Intrusive Thoughts
Living with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Imagine yourself chopping vegetables for supper when suddenly you have the thought, "What if I drop this knife and hurt someone?" Since you have never harmed anyone, you are shocked and embarrassed. However, the picture won't go away. It keeps looping. You begin hiding the knives, washing your hands more frequently than usual, or staying out of the kitchen completely to allay the fear. This goes beyond simple concern. For someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), where intrusive, unwanted thoughts take over and won't go away, it's their daily reality. An unwanted, frequently startling idea or image that strikes out of nowhere is known as an intrusive thought (thinking of dropping a knife, for example). Almost everyone occasionally has strange thoughts; the way an OCD sufferer experiences and responds to these thoughts is different. Instant horror and bewilderment: The idea goes against the person...