Intrusive Thoughts Vs Impulsive Thoughts: Find the Difference

Intrusive thoughts vs impulsive thoughts are two different kinds of behavior that need attention and need to be discussed separately. To some extent, the signs of both behaviors overlap with each other. However, the effects of intrusive and impulsive thoughts are harmful when these are not treated adequately at the right moments. Just imagine you are driving a car, and a sudden impulsive thought pops up in your mind, and you get stuck in that situation.

So, these thoughts might be harmful to your life even when you neglect them. Therefore, it is vital to get expert guidance. You might take help from some mental health expert who takes you out of these thoughts through effective assessment and evaluation of your current situation. Continue reading, as you’ll get more interesting information and coping strategies for intrusive and compulsive behavior.

What Are Intrusive Thoughts?

Intrusive thoughts are unwanted thoughts, images, or impulses that occur irrespective of one’s wishes. They find out how to intercede in the habitual ways you think. They might emerge spontaneously, in relation to concrete scenarios (as a response to a given situation or event) or in relation to certain feelings (such as anxiety, sadness, or others).

The negative thoughts that run through the minds of compulsive intruders are often aggressive, threatening, or, in one way or another, distressing. Moreover, obsessive intrusive thoughts refer to thoughts and images that appear in the person’s mind without his volition, and these are generally unwanted. These thoughts go from daydreaming to more pathological subjects like striking someone in the face or deliberately hurting one’s self.

What Causes Intrusive Thoughts?

Intrusive thoughts are also commonly associated with other mental health conditions, such as:

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
• Postpartum depression.
• Stress
• Worry
• Insomnia
• Hormone changes
• Eating disorders
• Postpartum depression

What Are Intrusive Thoughts Examples?

1.Concerns about being infected with the virus

Germs, or contamination, is one of the most popular intrusions out there that people experience on a regular basis. This passing could involve fearing catching the flu. A passenger passes the flu to others, even if the chances are slim. Such a coax can lead to obsession over one’s health and cause the person to develop symptoms such as constantly washing hands or avoiding people.

 2. Shame of doing something stupid or silly

You may experience persistent anxiety that you may make a fool out of yourself in front of others. Your concerns could be about uttering something vulgar in public or losing your temper and starting to shout vulgar things at the top of your voice. At times, these are representing some kind of memory, such as feeling like one has embarrassed themselves in the past and thus constantly worrying that the same thing could happen again.

3. Sudden cues for the topics or memories

Some people can have unwanted intrusive thoughts that are just related to the trauma they have experienced. Such thoughts are usually precipitated by some aspect of the victim’s surroundings that resembles the traumatic event. For instance, a certain smell or place may trigger an unpleasant thought. However, Intrusive thoughts vs impulsive thoughts might not necessarily be defined as the direct cause of an event.

4. Ideas of violence or criminal activity

Obsessive thoughts and compulsions, thoughts about committing an immoral act against oneself or others, and aggressive thoughts. These are presumably not things that you would like to do, and presumably, these thoughts make you feel bad. But having them can make you ask yourself so many questions and begin to doubt yourself. Obscene thoughts can also be violent if you cannot dismiss them.

5. The idea of inflicting pain on a baby or child

If you are a new parent, you might have had some rather horrifying experiences about the baby. It may also be about hurting the baby by mistake or on purpose—your baby that you have been eager to welcome into your family. Research shows that 44% of new parents have newborns’ intrusive thoughts. It is less than expected and rather painful for parents.

What Are Impulsive Thoughts?

Impulsive thoughts relate to a sudden and involuntary idea or plan that results in the occurrence of impulses. These are auto-suggestions that compel a person to perform something without regard for the outcome.

These thoughts can greatly affect actions since they are mostly automatic and do not involve a person’s rational decision-making process. Consequently, impulsiveness can lead to adverse consequences, including debt, poor health, or social deterioration of the marriage.
Examples of impulsive thoughts include:

• The sudden desire to acquire a product or a service that is not essential in life.
• A feeling that all of a sudden, you want to eat junk food when you are on a diet.
• The phenomenon of wanting to speak rudely or offend someone in a social context

Causes of Impulsive Thoughts

Here are the following causes of the impulsive thoughts:

•  Passions or urges generally bring about egotistical ideas and normally entail unexpected activities or choices
• In terms of time, impulsive thinking seems to be transient. This means that they tend to last for a short time, and sometimes, they may just appear and disappear within a short time.
• Discussing the frequency of intrusive vs. impulsive thoughts, it is possible to notice that, in this case, intrusive thoughts may occur more frequently compared to impulsive ones.
• Said action means that impulsive thoughts are erratic, break-like random psychological events. Individuals who go through rumination experience that they have no control over their thoughts and are impulsive.

Impulsive Thoughts Examples

Impulsive decisions examples of impulsive thinking leading to unwanted behaviors include:

•  Spending large amounts of money that do not entail prior strategic thinking
• Planning an unscheduled journey
• Sudden decision to change your look
• The process of eating a huge amount of food in a limited period cannot be controlled.
• Buying things that are not necessary, expensive items
• Often interrupting those with whom one is speaking, even in the middle of a word

What’s The Difference Between Impulsive and Intrusive Thoughts?

