Podcast 453: Is there a cure for intrusive thoughts?
CLEANING UP YOUR MENTAL MESS with Dr. Caroline Leaf
Dr. Caroline Leaf
4.6 • 3.2K Ratings
🗓️ 2 February 2023
⏱️ 31 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
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SHOW DESCRIPTION: In this podcast I talk about intrusive thoughts, and how to manage them using what I call “thinker moments”. Intrusive thinking is can be defined as uncontrollable, unwanted thoughts that we feel unable to resist. This kind of thinking is often a way of coping with an underlying, unresolved issue. It’s not always the most effective or sustainable way to deal with pain or trauma, but it’s a coping mechanism—a type of distraction you use to try to keep the source of your pain bearable, at least in the short term.
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EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
1:30 Intrusive thoughts are a global problem!
2:50, 7:30 What intrusive thoughts are
8:00 Why we must weaken intrusive thoughts
9:00 Mind management & intrusive thoughts
9:50 The importance of thinker moments & how they train us to be more self-regulated
12:05 The brain is constantly changing—it is neuroplastic
12:30 Whatever we focus on the most grows, including intrusive thoughts
14:00 The power of being alone with our thoughts
19:00 How to get into a “thinker mindset”
21:00 How thinker moments affect the brain
23:00, 26:15 Tips to use thinker moments to build up mental resilience & manage intrusive thoughts
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*DISCLAIMER: This podcast and blog are for educational purposes only and are not intended as medical advice. We always encourage each person to make the decision that seems best for their situation with the guidance of a medical professional.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, I am Dr Caroline Leif and I am the host of Cleaning up your mental mess and I'm |
| 0:09.4 | thrilled that you've joined me today and I am going to be talking about a globally |
| 0:14.4 | widespread phenomenon and it's not COVID, it is intrusive thoughts. |
| 0:20.0 | Do you know that 94% of people globally and it's probably more battle with intrusive |
| 0:25.8 | thoughts? |
| 0:26.8 | And it's not actually a disease, it is a global widespread phenomenon and it's something |
| 0:32.0 | that we can actually learn to manage. |
| 0:33.6 | In other words, it is part of our human nature to have these intrusive thoughts but when |
| 0:37.8 | we don't manage them, they manage us. |
| 0:40.6 | So I'm going to explain this to you today with some research and give you some tips for |
| 0:44.3 | how to understand and manage intrusive thoughts which can be so bothersome as we all know. |
| 0:50.6 | But before we begin, if you want to listen to this podcast and any of my podcasts add |
| 0:55.2 | free then you can subscribe to my Patreon account, the link and the details on the show notes |
| 1:00.9 | and also I give bonus content on my Patreon account and I do live Q&As. |
| 1:06.4 | And just before we begin one more thing, that this podcast is for educational purposes |
| 1:11.2 | and is not a medical advice. |
| 1:12.7 | If you need medical advice, please contact the appropriate medical professional. |
| 1:17.7 | And now onto today's podcast about intrusive thoughts. |
| 1:23.7 | Okay, so as I mentioned and I'm going to actually read the study, a research from Concordia |
| 1:29.4 | University and 15 other universities worldwide show that 94% of people examined across six |
| 1:37.2 | continents' experience unwanted intrusive thoughts, images and impulses. |
| 1:43.0 | Okay, raise your hand if you're in that category which is most of us. |
... |
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