Bad thoughts, strange forebodings and panic anxiety, like black clouds over the sea, spoil all the good weather and mood, forcing a person to be in a constant depressed state. It's good when you manage to drive away dark thoughts, like an annoying fly, by switching to something good.

But it also happens that they, like a sticky web, envelop the entire consciousness and fill the mind, getting rid of them is not so easy, although it is quite possible, most importantly, to want it very much.

In fact, there are many ways that teach how to quickly distract from bad thoughts, but the first thing to do is to determine the reason for their occurrence. It is clear that it is unrealistic to find a person who is absolutely satisfied with his life: everyone has their own difficulties, which can be associated with almost any field of activity.

All these problems prevent us from enjoying the world around us and our own lives to the fullest, they devastate and deprive us of vitality. What is most interesting is that often these black thoughts are just the result of our wild imagination, and if you still stop “winding” yourself and look at the situation from a completely different angle, then everything is already drawn in not so terrible colors.

Ways to get rid of negative thoughts

• So, as we said, try to determine why they occur? After all, most bad thoughts are precisely unresolved problems, things and situations that have remained unclear to you. From which it follows: by solving the problem, you will get rid of the negative. Of course, now many will begin to say “easy to say”, but if you really want to improve your mood, then a firm attitude and a keen desire to move in the right direction will help you.
• Sometimes the process of black thoughts progresses, the state of a negative and depressed state becomes something familiar and ordinary for you. Consciousness is reaching out to draw a charge of negativity, and it is already very difficult to cope with such a habit. No wonder many philosophers of antiquity argued that nothing is so difficult to stop as a spreading thought. Trying to eradicate it is still real, albeit difficult. You need to start simple: if you feel sad, then just try to remember something that cheers you up. It can be pleasant memories from the past, a good book, a good movie or a meeting with nice people, the main thing is that this activity gives you a smile and a good mood.
• There is another method - switching attention. When bad thoughts envelop the mind, it is better to switch it to something that requires attention and concentration. So, performing a complex and interesting task, he will have no time to “think” about something extraneous, because the whole space will be filled with “necessary” thoughts. Often all kinds of hand-made things are suitable, for example, weaving with beads, knitting, creating dolls or toys, drawing, and so on.
• Why are you so afraid of your thoughts? Are you afraid of something or are you worried about some upcoming situation? Sometimes it is useful to completely immerse yourself in your fear, put everything on the shelves and think about how everything can end in the worst case. Sometimes it turns out that the whole situation is brought to such an absurdity that the person himself becomes more funny than scary. And the main thing to remember is that there is always a way out, the main thing is to look for it well.
• Another good tip is to try to adjust your social circle, minimize contacts with difficult and “difficult” people, after which you feel depressed. Try to surround yourself with optimists and positive personalities, because the ability to cope with difficulties depends on the right attitude. Be sure that in a good company you will simply have no time to regret and delve into yourself, you will be able, unexpectedly for yourself, to switch to something new and interesting.
• Fill your life with events - busy people rarely get depressed, they just don't have time! Work, visit exhibitions, concerts, meet friends, think over entertainment programs for the weekend and be sure to spend as much time as possible with loved ones.

How to distract yourself from unpleasant thoughts if they have taken away all the physical and moral strength?

You are doing well. You smile and communicate with people, have good results in work, friends, family. But as soon as you are alone with yourself, they appear - overwhelming and destructive thoughts. Earlier we talked about how to get rid of obsessive thoughts. And today we will offer 100 practical exercises that will help you switch your attention to more interesting processes and distract yourself from thoughts.

"Evil thoughts are the suicide of the soul."
Victor Hugo

70 ways to distract yourself from thoughts while sitting in a room

Some of these activities will seem banal, some you won’t want to waste time on, others you will dismiss because they are “not for you”. It is entirely your choice to try or not. But, believe me, many of them are able to really direct your thoughts from negative to useful. Yes, what do you have to lose?

