little chuckle or a shiver in the body part it’s directed at
my intrusive thoughts aren't usually this extreme, but they're still not good.
most of the time for me it's judgemental thoughts I'd have about people. I grew up and live in the South and my dad has a tendency to say some really racist shit.
Unfortunately that shit has creeped into my intrusive thoughts and I have to tell myself that I shouldn't think that stuff.
I'm in a constant worry that someone with a mind reading ability exists out there somehow and I'm going to run into them one day with one of these intrusive thoughts :(
Oh wow. That's a layer I would never have noticed. The fox having intrusive thoughts because the cat used the wrong term, then they snap back to reality realizing she meant "impulsive."
But where's the line? I kinda have the thoughts the second person here does. But they aren't serious? Like if I'm really stressing over something, sure some part of my brain is like "we should jump off that bridge that crosses the river." But it's not like the part of my brain that makes any of the decisions. So it doesn't matter. Which category does that fall into? Extreme, unwanted, but ultimately inconsequential.
If it feels like the thoughts are forcing their way in, intruding even, then they are intrusive thoughts. If you can't simply say "no" and throw the thoughts out, they are intrusive.
Honestly, the best way for me to "throw a thought out" is just by thinking about something else, even if its just the lyrics of a song. A quick distraction can do a lot.
That's incredible and I didn't even know people could do that, usually if I have a really distressing thought it's not like I can just "think of something else".
I usually can. Most of my thoughts are voluntary, but sometimes I'll get an unpleasant thought, and I'll just snap my fingers to get rid of it. It's a habit I picked up as a teenager. I like to think of it as changing the channel on a TV.
I have had some thoughts that simply can't be forced away. Not fun times.
Intrusive thoughts. Some people get those extreme and unwanted thoughts, and then feel extremely guilty and anxious about them. That's a strong sign of OCD, but most people get some variety of intrusive thoughts without having full OCD symptoms. It's kind of like dissociation, everyone experiences it to some degree, but when it's debilitating and impacts normal daily functions, it's pathological.
I think it’s more to do with the severity of the action. What you have are intrusive thoughts because basically everyone who has them doesn’t actually act on it (a lot of them wouldn’t be here if they actually did).
Intrusive thoughts are more like envisioning you taking the knife you're making food with and doing something so graphic I might get reported for describing to someone or something you love, and it's in vivid detail, and it makes you wish you would die rather than continue visualizing these thoughts you can't turn off because there is no part of you that WANTS what you are seeing but you are forced to see it anyways
I think the line is actually pretty clear, if you know what intrusive thoughts feel like
I have had impulsive thoughts and have been okay in both resisting whatever the impulse is and with thinking about whatever the impulse is- I’ve given in and while it wasn’t a good or thought out plan, cut 5 inches off my hair spur of the moment
I would consider being genuinely anxious while driving because I feel like I might not be able to stop myself if I decide to 70mph into a tree as intrusive. I’m just happy my intrusive thoughts are (mostly, 99%) only about doing things to myself - I think I’m very lucky in that sense
I occasionally, mid conversation with someone, think about jamming my thumb in their eye, popping the eye from the socket, throwing it to the ground, and stomping on it.
That's an intrusive thought.
Sitting at home, being pissed off or anxious or whatever, thinking "I should cut my own bangs", then taking the time to actually cut your own bangs, is an impulsive thought.
An Intrusive thought is a thought that is an unwelcome, generally distressing or disturbing thought, that forces its way into your thought process for one reason or another. Theyre the kind of thoughts that make you step back and go "what the actual fuck brain? Why the hell would you even think that?" These are generally thoughts of violence, self harm, and similar dark thoughts. Letting Intrusive thoughts win generally means going to jail in the best case, and going to the morgue in the worst.
An impulsive thought is the kinder cousin, the thought isnt necessarily welcome, but it isnt distressing or disturbing, its more, well, impulsive. Its the thought of "ohhh thats cool! I should get one!" When seeing a cool thing at the store or "fuck it, I deserve a treat today" when driving by a guilty pleasure. Theyre the kind of thought that sounds good in the moment, but a more critical mindset might find reasons as to why you shouldnt act on them (like an impulsive thought to get a facial tattoo). Letting impulsive thoughts win generally means making a questionable purchase at best, and committing to something you will later regret at worst.
Neither requires you to act on them, and just about everyone gets both kinds now and then. The part where both become a problem is where they either come up so frequently you feel a need to act on them, or you dont think before acting on them to the point its causing you harm (pretty obvious with the Intrusive thoughts, but impulsive thoughts arent always good, and most arent good to act on a regular basis - like constant impulsive shopping.)
Intrusive thoughts are unwanted, crass and usually socially unacceptable things, involving things like violence, cruelty, sex and come over people often causing distress through how shocking they are or the ruminating about "Why do I think of this? Am I just a bad person?".
Impulsive in contrast just means coming from the moment or unplanned. This can mean booking a vacation, ditching a meeting to go on walk, getting a bold haircut, etc. While they might be surprising or odd, they aren't generally harmful to yourself or others or socially taboo.
