#686: The Real Reason You Have Intrusive Thoughts (And What to Do About Them)
The Confidence Podcast: Mindset Coaching and Tips to Overcome Self-Limiting Beliefs, Self-Doubt, Perfectionism, Overthinking, Impostor Syndrome and Insecurity
Trish Blackwell | Life Coach, Confidence Coach, Mindset Coach
4.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 13 January 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Intrusive thoughts can feel disturbing, confusing, and incredibly convincing — especially when you don't understand why they show up or what they say about you.
In this episode, I'm breaking down:
- What intrusive thoughts actually are (and why they target what matters most to you)
- Why your brain produces them — even when nothing is "wrong"
- The biggest mistake people make when trying to get rid of intrusive thoughts
- How to create distance from a thought without fighting it or believing it
If you've ever thought, "Why would I even think this?" or "What does this say about me?" — this episode will help you feel calmer, clearer, and far less afraid of your own mind.
Intrusive thoughts don't mean what you think they mean — and today, we're unpacking why.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Have you ever heard a thought pop into your head that made you immediately stop and think, |
| 0:06.2 | why would I think that? |
| 0:09.1 | Maybe the thought felt disturbing or embarrassing or completely out of alignment with who you are. |
| 0:15.9 | And then instead of just moving along, your brain grabbed onto it. |
| 0:22.3 | And then you replayed it. |
| 0:23.6 | And then you analyzed it. |
| 0:25.0 | Then you tried to make sense of it. |
| 0:26.4 | And suddenly the thought wasn't a thought anymore. |
| 0:29.3 | It was more like evidence. |
| 0:32.8 | If that's you, I want to say right up front today, |
| 0:36.1 | intrusive thoughts are not a reflection of who you are. |
| 0:40.2 | They are not desires. |
| 0:41.6 | They are not intentions. |
| 0:42.7 | They are not a brain that is broken. |
| 0:46.4 | They are not warnings about what you might do. |
| 0:50.3 | Y'all, intrusive thoughts usually show up because you care, because your brain is trying |
| 0:57.0 | clumsily to protect you from something that feels important, threatening, or emotionally charged. |
| 1:02.9 | But when we don't understand that, we do the most natural thing in the world, which is to try |
| 1:07.5 | to get rid of the thought. We argue with it, we analyze it, we replay it, |
| 1:11.6 | and that's where the loop begins, the overthinking loop. And in today's episode, I want to |
| 1:16.6 | help you understand why intrusive thoughts happen, why they feel so loud and convincing, |
| 1:22.4 | and most importantly, why they don't think what you think that they mean, why they don't |
... |
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