1. clean up at home
2. Stop lying on the couch and sit at the table
3. call your parents
4. Wash the stain on the wall that has been annoying you for several years
5. Audit your wardrobe and drawer in your closet with “needs”
6. Learn a poem
7. Prepare a dish that takes a long time
8. Take a Russian language or physics test
9. Tie a scarf
10. Build a travel itinerary
11. Make or family tree
12. Take a serious psychological test and find out more about yourself
13. Plan it step by step
14. Bake an intricate cake
15. Get up and exercise for at least 30 minutes
16. Take a contrast shower
17. Turn on unfamiliar music and listen to the lyrics
18. Get started on the work tasks you've been putting off
19. Write an essay. Yes, just like in school
20. Play logic games
21. : imagine your perfect day or a day from the future
22. Take up meditation
23. Start writing a short story or autobiography
24. Do manual labor: wash windows, water flowers on windows, clean pots
25. Take care of your body: make masks, wraps, warm up
26. Learn 50 new words in another language and practice using them
27. Video yourself for parents or friends
28. Do
29. Start germinating seeds
30. Explore your old memories and indulge in nostalgia
31. Anonymously order a flower delivery for a loved one
32. Write a letter to your future self
33. Assemble the puzzle
34. Arrange a photo session for yourself using the delayed start function on the camera
35. Buy a coupon on the aggregator site for the entertainment you like
36. Watch the tutorial
37. Paint a picture with watercolor
38. Look at different job vacancies on the websites
39. Read blogs on topics that interest you
40. Do a stretch, try to sit on the twine
41. Write 100 facts about yourself
42. Sing along to video karaoke (no one sees you anyway)
43. Solve a crossword, sudoku or other puzzle
44. Read different words backwards
45. Build your portfolio and finalize your resume
46. Make repairs
47. Make a detailed meal plan for the next 2 weeks
48. Learn a couple of tricks
49. Make a quest for friends
50. Do a self-massage
51. Watch the documentary
52. Get rid of junk on your phone and computer
53. Make soap
54. Process your photo in Photoshop
55. Chat on social networks with old acquaintances, while initiating a conversation
56. Treat yourself to a romantic evening
57. Listen to an audiobook
58. Gulp watch a few episodes of "Friends"
59. Identify 5 must-attend activities for the week
60. Express the accumulated emotions aloud, saying each
61. Rearrange the furniture
62. Try to fall asleep to soothing music
63. Decorate the wall with your favorite photos
64. Guess on a wish
65. Read verses expressively
66. Create your own wish-list
67. List the 10 most significant achievements of the previous year for you
68. Make the best monthly budget
69. Play attention games
70. Go online

Don't leave the room

don't make a mistake?

How to take your mind off bad thoughts by going outside

If you still decide to get out of the room, then even the exit itself is already a way to get rid of bad thoughts. And then - it's even easier and more effective!

1. Take a ride on public transport
2. Go to the cinema or theater
3. Go to your parents
4. Go for a run
5. Buy a ticket for the nearest train in any direction
6. Offer help to a passerby or a grandmother on the street
7. Cut your hair or change your look
8. Go see a doctor
9. Set off to travel along the constructed route
10. Go to the zoo
11. Feed the ducks in the park
12. Pass
13. Go to a classical music concert
14. Head to the pool
15. Set a goal, for example, to visit 3 museums a day, and achieve it
16. Buy a sightseeing tour of the city
17. Have breakfast in nature or in a cafe on the terrace
18. Read a book in the park
19. Go to the cottage and weed the beds
20. Play board games (even with strangers)
21. Take a ride on a Ferris wheel while eating boiled corn
22. Go to a church, cathedral or chapel
23. Walk down the street with pigeon bread
24. Start fireworks
25. Take a Trial Tango Lesson
26. Volunteer for at least a day
27. Go on a blind date
28. Go to the bath or sauna
29. Go to football, hockey, volleyball

It's an endless list. And you can make it even more effective for yourself personally. Its essence is that it is not so difficult to distract yourself from thoughts that corrode your mood and psychological state. You just need to start doing something. And what exactly to do - you choose.

The feeling of love is one of the strongest in the world. It transforms people, completely changes, if not their life, then their sense of self. Modern psychology pays a lot of attention to falling in love, because its mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Speaking about this state, one cannot rely on ordinary everyday stories and concepts. Scientists have proven that such a feeling is not a whim, but a serious condition caused by special chemical reactions in the body.

We all know that feeling when we fall in love. Symptoms of this "disease" can now be found in many psychology textbooks. The main ones include:

1. Rapid heartbeat (as if the heart were jumping out of the chest).
2. Changes in body temperature.
3. The goosebump effect.
4. Dilation of the pupils (especially when looking at the object of passion).
5. Feeling of flight.
6. Exacerbation of feelings.
7. Feeling drunk.
8. A surge of strength.
9. Inability to concentrate.
10. No fatigue.
11. Fixation on the image and thoughts about a particular person.

