Adults Experiencing Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts or Anxiety/OCD-related Symptoms
Imagine you’re at home, minding your own business. Maybe you’re cooking a meal, catching up on your latest show, doing homework, or playing with your kids. Whichever activity you’re engaged in is capturing your attention and focus. Your day is cruising along without a care.
Then you hear it.
An unexpected knock at the door.
“Who could THAT be?” you think to yourself. It’s out of the blue, and jarring. Persistent and INSISTENT. It sounds important.
But you weren’t expecting anyone. Maybe it’s the neighbor? Maybe it’s the construction crew asking you to move your car, or that relentless poll taker. Could it be Girl Scout cookies? I hope it’s Girl Scout cookies!!!
You’re curious, but you’re also bothered by it: you’re right in the middle of something, and now’s not a good time. And the last time there was an unexpected knock at the door, and you answered it, you ended up getting talked into buying a whole bunch of raffle tickets you didn’t want or need.
But the knocking’s not stopping. Is it an emergency? It’s annoying and distracting, and you want it to stop. You need it to stop. Maybe you’ve had this happen before, or can at least imagine it.
For people who get stuck in intrusive thoughts, or OCD or panic or anxiety triggers, or obsessions…it’s like the unexpected knock at the door that won’t go away. And it can be distracting to say the least, and debilitating at its worst.
Having a jarring or fearful thought can seemingly ruin a person’s day and take the joy out of whatever activity they are involved in. To be clear, many people’s first inclination is to “answer the door,” just to make it stop. Who wouldn’t want intrusive thoughts about safety, or illness, or bad things happening…to just go away, and go away fast?
But sometimes “answering the door” to these thoughts can be problematic. These intrusive thoughts and triggers are like unwanted salespeople at your door. They’re really good at what they’re selling, and once you open the door to them…GOTCHA, you’re the new owner of a set of encyclopedias!
But you don’t have to open the door to these thoughts. You have a choice. There’s no law that says you are required to open the door. You CAN choose to continue to go about your day, while the “knocking” of these thoughts is happening. Yes, it is distracting. And yes, it is annoying.
But what usually happens when the knock goes unanswered? One of two things: either the knocking stops and the person goes away, or you get used to it and it fades into the background in time. It doesn’t mean that you don’t continue to hear the knocking, but you’re better able to tolerate and “lower the volume” on these intrusive thoughts and triggers, while continuing with your day.
It takes practice and results don’t come overnight. So part of getting relief is by refraining from seeking immediate and short-term solutions (like answering the door in the moment) that keep people stuck and ending up with things they don’t want.
Now don’t get me wrong, it can be hard to differentiate between the thoughts, feelings and events that need attention, and the ones that can be tolerated or ignored. Intrusive thoughts or triggers can ALL feel like emergencies. But they’re not, and most aren’t. They don’t need or deserve your attention.
So How Do You Tell the Difference?
That’s where we, the clinicians at OCD Spectrum, come in. We specialize in counseling for these types of concerns, using gold-standard and research-backed treatments like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention), and ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) to guide and support people in navigating through these challenges.
So if you want long-term relief from the “unexpected knock at the door,” instead of getting talked into buying a whole bunch of encyclopedias, contact us at OCD Spectrum. We can help you gain the skills, knowledge and relief from these worried thoughts, so that you can become the best version of yourself.
