Intrusive thoughts and fears won't go away

Even though I started taking an anti-depressant months ago, the medication has done little to control my intrusive thoughts and fears. A lot of this is things that will randomly pop up in my head that are really scary or awful, and then I start wondering things like "What if I am a horrible, evil, messed up person" etc, or "what if I loose my mind and actually do these things?" I hate living with the symptom more than anything else because there is always so much uncertainty and fear. Does anyone know what I can do about this?

Hello, EglantineRose. Talk to your psychiatrist about what you are experiencing. Adjustments are indicated.

Hello. Thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately, I don't have a psychiatrist now. I was on a wait list for almost a year before the psychiatrist I was referred to told my doctor that they had too many patients and could not accept me. I was considering talking to my doctor about this, but it's hard to explain this to a doctor who does not specialize in psychiatry or psychology. I might just say i'm still experiencing anxiety and depression and ask to increase my dose.

I am sorry you are going through these thoughts and fears. I too have disturbing and messed up intrusive thoughts and sometimes fears but it's also irrational to think some of things I do because they aren't true and I would never do any of it but it's a chemical imbalance in my brain that I was born with that causes my problems with OCD. Just know you are not alone and that you should speak to psychiatrist and maybe see a therapist too. get your meds adjusted it should get better.

Thanks. Yes, it is very difficult. My experiences with intrusive thoughts are exactly the same- I am constantly trying to convince myself that it is anxiety and that i'm not doing to do any of the things that come up in my thoughts, but i'm still always afraid of that. Thanks for the suggestion- I think I might ask my doctor to increase the dose of my medication.

Hello dear Eglaintinerose. Oh I can sure understand exactly what you are talking about. My obsessive compulsive intrusive thoughts are now almost under control but I used to wake in the night with these thoughts, it was AWFUL. I'd def ask your Psych Dr about changing the dose on your meds, they really can work. Maybe there could be some therapy in the future because that will work with the meds. Do please give anything a try, the answer is out there, it just has to be found. HUGS. XXXXXXXXXXX

Hi Rose,
I also suffer from intrusive thoughts, which creates severe panic attacks.
I found if I focus my mind on something else, it helps. Get involved in something that you need to think about. This helps me, it's takes my mind off the awful thoughts and puts them on something positive.

I experienced this, and I dealt with mine with:

- Acknowledging not me, just a thought
- Focusing back on whatever I was at the time of experience or force self to think of any thing else
- saying "next" to myself to show I have control over and dismissing and that don't rule me.

Did this over and over, and the intrusive thoughts had less and less affect on me.
Probably still have them, but at least it leaves me to be able to move forward and find the root cause of. But no longer do I question my self/insanity etc.

When my GF shared with me the description of this and I could see how affected her, I explained it wasn't her, and how I dealt with it and how the mind works. She never did give me the report back on that actually, lol (i'll find out in a bit), but I'm pretty sure that was the start of her journey of personal growth

Make a conscious, even verbal statement that you're gonna deal with it, and that it doesn't control you, you won't let it.

This is how I dealt with mine any way. Whilst I have no clue of the effect or lasting result, and probably should read more into the material on obsessive thoughts etc, I do have my OWN theoretical models of what causes what problems so I don't do my own thing half blind, I have worked through a lot of my own issues though.

BUT I "warn(?)" you , or anyone else reading what I did to stop mine, that even if it makes sense to you, you have to think twice about doing it, because you're responsible for you, not me, and I only share this as my experience and i'm not someone who has all the answers. I'm just willing to try and figure things out, instead of being told what I should do. (when they're really saying "let's try")

I'm a guinea pig for no one other than myself. :P

Goodluck!! (Learning about the mind in general, helped me a lot)

PS Some GP do have some understanding of some mental health problems, OCD being a pretty common one actually, I would be suprised if your doctor was clueless, they can always refer you to someone who isn't though.

PPS Just want to really say, your thoughts, those thoughts, aren't you! They're not!