this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2023
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Mental Health

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[–] [email protected] 53 points 1 year ago

No. Talk to a professional.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

Intrusive thoughts can be a pretty broad term. You mean like you could turn the steering wheel and kill your whole family, or something really specific including when/where/method, etc. If it's the latter, I would seriously consider getting external medical assistance.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

I think generally no. But context does matter, and these are definitely the type of things you should try to talk over with a mental health professional.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

It depends. Do you have built up anger or resentment towards them? If so, yes. If you love them but still have these thoughts, or feel indifferent about them in general, probably not.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

I'm going to say no.

I've never thought about killing my family. The worst I've thought about is crashing a car with my mom in it, when I was 16, because she was yelling at me. I just thought "if I crashed this, I wouldn't have to listen to this anymore".

Full on killing your family? Nah.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I feel like "intrusive thoughts" are often triggered by trying very hard not to think about something, or a feeling of shame about thinking about a particular topic. And the harder you try not to think about something, the more you'll think about it.

Like, if you know you would never ever harm your family, but sometimes a "what if" scenario crosses your mind, I think you're probably fine.

If it starts to cross the line into fantasizing or actually wanting to do it, then I think professional help is definitely warranted.

(Note that I'm not a mental health professional.)

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I've had these thoughts a lot. Like others said I've spoken to a professional. Several times in fact. They didn't seem too worried about it. That being said I'm on a couple of anti depressants so if you aren't you might need to be

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

An occasional thought that flits by, dissipates quickly, likely not an issue. But by definition, "intrusive" means a thought that nags, disrupts, is unwelcome in frequency, intensity. It would be worth finding a therapist to get to the reason, the source—and to find better ways to defuse or address these thoughts. They aren't there "for no reason at all." With a clearer sense of the reason, you can seek better ways to address the root cause.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Depends how often you get them. Everyone can get angry or annoyed and get a thought like that, but if it happens more often, it's definitely something to take care of.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I think it’s probably normal for the thought to occur in people’s minds. If it recurs often that might not be normal.

So far I’ve been having violent thoughts for 40 years without them coming true. I’d say as long as they don’t turn into actions they’re no problem.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

No; yourself? Sure. Your family; no. Seek help.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago

Sounds like OCD.