Intrusive Thoughts in Adults: Symptoms, Causes, and Help
October 27, 2025
Have you ever had unwanted, scary thoughts pop into your head, seemingly at random? Like saying or doing something hurtful to a friend, or challenging yourself to leave your home unlocked. These are just two of many examples of intrusive thoughts – something that many of us struggle with.
Intrusive thoughts are most commonly associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but they’re also experienced with mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).1,2 Perhaps surprisingly, they’re also experienced by people with no mental health conditions at all.2
Intrusive thoughts in adults can be incredibly distressing, often in shocking contrast to someone’s true character. With themes of violence and socially inappropriate behaviors, intrusive thoughts may cause someone to suppress their thoughts or question whether they’re a bad person. These responses can create further anxiety and perpetuate intrusive thoughts.3
Interestingly, it’s normal to sometimes experience intrusive thoughts, with experts suggesting that they’re a warning signal misunderstood by the conscious mind.4
This article will explore these ideas, as well as treatment options. We’ll discuss:
What intrusive thoughts are and their causes- When intrusive thoughts are normal vs problematic
- The mental health conditions that intrusive thoughts could be a symptom of
- How people with intrusive thoughts can be treated
What Are Intrusive Thoughts?
Intrusive thoughts are unwanted and unwelcome repetitive thoughts, images, or impulses.2 They’re often negative in nature, commonly centering around violence, sex, and socially inappropriate actions. They could be directed at oneself, loved ones, or people who are close by.4
Intrusive thoughts are often so contrary to someone’s true intentions, character, or wishes that they can be extremely distressed or disgusted with themselves. Common intrusive thoughts involve:4
Hurting oneself (for example, by swerving into traffic)- Harming innocent people, such as children or loved ones
- Sexual behavior, despite a lack of attraction or it being inappropriate
- Jumping or throwing valuable possessions off a building or bridge when standing at the edge
- Shouting or acting in a socially appropriate way in public
As they can be so shocking, these thoughts will significantly interrupt people’s thought processes or flow of speech.1 Intrusive thoughts can create second-hand anxiety, causing people to wonder why they’re having them and if it means they’re a bad person.
While people with intrusive thoughts will often acknowledge them as irrational or contrary to their true character, this doesn’t stop them from being distressing. Plus, those with OCD may know some of their thoughts aren’t rational, but still feel compelled to respond with corresponding behaviors.1
Many people trying to cope with intrusive thoughts feel that suppressing them (pushing thoughts away or attempting to forget them) will make them go away. The more distressing the thoughts are perceived to be, the more likely people are to use suppression. Unfortunately, not only is this method ineffective, but thought suppression can actually increase the distress people feel about their thoughts.3,6
Fortunately, there are several explanations for intrusive thoughts and ways to reduce them.
Are Intrusive Thoughts “Normal”?
It’s totally normal to sometimes have intrusive thoughts. One study found that over 50% of people standing on a tall building or bridge have the urge to jump, despite none having a history of suicidal thoughts or desire to die. This is known as the “high place phenomenon.”4
Plus, nearly all women will have intrusive thoughts about harming their newborn baby at some point after giving birth.4
If you’re experiencing transient intrusive thoughts – those that pop into your mind and disappear quickly – you won’t need treatment. Over-analyzing them and worrying that you’re unwell in some way will create further anxiety. If they’re fleeting and not significantly affecting your life, it’s good to think of them as your brain hiccupping.4
What Causes Intrusive Thoughts?
So, what are the causes of intrusive thoughts if people have no intention of harming themselves or others?
Some experts have hypothesized that the thoughts are like a warning signal that’s been misinterpreted in the brain. For instance, thinking about jumping off a bridge could be the brain’s way of preventing that from happening. Similarly, a mother’s brain may be alerting her to all the different ways her child could be harmed so that she can prevent them.4
So, you can think of intrusive thoughts as the opposite of what they seem to mean. By taking this perspective, thinking of jumping off a bridge means “I don’t want to fall from this height,” and thinking of harming a child means “I want this child to be OK.”5
When Do Intrusive Thoughts Become Problematic?
To answer this question, a good rule of thumb is how you respond to intrusive thoughts. If you forget about them easily or think “that’s bizarre,” but allow them to pass, your experience of intrusive thoughts is on the unproblematic end of the spectrum.7
On the other hand, if you respond to intrusive thoughts with further thoughts about your character, your worth, or if you become obsessed with them, that indicates they’ve become problematic.7
We’ll now explore the mental health conditions that intrusive thoughts can be accompanied by or caused by, to help explain what may be happening for you.
