Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts: A CBT-Based Guide to Getting Over Frightening, Obsessive, or Disturbing Thoughts

by Sally M. Winston PsyD

Here is an example: How would you respond to someone who asked you for the best method of bloodletting to cure a person of their fever? You would, of course, say that bloodletting isn’t a way to cure a fever. There was a time in the past when people erroneously believed it to cure people. But that was five hundred years ago. So answering the question would just contribute to that old myth. In the same way, talking about root causes in this context also contributes to an old myth about human emotions. When you think of a root cause, you probably get an image of digging down deep and pulling out every single bit of the problem so that it is eliminated or extinguished from your psyche. This concept was widely accepted fifty years ago, but now we know that this is not how our minds and brains work. Instead, we now know that most psychological issues are a complicated interaction of what you inherit (genetics), plus maturational processes that go on throughout your life, plus your own personal history, which can include the way you were raised, the important events that occur, the stresses you encounter, and more. More importantly, we now know that determining the historical factors that contribute to unwanted intrusive thoughts are absolutely no help in getting rid of them. That’s right. Learning about why you have intrusive thoughts will not help you stop them nor reduce your distress. However, learning how you inadvertently keep intrusive thoughts going and what you can do t...