Obsessions (obsessions), unlike ordinary ones, "precipitate" the human brain, knock it out of the rut, even frighten it. Often, this condition is accompanied by depression of mood, apathy, guilt, and with the advent of compulsive obsessive thoughts, psychiatrists assume obsessive-compulsive disorder.
What are obsessions?
At the initial stage of the disease, obsessive thoughts manifest themselves in complex, emotionally costly situations, for example, before public appearances and important dates, at a new job. Over time, the syndrome "captures" ordinary everyday situations and a person can remember all day whether he turned off the kettle or iron. The biological purpose of obsessive thoughts is to remind of something, but the longer a person is under the influence of a syndrome, the more irrational and emotional the obsessions become.
The syndrome of obsessive thoughts occurs when a combination of several factors, for example - severe life upheavals, combined with weakness of the nervous system. Obsessions are often compared with chewing gum - they "overflow" the brain, make it work slowly and unproductively. To combat the "mental chewing gum" people come up with a variety of rituals, for example, knocks, believes. However, getting rid of obsessive thoughts by effort of will is impossible - this is also one of the symptoms of the condition.
Obsessive thoughts - reasons
To understand where the obsessive thoughts come from, psychiatrists identified a number of biological and neuropsychiatric factors provoking the emergence of obsessions:
- anomalies in the structure and functioning of the brain;
- failures in the exchange of neurotransmitters, deficiency of dopamine, serotonin, noradrenaline;
- mutations of the hSERT gene transferring serotonin;
- syndrome PANDAS - the impact of streptococci;
- children's complexes;
- frequent psychotraumatic situations;
- depletion of the nervous system;
- some mental illnesses - epilepsy, schizophrenia, alcoholism.
Types of obsessive thoughts
All the existing diversity of obsessions is difficult to describe and classify. The most accurate and complete was done by Yasper, who divided the obsessive thoughts into two large groups:
- Distracted - not causing anxiety, relatively safe. They include arithmomania - the desire to count everything, the desire to dismember the sentences into words, the words - into syllables, the habit of telling memories of something to others.
- Obtrusive obsessions are ideas that evoke a sense of fear . These can include obsessive blasphemous thoughts, doubts about their actions, fear of doing something wrong, the desire to commit obscene actions, the painful experiences of the past, which the patient lives over and over again, the transfer of personality into virtual space.
How to live with obsessive thoughts?
People who are obsessed with obsessive thoughts can be divided into several categories:
- "Raccoon coots" are individuals who are tormented by the fear of infection, infection, so they endlessly erase, clean and disinfect.
- "Pedants" - people who are striving for an ideal order, a clear sequence, they all necessarily put in place, in colors, symmetrically, etc.
- "Reinsurers" - individuals who are afraid of any deadly danger, constantly check instruments, gas, locks on the front door.
- "Atheists" are people who do everything perfectly for fear of sin.
- "Guardians" - people convinced of the need to keep everything that recalls the past, this ritual is designed to bring trouble.
People who are tormented by obsessive thoughts and fears prefer to choose two lines of behavior. In the first case, they deliberately act in spite of fears, for example, for fear of getting into a car crash - deliberately violate the rules of the road. In the second case, a person carefully avoids traumatic situations, even close to the dangerous objects.
How to get rid of obsessive thoughts?
When an endless inner dialogue with oneself finally exhausts a person, he begins to wonder how to deal with obsessive thoughts. Especially since obsessions are often accompanied by insomnia, vegetovascular dystonia , depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue, panic attacks. The first and most logical step to getting rid of obsessive thoughts - a full rest, preferably with a change of scenery. But if this does not help, you need to see a doctor.
Than to treat obsessive thoughts?
Complex therapy, appointed by doctors during the obessia, includes medications and psychotherapy. The main "pills from obsessive thoughts" are antidepressants: Phenazepam, Relanium, Diazepam, Elenium, Napoton. The psychotherapist, working with the patient, helps to eliminate neurotic symptoms, to instill the habit of self-control, to increase self-esteem and emotional mood. Used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder and hypnosis.
Obsessions - treatment with folk remedies
With anxiety disorders, inner dialogue torments a person constantly, so he often asks himself how to remove obsessive thoughts from the head by himself, by people's means. To argue with an inner voice is useless - obsessive thoughts always return, often capturing "friends." To get rid of obsessions will help a technique consisting of several consecutive steps that you can use yourself:
- The first step is to observe obsessive thoughts, without going into their meaning. You need to learn to understand that this is not the mind, and the obsession makes it endless to check whether the door is closed.
- The second step is to observe the sensations caused by the obsessions, the experience of these emotions, even if they bring unpleasant feelings. If in addition to thoughts a person has compulsive movements, it is necessary to resist the desire to do them. At this stage, you need to understand that all the "saving" rituals are only the result of a malfunction in the brain.
- The third step is to focus attention on the surrounding, on the smallest details - texture, sounds, etc. Switching is desirable for something that brings pleasure.
- To facilitate the passage of these steps can be with the help of sedative herbal teas (with valerian, chamomile, melissa) and respiratory gymnastics.
Obsessions - Christianity
Any obsessive thoughts Christian priests consider evil, because obsession with any subject matter, the more blasphemous, is unacceptable to them. Christianity advises how to cope with obsessive thoughts, using the power of prayer. Read the prayer at the time of the emergence of obsessions must be thoughtful, not hurrying. This process in this case produces a distracting effect and a person switches attention to thoughts about God.