One or two points by themselves mean nothing. But if there are more than half of them, then the reason for the strange behavior becomes clear - it's all about falling in love. All these sensations are biochemical in nature. The main substance is phenylethyleneamine, which is responsible for all the physiological sensations of falling in love. By the way, it is also contained in chocolate, which is why many people love it so much.

Another component of the chemistry of falling in love is adrenaline. Thanks to this component, we have such a surge of strength and excitement. Endorphins are also involved in these processes, which are responsible for the feeling of happiness, as well as for the safety of the immune system. Being in love has a positive effect on her, that is, it has a good effect on health.

Negative consequences

But love also has a less rosy side. Positive changes in state are possible only when it comes to mutual feeling. After all, when we cannot distract ourselves from thoughts and unrequited love, we lose our appetite, we are haunted by apathy, which can bring with it nervous breakdowns and exacerbation of diseases. Many people suffer from insomnia at this time, and there are cases when alcohol abuse occurs. Needless to say, even not in such radical manifestations, being in love distracts, does not allow you to work or study, and also simply enjoy life.

Having fallen in love with the opposite sex, a young girl or guy, who for some reason did not receive reciprocity, just wants to be distracted. But since the feeling is serious, you can’t just get rid of it. There are universal ways to forget the obsession and quickly return to the previous course of life:

• frank conversation with yourself, search for answers in yourself. Psychology says that it is not the very fact of refusal that offends us, but the fact that we cannot understand its reasons. In the future, such life turns can result in serious problems with self-esteem. Therefore, it is important to understand yourself first of all, listen to your feelings. The writing method works well. It is necessary to write down on paper all the claims to these relationships, why they are impossible and what to do about it. Systematization will help get rid of obsessive thoughts;
• wedge by wedge method. Not everyone is ready for such drastic measures as changing the object of love. Yes, and the heart, as you know, you can’t order. But it is possible to replace the object of passion at the subconscious level with some pleasant pastime. It is worth looking at the situation positively: why not start a new hobby that will completely distract from old feelings? By changing ourselves, we change our attitude to the former ideals;
• focus on career and study. Our brain is a multitasking system, but even it is not ready to focus on both love and work at the same time. Use it to your advantage: go to work or study. This will not only have a positive effect on your career, but will also allow you to quickly forget about love;
• choice of sport. It is not for nothing that it is believed that the spirit comes out of us in the hall. Negative emotions are dulled along with a noble feeling of fatigue. Sports help you to relax and also gain self-confidence. Yes, and a taut, healthy look has not hurt anyone yet;
• art. Even if a person has never held brushes in his hands - a good reason to do it now. Since ancient times, people have known about the healing power of art. In psychology, methods of rehabilitation from depression, which come down to drawing, are now widely used. It is easy to display your emotions on the canvas. Let the artistic value of the canvas be low, but it will help to cope with feelings;
• helping others. If you can't solve your own problems, help others. Even if you do not believe in karma and the boomerang effect, helping your neighbor, from the point of view of psychology, has a substitution effect;
• meetings with friends. But not for the purpose of crying on their shoulder, but to have fun. Discharge is the best panacea for obsession with a person.

Reading time 6 minutes

Negative thoughts, how to get distracted? Man is what he thinks. In this article, we will talk about how to distract yourself from negative thoughts. Here you will find the most effective ways to deal with obsessive thoughts that poison our lives.

Every person in life has periods when they are sucked into the abyss of negative thoughts, which sometimes turn into obsessive ones. We play them over and over in our heads. This poisons our lives, our mood deteriorates, we fall into depression, despair. Life becomes unbearable, devoid of joy.

An obsessive thought, as a projection of your fantasy.

We all know that thought is material. What happens to us is what we think about, what we fear the most. And when we hang in negative thoughts, then life is completely painted in black.

Before we talk about how to overcome such thoughts, let's first understand why this happens to us. Why do we dwell on bad thoughts and can't just let go of the situation?

Obsessive negative thoughts are a kind of bad habit. A person understands that it harms his health, but cannot get rid of it. Obsessive thoughts can bother a person for several days, and sometimes months. It can be certain fears, resentments, experiences, painful memories.

But what is most interesting, when time passes and these thoughts disappear, a person realizes that these thoughts did not pose any threat to him. Often, after a while, a person realizes that the thoughts that poisoned his life for a long time are dust in general and it was not worth even thinking about them.

Negative obsessive thoughts arise in the mind of a person involuntarily, against his will. A person is aware of pain, these thoughts are accompanied by depression, anxiety.

