Intrusive thoughts - trigger warning

itsquietuptown

i’m really struggling with intrusive thoughts recently, i’ll be feeling okay and then all of a sudden my brain is just like “hurt yourself” and in my head i see images of what i could do and i feel how it would feel and it’s so vivid that a couple of times it’s caused me to have a panic attack but most of the time i just kind of shut down and have to try not to listen to them. i used to hurt myself regularly but i’ve been clean for about five months now. i also have thoughts about how i should eat less or make myself sick. even when i sleep i sometimes dream about hurting myself or about situations to do with eating and wake up through the night feeling anxious. i don’t know how to cope with these thoughts and i’m scared soon i’ll give in and listen to them and do something bad. 

Former Member

Hey itsquietuptown

It sounds like you are struggling at the minute, we are here for you, so it's positive that you are reaching out for support. 

Do you have any other support in place? 

How are you feeling now? I know it's been a few hours since you posted this.

We care about you

Former Member

Heey itsquietuptown

im sorry you're having a rough time, do you have any support that could help with this?

I know it's hard I really do, but try and block out these intrusive thoughts as much as you can, it is possible to overcome them

do you like reading? I read a book called 'overcoming unwanted intrusive thoughts' and would highly recommend it its CBT based and teaches skills to overcome them

Siena

That can feel really overwhelming. youre doing really well to not give in and post on here. Do you know what else has helped in the past?

Sorry i dont have much else to add. But here for you and i hope you are keeping yourself safe and taking lots of care