Reassurance is usually the first way people try to get rid of unwanted intrusive thoughts. Most people try to reassure themselves internally, by seeking reassurance from their own inner voices, from websites, and books, and then when that does not help, they seek reassurance from others. Reassurance involves entanglement by encouraging you to argue with the thoughts, as if they were valuable or meaningful or worthy of attention. And usually reassurance ends up with escalating efforts because it only works temporarily, and your mind comes back for more and better arguments, producing
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