The Relationship Between Mental Health Conditions and Intrusive Thoughts
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
As mentioned, intrusive thoughts are a key aspect of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).1 People with OCD experience intrusive thoughts as obsessions that are unwanted and repetitive. Trying too hard to get rid of them can cause the thoughts to arise more regularly. Some people will carry out physical actions (compulsions) to soothe or answer the thoughts, such as tapping, counting, or checking.7
Anxiety and Phobias
Sometimes, people will be misdiagnosed with OCD because of overlapping symptoms with anxiety disorders and phobias. Since intrusive thoughts can also occur in these conditions, it’s important to look at other symptoms to distinguish them.1
Those with anxiety are more prone to intrusive thoughts, whether they’re simply more sensitive to anxiety or have an anxiety disorder.4
Plus, people with anxiety are more likely to judge themselves as bad, immoral, or dangerous when experiencing intrusive thoughts. As a result, the intrusive thoughts feel ‘stronger’ and individuals focus on them more. Crucially, those with anxiety disorders also experience:8
- Excessive worrying
- Restlessness
- Fatigue
- Difficulty concentrating
- Disturbed sleep
- Distress in work or social settings
- Muscle tension
Intrusive thoughts may interact with these symptoms, whereby they appear at night, causing difficulty with sleeping. The thoughts may surround unlikely outcomes such as someone becoming seriously ill, being hurt, or losing a job.9
Depression
People with depression may experience intrusive thoughts, putting them at risk of being misdiagnosed with OCD.1 Those with depression may struggle with another cognitive symptom, rumination – this is when someone thinks about and analyzes something repeatedly, preventing them from undertaking important tasks.9
Intrusive thoughts may also accompany depression in the form of “black-and-white” thinking. This is when someone jumps to the worst-case conclusion or views small mishaps as disastrous mistakes. These thoughts are unwanted and irrational, but more convincing for someone who’s already struggling with low mood and self-worth.9
If you need support determining which mental health condition you may be experiencing, we recommend taking a self-test.
Treating Intrusive Thoughts
Before we discuss getting professional support for intrusive thoughts, it’s worth noting that the approach you employ personally can have a tremendous impact on how they recur.
We’ve already mentioned that it can be helpful to view intrusive thoughts as the opposite of what you want or as warning signals. Having this understanding can help cultivate an attitude of acceptance, which is found to be highly effective in reducing intrusive thoughts.3
As well as acceptance, another coping strategy for intrusive thoughts is focused distraction. Also known as focused attention, this involves shifting your attention onto something other than the intrusive thought. For instance, it could be immersing yourself in the task you’re doing or playing some music.3
These techniques can be effective for people with non-clinical intrusive thoughts (meaning, those who do not meet the criteria for OCD or another mental health diagnosis).3 For those with other symptoms of a mental health condition, overcoming intrusive thoughts will require a more intensive approach:
Mindfulness Therapy
Though mindfulness and meditation can be employed at home, many types of psychotherapy have integrated mindfulness techniques into their approaches.
You may find humanistic therapists offering counseling with mindfulness included in their special interests. Alternatively, you may find something called mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy (MBCBT), a therapy type with meditation at its centre.
Whether you decide to cultivate a meditation practice at home or seek out a therapist with a mindfulness approach, it can:10
Increase your “dispositional mindfulness” (consistent awareness and non-judgment of the present moment)- Increase your ability to down-regulate intrusive thoughts
- Reduce the number of intrusive thoughts
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Therapy for intrusive thoughts could call for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is very focused on the automatic thoughts that can worsen symptoms of anxiety and depression. These automatic and unhelpful thoughts are also known as “cognitive distortions.”11
We already spoke about one example of cognitive distortions – black-and-white thinking. Other examples of cognitive distortions include (but are not limited to):11
Assuming another person’s thoughts (mind reading)- Discounting positive evidence
- Jumping to conclusions
- Catastrophizing
Cognitive behavioral therapy for intrusive thoughts will explore any cognitive distortions you may have around your intrusive thoughts. For example, if you have an intrusive thought and think, “I’m a terrible person” or “I should be kept away from society,” a CBT practitioner will want to challenge and reshape your response.11
CBT is likely to be extremely helpful for treating intrusive thoughts because, as we’ve mentioned, it’s the way you respond to them that can be problematic. Therapy can also help cultivate acceptance, especially if you opt for MBCBT or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
Mission Connection: Get Support for Intrusive Thoughts Today
If you’d like to receive mental health treatment for intrusive thoughts, reach out to us here at Mission Connection. We treat a wide range of mental health conditions and can provide support for other cognitive symptoms such as racing thoughts, dissociation, memory problems, disorientation, indecisiveness, and rumination.
We have a few treatment centers across the country, but we also offer therapy online. Contact us today to learn about our options and ask about starting treatment.
References
- Brock, H., Hany, M., & Rizvi, A. (2024). Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). PubMed; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553162/
- Kühn, S., Schmiedek, F., Brose, A., Schott, B. H., Lindenberger, U., & Lövden, M. (2013). The neural representation of intrusive thoughts. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 8(6), 688–693. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nss047
- Najmi, S., Riemann, B. C., & Wegner, D. M. (2009). Managing unwanted intrusive thoughts in obsessive–compulsive disorder: Relative effectiveness of suppression, focused distraction, and acceptance. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47(6), 494–503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2009.02.015
- Psychology Today. (n.d.). Understanding Intrusive Thoughts https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/erasing-stigma/202002/understanding-intrusive-thoughts
- Psychology Today. (2022). Why Our Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts Are Not Random. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/living-with-a-sticky-mind/202212/unwanted-intrusive-thoughts-are-not-random
- Levine, A. Z., & Warman, D. M. (2016). Appraisals of and recommendations for managing intrusive thoughts: An empirical investigation. Psychiatry Research, 245, 207–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2016.08.040
- Science Focus. (n.d.). Intrusive thoughts: Why they happen and how to deal with them. https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/intrusive-thoughts
- Munir, S., & Takov, V. (2022). Generalized anxiety disorder. National Library of Medicine; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441870/
- NAMI. (2022, September 12). Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts. https://www.nami.org/mental-health-systems/dealing-with-intrusive-thoughts/
- Ashton, S. M., Sambeth, A., & Quaedflieg, C. W. E. M. (2023). A mindful approach to controlling intrusive thoughts. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 10966. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-37447-9
- Guy-Evans, O. (2022, November 3). 13 Cognitive Distortions Identified in CBT. https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-distortions-in-cbt.html