Is standing at a ledge and thinking about falling an intrusive thought? Or holding a knife and thinking what if I just cut myself? Or being at my job and thinking I could just flip this person off and leave if I wanted?
They’re all horrible thoughts about things I could but definitely should not do. Things that make me flinch just thinking about them. Cutting your hair is a little mild but I’d probably also consider say shaving my head is an intrusive thought. Or just grabbing scissors and cutting it myself. Is the difference just in degree?
Intrusive thoughts: cause anxiety and mental stress, and are very rarely actually acted upon. Typically go against your values and actual wants
Impulsive thoughts: carry with them a strong urge to act in order to obtain immediate relief. Frequently line up with things you want even if you know they're not good for you.
So the job thing would be impulsive because sometimes I really do wish I could just flip someone off and leave despite the severe consequences but the rest are intrusive because they’re things I would never want to do in any way?
Flipping someone off and leaving would provide instant gratification (even if it's ultimately still destructive behavior), so it would classify under impulsive.
The others though definitely sound closer to the intrusive line.
Yeah my intrusive thoughts led me to almost kill myself at one point because I thought it was who I was, and I was NOT going to let myself hurt anyone. Im in therapy now and Im doing a lot better :)
The difference is in how intesne the thoughts / urges are and how distressing that makes it. Not intense as in the theme of the thought like cutting hair vs jumping off a ledge, more so in terms how much effort it takes someone to ignore it. I think it's pretty common to have inpulsive thoughts about doing horrible things, and you might be suprised your brain just though that but you can then ignore it and move on with your day. With intrusive thoughts the thoughts are loud, repetitive, and inescapable, causing significant distress. Even just the idea of cutting your hair could be an intrusive thought if it is so constant and so intense you become tormented by it, like in OCD.
I think it has to do with the amount or severity of the intrusive thoughts, and basically how much they are affecting your day to day life. It happens to everyone (or most people), but when you have OCD it is worse. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong on this, because I do not have OCD myself.
It is worth mentioning that it isn't just OCD because folks with mental conditions like ADHD and ASD all get it much worse than neurotypical people. Intrusive thoughts is one of the most common symptoms of all those conditions, and they are all highly comorbid (if you have one you have a much higher chance of having another).
From what I hear though, OCD does seem to get the worst of them.
Conjecture but: both are significant things that get minimized by people using the term in everyday conversation for comparatively minor things (ex: 'I am so ocd about organizing my clothes' or whatever)
I will never believe that, no way some people never considered to take the way out.
Not even when a friend or a relative does it, you go to their funeral and your brain is just "such a shame, oh well" ?
Not even when a parent dies "I'm in pieces and my life's anchor is dead, oh bummer I'm getting sushi for a week" ?
I can't say I have ever had the thought no. My uncle committed suicide years ago and I felt sad for his death but never would the thought of doing it myself come into play. I've never been in that dark of a state in my life, not even close tbh
Genuinely happy for you if you’ve never had deal with suicidal thoughts
But also, you don’t have to in a very dark place to have those thoughts. Being passively suicidal means you can go around at more or less normal levels of happiness/sadness, just with like, background radiation that says kys
Not even when a friend or a relative does it, you go to their funeral and your brain is just "such a shame, oh well" ?
Uhm... no. When our teacher did it, yeah that was what my brain did. "Oh it's a closed casket funeral, that's very sad, he was a great teach"
Not even when a parent dies "I'm in pieces and my life's anchor is dead, oh bummer I'm getting sushi for a week" ?
Yeah, no, when my mom died I was just sad
And to be clear I had these thoughts too, but these wouldn't trigger me at all, it's usually a very different set of things. So normally nothing should trigger you that far, yes.
Iirc everyone has them, but usually, you just go "ah, that was fucked up. Silly brain" and move on with your day. OCD is being plagued with the thoughts, obsessing over them because you domt know how to let it go.
My intrusive thoughts are like "You still haven't done that chore. You should ████ yourself." Then my conscious brain is like "Shoo! You think that's the solution to everything."
sometimes my brain gets really stuck on the idea of a nasty sensory experience (like licking the sidewalk) and then plays the internal simulation of it over and over again to torture me. The random thoughts of kms luckily got quashed by wellbutrin
I dont get intrusive thoughts that often. But recently i immagined swallowing razorblades. I couldnt stop the thought at all. I have never touched a loose razorblade so its not realistic at all.
Literally. I've spent a lot of time training my brain so that when it starts to say "you should..." I finish with "be kind to yourself! THAT'S what will make things okay!" bc my brain definitely used to say the other thing WAY too much
At least it's only self, not like "for maximum impact..."
Then my conscious brain is like "get the fuck back in your cage, and who the fuck let you out of your chains, and how did you manage to get control of my hand in reality for 5 seconds unsupervised?"
Then it's all better, but without intrusive thoughts is life even worth hoping? Without the menacing whisper, the mischievous maybe, the gleeful disdain, the haughty naughty, the rapskalion reptilian?