Causes of intrusive thoughts:

1. The most common cause of obsessive thoughts is stress. No matter how hard a person tries to forget a difficult situation, it is still reproduced in memory again and again.
2. Obsessive thoughts can arise as a consequence of psychological trauma.
3. The cause may be severe overwork and exhaustion of the nervous system.

Negative thoughts: how to get distracted?

“You need not get rid of thoughts, but direct your attention to them: what they are about, dive into them and find the reason from which they come. Perhaps this is some event in your life that gives rise to fear in you ... You need to deal with the reason. And then the “bad thoughts” will go away by themselves.”
D. Krok Freeskiing

1. Compliment yourself, praise yourself. As soon as a negative thought visits you, start saying the phrase in your head: “Shut up immediately.” Then start complimenting yourself. This is the methodology of the psychologist V.K. Nevyarovich, who described this method in the book Soul Therapy.
2. The right mindset will help you get rid of negative thoughts. Always confidently say: I can! I can do it!
3. Relaxation will help to distract from bad thoughts. Relax your body and enjoy. Our body immediately reacts to negative thoughts. We have wrinkles, the corners of the lips are lowered, we look older by 5 years. Go for a massage, take a bath with aromatic oils, visit a beauty salon, go to the pool, sleep off. Yoga and meditation will help you with this.
4. You can get rid of bad thoughts if you throw them out. Feel free to cry, yell, or talk to someone you trust. In the process of speaking out the problem, much becomes clear and resolves itself.
5. You can write down all your negative thoughts on paper and burn them. This is a kind of ritual of purification and release of the situation.
6. Imagine your thoughts very small. Clench them in your fist so hard that they crumble and scatter them in the wind.
7. The nature of the problem needs to be established. Analyze when problems with negative and obsessive thoughts appeared. You must clearly understand what is happening to you. There are no hopeless situations and your emotional state can be changed. Some people have been haunted by negative thoughts since childhood, this develops in them a general negative attitude towards themselves and the world around them.
8. To get rid of negative thoughts, you need to be aware of your fears. Often your fears are instilled in you by your parents or those around you. Perhaps you have often been told: "You are a loser, you are poor, you have no talents, etc." Such phrases sit in the head of a person, he begins to believe in them and feel and behave accordingly. To get rid of this kind of thoughts, you need to write down all your achievements and joys, even the smallest ones. This will show you who you really are and distract you from the bad thoughts in your head.
9. The main cause of obsessive thoughts is anxiety. People worry all the time, about anything. These thoughts are exhausting, although often there is no real cause for concern. In this case, it is necessary to control the obsession, this means not talking about it, not allowing yourself to think about the bad. You can distract from negative obsessive thoughts if you do some important business, start singing or repeating the multiplication table in your mind.
10. The main reason for negative thoughts is the inability to be in the present moment. We can worry only when we think about the future and we are upset only by what has already happened, that is, the past. Therefore, in order to distract from bad restless thoughts, you need not think about the future. Self-confidence and a positive attitude will help to distract from any negative thought.
11. Controlling your thoughts will help you not only get rid of them, but also get rid of them forever. You must understand that only you can help yourself. Write down your biggest fear on paper and what will happen if it comes true. For example, I can't pay off a loan. What will happen? They start calling and threatening. What will I do? I will contact a specialist. which restructures the loan. What if they get sued? In this case, they will break the loan into parts, and it will be easier for me to pay it off. Any problem can be disassembled and analyzed in this way. Then it will not seem so scary, because there is a way out of any situation.
12. Repeat to yourself in your head the phrase: "Everything passes and this will pass."
13. Learn to correctly understand life priorities. There is nothing more important and valuable than your life. Everything else is dust that will disperse and be forgotten.
14. Never compare yourself to others! You have your own life and your own life mission. You can learn from successful people, but don't try on their lives. Envy is the source of obsessive dark thoughts.
15. Don't get stuck in the past! You must love and forgive yourself. It is already impossible to change what happened, so why torture yourself. There is no need to remember failures. Concentrate better on what you can do.
16. Learn to control your emotions. It is necessary to accept the situation in a neutral way, then any thought is perceived simply as information for reflection. After all, you yourself paint situations in colors with your emotions.
17. Learn to forgive yourself and those around you. If you received negative attitudes from your parents, then you must understand that they simply did not know how to live differently.
18. To distract yourself from bad thoughts, keep yourself busy with an interesting project. You can draw pictures, start writing a book, develop a business plan. When a person is busy with something interesting, he does not have time to think about the bad.
19. Write plans for the future. Write down what you want to do one month ahead. Planning will help get rid of constant anxiety and distract from negative thoughts.
20. Psychologists recommend that every time you have a bad thought, punish yourself. For example, put an elastic band on your hand and, when a bad thought appears, pull and hit yourself with an elastic band on your arm. It sounds crazy, but our brain begins to understand that a negative thought will be punished, and it will be less and less likely to reduce such thoughts.
21. The acceptance of a thought means the cessation of the struggle with it. Learn not to drive away thoughts, but to find the positive aspects of your problem.
22. When negative thoughts hit you, remember a moment when you were happy. Keep this picture in your head and replay it whenever a bad thought comes up.
23. Think about it, you may have a secondary benefit from obsessive thoughts. For example, by thinking constantly about one situation, you avoid thinking about something else. Perhaps there are more important issues for you, but you are afraid to think about them. This disguise must be recognized.
24. Very often, obsessive negative thoughts are the reason to consider yourself unhappy and this relieves you of some responsibilities. For example, a person believes that he cannot find a job until he gets rid of obsessive thoughts. This is a secondary benefit. Obsessive thoughts are an excuse. In fact, a person simply does not want to look for a job.
25. Obsessive thoughts cause a lot of tension, so in order to cope with them, you need to learn how to relax with every cell of your body. Relaxation meditation is the best way to help you.
26. If you believe in God, prayer for protection from bad thoughts will help to cope with a bad mood, relieve despondency. Take good care of your soul. Take care of spiritual purity, because any thought is material and it is the first step towards the abyss. The words of prayer have tremendous healing power. As soon as you feel that a negative thought overcomes you, pray.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many ways to work through negative thoughts, get rid of them or distract from them. The most important thing is to have the desire and faith in yourself. If you can’t get your mind off negative thoughts on your own, see a therapist.

