How To Manage Intrusive Thoughts
Published September 18th, 2025
7 min read
Intrusive thoughts are recurrent thoughts or images that cause distress and anxiety. Learn effective ways to manage them.
Written by Simon Spichak
Intrusive thoughts are sudden, involuntary images or ideas that might be disturbing or distressing. While an estimated 94 percent of people experience these unwanted intrusions, most people easily shrug them off. Some people experience substantial anxiety and distress because of these thoughts, affecting their work, relationships, and daily life. Fortunately, there are many effective ways to get a handle on intrusive thoughts, and low-cost therapists like those at Resolvve who can provide support.
What Are Intrusive Thoughts?
Throughout the day, thousands of thoughts drift in and out of our awareness. When these thoughts or images are unwanted, repetitive, and conflict with your personal values, they become intrusive. These thoughts might involve harm, aggression, sex, or taboo subjects.
Some examples of these intrusive thoughts include:
“Did I lock the front door?”
Thinking about jumping off a bridge or building
Picturing setting something on fire
“Do my friends secretly hate me?”
Intrusive thoughts cause distress and feel so disturbing because they are ego-dystonic, or not aligned with your personal goals and values. Importantly, having these intrusive thoughts doesn’t mean that you will act on them. When the thoughts are constant and recurrent, the distress interferes with work, relationships, and daily life.
Why Do Intrusive Thoughts Occur?
Everyone experiences intrusive thoughts, but not everyone develops anxiety or distress because of them. People with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and other mental health conditions might have trouble filtering them out.
Concordia professor Adam Radomsky explains,"Most people who have an intrusive thought about jumping off a balcony or a metro platform would tell themselves that it’s a strange or silly thing to think, whereas a person with OCD may worry that the thought means they’re suicidal. OCD patients experience these thoughts more often and are more upset by them, but the thoughts themselves seem to be indistinguishable from those occurring in the general population.”
In conditions like OCD, scientists think that persistent intrusive thoughts are caused by problems with the brain’s ability to ignore or suppress them. The more you try to argue with them or convince yourself the thoughts are wrong, the worse they may get.
Signs That Intrusive Thoughts Are Negatively Impacting Your Life
While everyone experiences some intrusive thoughts, if they start to impact your work, social life, or romantic relationships, then it may be time to seek help from a mental health professional. Some signs that intrusive thoughts are having a negative impact include:
Persistent feelings of anxiety or stress
Intrusive thoughts make it hard to concentrate and focus
Constant checking and seeking reassurance in response to these thoughts
Performing compulsive, time-consuming rituals in response to intrusive thoughts
Avoiding people, places, or situations that could trigger intrusive thoughts
Performing worse at work or in school
Effective Strategies to Manage Intrusive Thoughts
Intrusive thoughts are common and distressing. While some people may be able to manage these thoughts on their own, others might need therapy and professional support. Here are a few effective strategies.
Accept, but don’t judge the thoughts
Don’t resist or fight intrusive thoughts when they arise. Instead, accept their presence, observe without judgment, and avoid engaging with them. It’s a lot harder than it sounds, and it can take practice to hone this skill. But when you do, it will reduce how often these intrusive thoughts pop up and the anxiety they cause.
Avoid seeking reassurance
The impulse to reassure yourself that these thoughts don’t reflect reality—like convincing yourself you’re not a bad person or that friends still care—actually reinforces the thoughts. The best approach is to sit with the discomfort without reacting or seeking reassurance.
Exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy
ERP is an effective strategy for managing intrusive thoughts for people with OCD. During ERP, a therapist gradually exposes you to the things that trigger your intrusive thoughts, while supporting you to not engage with them. The process desensitizes the brain to these thoughts, reducing your anxiety over time.
How Resolvve Can Help
With the right, compassionate support, you can learn how to manage your intrusive thoughts and minimize their effects on your mental health. Resolvve’s Ontario-based therapists provide low-cost support, with sessions starting at $30. All of our therapists are trained to deliver ERP to help your brain become desensitized to intrusive thoughts.
If you’re reading to take the next step, get matched to a therapist and book your free consultation today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are intrusive thoughts?
Intrusive thoughts are unwanted, involuntary ideas or images that suddenly enter the mind. They often conflict with a person's values and can be distressing, but do not necessarily reflect intentions or desires.
How common are intrusive thoughts?
Up to 94% of people experience intrusive thoughts at some point, but the intensity and distress vary from person to person.
What are some signs that intrusive thoughts are negatively impacting your life?
Signs include persistent anxiety, difficulty focusing, compulsive behaviors or rituals, avoidance of triggers, and declining performance at work or school.
Why do intrusive thoughts cause distress?
Intrusive thoughts are ego-dystonic, meaning they conflict with personal values and evoke fear or guilt. The distress often arises because these thoughts seem so contrary to one’s true self.
What are effective ways to manage intrusive thoughts?
Effective strategies include accepting the thoughts without judgment, avoiding reassurance seeking, mindfulness, and evidence-based therapies like exposure and response prevention (ERP).
How does exposure and response prevention therapy treat intrusive thoughts?
ERP involves gradual exposure to triggers while preventing compulsive responses. This weakens the anxiety connection to the thoughts, helping reduce their frequency and distress over time.
Please note that this post is written for educational purposes; it is not therapy. If you need to talk to a professional, please book a consultation with a psychotherapist through Resolvve.