You ever employ the thoughts back at your brain? Like sometimes my brain will be like "oh you're such a shit head for putting off x thing" and I'll just be like "you know what I bet this is what a bullet going through you would look like" [insert graphic mental imagery here] to shut it up.
I found out what would happen if I let an intrusive thought win and I am glad I never actually wanted to do it. I lost control of my car and plowed into a log at 40mph. Thankfully I had a brand new car with all the newest safety features so I was lucky to walk away relatively unscathed.
I’ve been having intrusive thoughts for decades about doing it on purpose. They got really bad after the accident because now I know what it was like, but I’m better now and they only happen every once in a while.
I definitely had an acute stress reaction for a while afterwards tho.
Intrusive thoughts can be dangerous and scary. I hope that everyone here can continue to win against them.
When people say they have intrusive thoughts and they just mean “oh I did something spontaneous!” I can’t help but internally roll my eyes.
For them to actually be qualified as “intrusive thoughts,” they need to be persistent and distressing, and this comic displays that beautifully.
It’s not, “I spontaneously decided to cut my hair last night!”
It’s, “I was really overwhelmed and upset, and thought about what would happen if I ran my car off the road and into a tree yesterday.”
I don’t want to be thinking these things. I hate thinking these things. If I could stop myself from thinking them, I 110% would in a heartbeat. But I can’t.
I suffer from OCD and it's exhausting people telling me that straightening something up is their OCD going off, when they just like things tidy. I'm lucky enough to have meds that work so I don't spend all day seeing myself killing people I love and being terrified that today is the day I won't be able to hold it in anymore. It's a terrible disease and I hate how trivialised it is in media and society at large
Omg it infuriates me and I don’t have OCD. I am Audhd and I do have very aggressive thoughts at times, especially during luteal phase. But when someone says oh I’m so OCD because they like things neat, I just want to go off on them. It’s not cute. It’s debilitating. My aunt has OCD and it’s caused her to cut ties with the entire family. It causes so much internal pain and difficulty but can also hurt the ones you care about too. More recently I feel I see people using ADHD and autism to act like they’re cute and quirky and well, that bothers me for similar reasons… I suffered so much pain my entire upbringing because I was undiagnosed. Because everyone misunderstood me and hated me. I have spent most of my adult life just dissecting it all and now I have to figure out how to exist in the world. As an adult. It’s not cute. Yeah does having Audhd contribute to my creativity and fun side? Yes. But it brings a lot of struggles too.
If my intrusive thoughts "won" I'd be in jail and all my friends and family would disown me... Modern use of the term has made people think it means a quirky errandt thought, not a seriously distressing symptom of a disorder.
Yes, those thoughts are a hassle to deal with. Sane enough not to act on them, but real enough to be worrisome. And I'm left with, how much would it take for me to snap and actually do them?
Does anybody else also have the emotions come along with the thoughts too before you can even process them? Like, full conviction that your going to do it if left to your own devices
See this really well illustrates the difference between "impulsive" and "intrusive" thoughts. Impulsive is "I'll cut/dye my hair". Instrusive is "I'll just lie down on the tram line and all my problems will go away"
Having intrusive thoughts are normal. It’s been well documented in the human psyche for a long time. One of the earliest terms for it was “the Imp of the Perverse”, like a demon in your head whispering to do vile things, to yourself or others. Everyone has weird thoughts, they don’t make you a bad person. It’s your words and deeds that determine who you are. Though the thoughts can get annoying sometimes.
I'm talking to a new psychiatrist and she brought this up; turns out it's a possible symptom of OCD and she wants me tested.
When I'm really frustrated, I see a vivid vision of myself snapping, getting violent and breaking things, or punching the walls. When I had testosterone in my body, I could feel much stronger feelings of rage, and I saw visions of myself doing even more violent and destructive things. It made me really scared of myself; I was afraid I might lose control and hurt someone. It made me feel really guilty and I cried a lot. Sometimes, when I was very depressed, I would see other things. I would see a conversation I had earlier with my mother, where I shouted something about killing myself. I would see a knife tearing into the flesh of my arm, and I felt some kind of sensation on my real arm, too.
It’s really annoying when people use “intrusive thoughts” without actually understanding what it is. I sometimes get a mental image of me stabbing someone close to me and then myself when I hold a knife, then have Regatta tell me her intrusive thoughts won so she bought a new phone.
I always have to fight my intrusive thoughts whenever im driving to remember myself that im not playing GTA V. Guys be careful on the streets, im driving n i dont know what im doing
Question for any mental health professionals out there:
From the comic, is passive suicidal ideation different from an “intrusive thought” or is there overlap? Like are both perspectives here technically intrusive thoughts, just one is more mundane/random while the other is attached to deeper emotional/physical pain?
I love comics like this. They really help me differentiate what thoughts of mine are abnormal. People really don’t be thinking about robbing places just because.
Every time a car drives close by at low speed i think to stick my feet under the wheel and watch how my bones get crushed. Of course i dont actually want any pain, maybe if i buy a ballistic foot (idk if they exist, but ive seen heads) and crush it my curiostiy will be satisfied and the thoughts will disappear
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u/Cool_Set4681 20h ago
I adore your art style