scary thoughts of hurting someone
scary thoughts of hurting someone
I know that i will never do it, but i have this scary thought of hurting people and my son. Its breaks my heart to think that, I would never do that and i dont know how to get it out of my mind. I have had these thoughts before when I was younger so I started to avoid the person in fear of harming them. However I cant and i wont run out on my son. Any Advice.
Re: scary thoughts of hurting someone
Hi cgil11,
Couldn't help but respond to your post in that scary thoughts of which you described were one of my symptoms of anxiety. Their is ample evidence supporting the fact that all humans get thoughts of which you described. Research by Dr. Eric Klinger (1996) indicates that the average person has about 4,000 distinct thoughts in a sixteen-hour day. Approximately 13 percent of these thoughts occured without any intended purpose. Individuals reported that many of these thoughts were quite out of character, even shocking. Thus the average person experiences approximately 520 spontaneous intrusive thoughts each and every day. How many individuals do you think got thoughts of this nature watching the Casey Anthony trial this past month? Answer; millions. We who are prone to anxiety, however are ultra sensitive to this type of stimuli. When thoughts of this nature pop in our head we follow up these thoughts in a counterproductive analytical "what if'?" manner establishing and reinforcing irrational conclusions about ourselves along the way ie "what if I'm crazy?" "What if I'm pathological?" ...ect... Because we are uneducated about anxiety we then allow anxiety to dictate our decisions as per your statement "had these thoughts before when I was younger so I started to avoid the person in fear of harming them..." The mere fact that these thoughts cause you distress is pure evidence supporting the fact that you are incapable of carrying out thoughts of that nature as per your statement "It breaks my heart to think that...". Those who do are diagnosed as pathological; find comfort in these thoughts and have a history of anti-social behavior. They obviously are no where near this website. Through education and the application of this knowledge you can successfully insignificize this symptom of anxiety and re-establish your confidence.
In response to "don't know how to get it out of my mind...". Our initial reaction to these thoughts are to think in terms of elimination. We develp a fear of the thoughts themselves and try to suppress these thoughts. What happens when we try not to think of the sunset? We think of the sunset. The paradox of mental control is the harder people try to control a thought, the more difficulty they have with the thought. This ultimately just leads to variations of the thoughts themselves. Our goal is not elimination but rather to perceive these thoughts as what they really are; a very common insignificant symptom of anxiety. Thoughts that don't represent you in the slightest bit.
In regards to your statement "I can't and I won't run out on my son...". Excellent. Your not allowing anxiety to dictate any decisions. Further evidence supporting the fact you are of sane mind. In response to "any advice?". I have a ton of advice and resources to share that can help you help yourself grasp an understanding of this symptom of anxiety and apply the knowledge necessary to develop the emotional muscle needed to insignificize this symptoms of anxiety. I would strongly recommend a good therapist who has experience with this particular symptom of anxiety along with this program as well. Also a great book for starters is Overcoming Obsessive Thoughts by Christine Purdon, Ph.D., C.Psych. & David A. Clark, Ph.D., L.Psych.. I have walked in your shoes and succesfully insignificized this symptom of anxiety along with thousands of others. Know that you are capable of this as well. You are a success waiting to happen. God has put the pieces in place for your recovery. It is up to you to press on in faith and realize this success. E-mnail me anytime for support through this website or directly at mikesc21@hotmail.com. God Bless and go for it!!
Couldn't help but respond to your post in that scary thoughts of which you described were one of my symptoms of anxiety. Their is ample evidence supporting the fact that all humans get thoughts of which you described. Research by Dr. Eric Klinger (1996) indicates that the average person has about 4,000 distinct thoughts in a sixteen-hour day. Approximately 13 percent of these thoughts occured without any intended purpose. Individuals reported that many of these thoughts were quite out of character, even shocking. Thus the average person experiences approximately 520 spontaneous intrusive thoughts each and every day. How many individuals do you think got thoughts of this nature watching the Casey Anthony trial this past month? Answer; millions. We who are prone to anxiety, however are ultra sensitive to this type of stimuli. When thoughts of this nature pop in our head we follow up these thoughts in a counterproductive analytical "what if'?" manner establishing and reinforcing irrational conclusions about ourselves along the way ie "what if I'm crazy?" "What if I'm pathological?" ...ect... Because we are uneducated about anxiety we then allow anxiety to dictate our decisions as per your statement "had these thoughts before when I was younger so I started to avoid the person in fear of harming them..." The mere fact that these thoughts cause you distress is pure evidence supporting the fact that you are incapable of carrying out thoughts of that nature as per your statement "It breaks my heart to think that...". Those who do are diagnosed as pathological; find comfort in these thoughts and have a history of anti-social behavior. They obviously are no where near this website. Through education and the application of this knowledge you can successfully insignificize this symptom of anxiety and re-establish your confidence.
In response to "don't know how to get it out of my mind...". Our initial reaction to these thoughts are to think in terms of elimination. We develp a fear of the thoughts themselves and try to suppress these thoughts. What happens when we try not to think of the sunset? We think of the sunset. The paradox of mental control is the harder people try to control a thought, the more difficulty they have with the thought. This ultimately just leads to variations of the thoughts themselves. Our goal is not elimination but rather to perceive these thoughts as what they really are; a very common insignificant symptom of anxiety. Thoughts that don't represent you in the slightest bit.
In regards to your statement "I can't and I won't run out on my son...". Excellent. Your not allowing anxiety to dictate any decisions. Further evidence supporting the fact you are of sane mind. In response to "any advice?". I have a ton of advice and resources to share that can help you help yourself grasp an understanding of this symptom of anxiety and apply the knowledge necessary to develop the emotional muscle needed to insignificize this symptoms of anxiety. I would strongly recommend a good therapist who has experience with this particular symptom of anxiety along with this program as well. Also a great book for starters is Overcoming Obsessive Thoughts by Christine Purdon, Ph.D., C.Psych. & David A. Clark, Ph.D., L.Psych.. I have walked in your shoes and succesfully insignificized this symptom of anxiety along with thousands of others. Know that you are capable of this as well. You are a success waiting to happen. God has put the pieces in place for your recovery. It is up to you to press on in faith and realize this success. E-mnail me anytime for support through this website or directly at mikesc21@hotmail.com. God Bless and go for it!!
Re: scary thoughts of hurting someone
Thank you for the response and the advice.