Compulsive Vs Impulsive Behavior

Compulsive behaviors are activities that relate to obligatory rituals and are performed in a daily and precise manner to a certain schedule. Compulsive groups are ordinarily characterized by high levels of anxiety and immigrant their compulsive behavior in order to feel better in self-regulation. Compulsive behaviors can eventually intrude on one’s capacity to perform important tasks.
Impulsive behaviors are those that are done without a second thought and in a swift manner. Said behaviors are powerful and involve overwhelming desires, and as such, the benefits resulting from them are enjoyed at the expense of the later repercussions. Impulsive people have poor self-regulation mechanisms and control of their emotions. This particular character often leads to many destructive issues in their career as well as with their partners. Thus, Intrusive thoughts vs impulsive thoughts are different from each other and some of the properties are interlinked.

Influence of Intrusive and Compulsive Thoughts on OCD And ADHD

All the same, intrusive and impulsive thoughts play a great role in the disorders of OCD and ADHD. If these are not treated over time, they may prevail in this disorder, and the symptoms are produced more than the previously existing ones.

1. OCD And Impulsivity

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by extreme fear that one may act out of control and do something which they do not want to. Contemplative thoughts about aggression, for example, fill people with dread that, despite the low probability, they might turn out to act on it.

2. OCD And Impulsivity Examples

• Washing of hands excessively due to fear of contamination.
• Persistent fears of harming someone or causing damage, manifested by repeated checking of doors and locks.
• Intrusive thoughts of causing a fire due to the intrusive image, leading to ritualistic behaviors
• Arranging things in a particular order or pattern repeatedly.

3. ADHD Intrusive Thoughts

Obsessive thoughts are negative and interfere with individuals who have ADHD because of genetic differences in the human brain. ADHD, therefore, can be described by saying that the affected persons have trouble controlling attention and that their thought processes are uncontrollable.

4. ADHD Intrusive Thoughts Examples

Common examples of ADHD racing thoughts include:

• That particular thing seems to think it will not slow down.
• Pressure that arises in compelling the need to do something promptly.
• Executing one task and then quickly switching to the next task.
• Looking at the future obligations on the job.

Both intrusive and impulsive thoughts have a great impact on the disorders of OCD and ADHD. When these are not treated over time, they may dominate this disorder, and the symptoms get more than the previously existing symptoms. The undesirable effects of intrusive and impulsive thoughts can cause on human behavior may then be created by not heeding to these practices.

Related Read:  Relationship OCD 5 Various Types Of OCD Symptoms and Treatment

Coping Strategies for Intrusive Thoughts Vs Impulsive Thoughts

i- Be aware of thought distortions.

A cognitive distortion is “an example of your brain lying to you.” For example, you may believe someone is laughing at you while, in reality, they are laughing at something else. You can be concerned that you failed a test when you actually performed well on it.

ii- Challenge Your Intrusive Thoughts

Another way to reduce your Intrusive thoughts vs impulsive thoughts is to find evidence that contradicts them. For example, if you believe that you are a nasty person all the time, go back to the times you helped someone else. When you think you’ll get passed on for a promotion, remember how hard you worked to get it.

iii-Acknowledge your thoughts without judgment

Recognizing your Intrusive thoughts vs impulsive thoughts can be difficult, especially if they are distressing. However, the best approach to dealing with undesirable thoughts is recognizing their presence. It is also important not to judge them since you will become more judgmental about yourself or your situation. Negative judging creates more negative thoughts, leading to more intrusive thoughts.

iv-Avoid Ruminating

Rumination is when one takes time to ‘chew’ on something or when one has done something and keeps on repeating it in mind. Try exercises where you imagine being surrounded by the sea, holding a warm cup of tea, belting your favorite song, happy deep breaths in and out for some time. You may minimize the effect of intrusive and impulsive thoughts by focusing on the texture of the painting you are drawing or rubbing the sand between your fingers.

v-Reduce Negative Inputs

Expel bad things in your life, like reading news, using social media, or speaking to toxic individuals. You are aware of the friend, the negative type, the kind that will always have words of doom to say. Instead, launch a positive culture, meaning that you should cultivate a healthy working culture in the organization. This is applicable to the people one interacts with, and it is also applied to the physical environment in the workplace and home settings.

In a Nutshell

Intrusive thoughts vs impulsive thoughts are both behaviors that an individual must understand. There are a lot of negative effects of intrusive and impulsive thoughts, and timely recognition and seeking professional help are more important. By reading all the coping strategies mentioned earlier, you might learn the ways to tackle such feelings. If you or anyone you know is struggling with such sort of behaviors, the best option for you is to get professional guidance. In this regard, MAVA Behavioral Health is here to take you out of this scary world of negative and dominating thoughts. So, feel free to visit us or contact us without any hesitation of being judged, as we are providing our valued patient a friendly environment for discussing their concerns.