Coping With Obsessive Thoughts
All of us experience troubling thoughts from time to time. We worry over our health, our finances or our relationships. This is absolutely normal and is a part of being human. Sometimes though, some of us spend an excessive amount of time rolling over again and again in our minds nagging thoughts. I have found certain coping techniques that help me to deal with this problem.
The first technique is to try to ask myself what positive result can I get from the disturbing thought or situation. For example, I recently had some personal problems that lead to my taking a new medication for my mental illness. This new medicine has greatly helped me with coping with the symptoms of my illness. I turned a lemon into lemonade.
The aforementioned technique of searching for the positive in the situation is something that anyone can do, no matter the severity of their problem. People with persistent obsessive thoughts that cause great suffering to themselves and that interfere with their daily lives might have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This is a common neurobiological disorder that often responds well to medication, so you might want to see a psychiatrist for an evaluation.
I have OCD and have found that what helps me to deal with the illness is to recognize the intrusive thoughts as just a manifestation of my illness. I regard them as unreal and as a symptom of the OCD. I then refocus my thought on something constructive. An example is when I get a thought that people are talking about me, I will say to myself, "That is not true, it is the OCD talking." Then I will say something constructive like, "If they are not looking directly at me, they are not talking to me." My technique is similar to that written about in the book, Brain Lock by Jeffrey Schwartz. This book is available at the OC Foundation bookstore. There website address is http://www.ocfoundation.org/.
In conclusion, obsessive thoughts are very difficult to deal with, but you can learn to cope with them. You need to work hard at finding the good in the bad and recognizing the "false alarms" for what they really are. With a combination of medication and behavior therapy, obsessions can be managed and you can live a happier and more productive life.