Exceptionally reason and the ability to think distinguishes a person from other living beings. The brain has made our individual more conscious than the rest of the inhabitants of the planet. The main goal of consciousness is to create the most rational methods of responding to the world around us. We can be aware of one part of our thoughts because we purposefully think about something. The other we do not control, and it remains in our subconscious. We do not always notice this part of the work of our brain, while it creates new, much more effective behaviors.

As a side effect, our brains, through the “creative” process, can generate some truly strange thoughts that may surprise or even alarm. I want to move away from such ideas as quickly and efficiently as possible. Let's look at how to get rid of obsessive thoughts and achieve clarity of mind.

It is not always possible to cope with this task on your own. However, there are a number of exercises, among which you can choose one or more that are optimal for yourself.

First of all You can try to express your emotions. If disturbing thoughts have taken possession of your mind, it is enough to list them. It is this method that the gestalt therapist Nifont Dolgopolov advises. In the event that you are haunted by thoughts like “I don’t have time to do something ...” or “I worry about something ...”, you need to remember the circumstances in which you had these feelings. Perhaps, taking on some business, you suspected that you would not have time to finish it on time. You need to try to express your emotions very clearly. It will not be superfluous to strengthen them with body movements, shades of intonation and gestures. This procedure is best done where you will not be disturbed. Nifont Dolgopolov states that restraining emotions causes thoughts to constantly revolve around this problem. After a person has the opportunity to express his emotions, the endless cycle of thoughts stops.

Based on the second method which helps to get rid of intrusive thoughts, is correct breathing. In order for disturbing ideas to leave your head, you need to close your eyes and begin to breathe measuredly and calmly. While doing this procedure, listen to your body, follow its movements, control your breathing, watch how your stomach rises and falls. Wellness expert Lelya Savosina, telling how to get rid of intrusive thoughts through breathing, says that during this exercise it is better to concentrate on bodily sensations. The procedure helps to focus on something detached and relieves tension in the muscles.

Another way to get rid of obsessive thoughts is the following technique. You need to take a piece of paper and start writing on it whatever comes to your mind. No need to choose words and focus on spelling. You will be able to watch how your stroke turns from choppy and sharp to smooth. This will mean that you are gradually reaching inner balance. Psychotherapist Alexander Orlov claims that this exercise allows you to look at experiences from a different angle and gives vent to emotions. The same practice is used in the method of free association and the method of directed imagination. The basis of psychotherapy is free and trusting communication, during which everything that disturbs and excites is said.

Maintaining mindfulness is another way to ensure getting rid of intrusive thoughts. If a person is immersed in inner experiences, he begins to perceive worse what is happening around. This mechanism also works vice versa. Existential psychotherapist Maria Soloveichik advises to focus on the objects and events around you, immediately after you notice that you have fallen into the trap of obsessive thoughts. You can turn your eyes to the most insignificant little things like a leaf on a tree. If you do not focus on such details, you will again return to the sphere of thinking. Once you have noticed this reaction in yourself, take up careful observation again. Try to expand the field of your perception. For example, after the leaf, start looking at the crown of the tree, switching to small details from time to time. Change your focus periodically. Let not only trees, but also people, houses, clouds and other objects fall into your field of vision. This technique can make your life much easier, as it will be much easier to deal with obsessive thoughts.

Many who are fond of psychology know that a person is constantly in one of three states of his inner "I": Parent, Child or Adult. Everyone tends to make decisions like an adult, to help and care like a parent, and to obey and act up like a child.

Doctor of Psychology Vadim Petrovsky states that, the constant scrolling of obsessive thoughts represents an endless communication with one of the "I". In order to effectively reduce the notorious internal dialogue to nothing, one should learn to understand who is currently speaking from these three “Selves”. In the case when your thoughts are focused on the scenario of failure, most likely your inner voice in the form of a parent is talking to you. Transactional analyst Isabelle Crespel argues that in such a situation, you need to get the critic to start speaking in the tone of a mentor who tells you how to do the right thing and how to make the right decision. At the same time, you need to mentally support yourself with motivating phrases like "Be sure that everything will work out", "You can do everything." Such an internal attitude will help to concentrate on constructive solutions.

Answering the question of how to distract from obsessive thoughts, it is worth mentioning another method, which is to ask yourself questions. In most cases, we are not worried about real difficulties, but only about perceived problems. The author of the “Work” methodology, psychologist Kathy Byron, advises, if it is impossible to change reality, try to change thoughts about it. She suggests asking yourself four questions: “How true is this?”, “Am I 100% sure that this is true?”, “How do I react to these thoughts?” and “Who would I be without these thoughts?”

Let's say you have no idea how to do the right thing because you think that someone will be upset or angry. By working with the above methodology, you will come to the conclusion that no one will be angry with you and that you have thought it up yourself. In another case, you may realize that thinking about someone's dissatisfaction is just an excuse for laziness and inaction. Such a technique will help to understand the relativity of many of our beliefs, change the angle of perception and discover completely unusual solutions to certain problems.

Since it is not always possible to remove obsessive thoughts, you can practice meditation as a way to get rid of unnecessary worries. Yoga coach Natalya Shuvalova is sure that a person concentrates on good and bad thoughts. Meditation, on the other hand, helps us focus solely on what benefits us. You can focus on your breath, a particular symbol, or even a sound. To begin with, it will be enough to learn to observe detachedly your feelings and mental experiences. Having previously taken a comfortable position, begin to follow all the processes that occur in your brain and body. Let your emotions, thoughts and sensations flow by. You should not judge them, you just need to try to study them. Natalia Shuvalova says that it is very important to understand that we are able to control thoughts and emotions, and not vice versa. Observation turns off thoughts and frees the head from obsessions.

Another method that helps to overcome unnecessary ideas is the method of muting the sound. Alexey Sitnikov, a business consultant and doctor of psychological sciences, says that we present the most important events and memories for us as vividly and picturesquely as possible. If we imagine the flow of thoughts as a movie, then the better the quality of the image and sound, the stronger the impact on us of this or that plot. Therefore, the most obsessive ideas and thoughts should be “viewed” with muffled sound and a fuzzy image in order to significantly reduce the level of its impact. This will greatly reduce their importance.

If exercises aimed at solving the question of whether how to get rid of intrusive thoughts, do not help, it is likely that the latter have become so intense that the above methods do not give proper calm. Psychoanalyst Ksenia Korbut believes that it is correct to consider obsessive thoughts as a protective mechanism of the human psyche, helping to overcome frightening and unpredictable feelings. They often occur in people who do not know how or are not able to show emotions. It is in such situations that a person tries to explain logically certain experiences or reduce them to something rational and understandable. In view of the fact that it is impossible to do this, we are forced to repeat them over and over again to no avail.

In the event that you cannot distract yourself from obsessive thoughts, it makes sense to contact a specialist who will create the conditions for understanding the world of your own emotions.