Intrusive Thoughts: Learning to Step Back From the Screen

Everyone experiences intrusive thoughts. A strange, disturbing, or unwanted thought can pop into anyone’s mind. Someone without OCD might notice the thought and think, “Wow, that was weird,” before moving on with their day.

For someone with OCD, however, the experience can be very different. Instead of simply noticing the thought and letting it pass, they may begin to question what it means: “Why did I have that thought? What does this say about me? Does this mean I secretly want this? What does this say about my intentions or who I am as a person?”

This is where OCD can become extremely consuming.

I like to compare the intensity of intrusive thoughts to sitting in the front row of a movie theater. Have you ever sat in the front row during an action movie? When you are that close to the screen, the action can feel incredibly intense. You are completely captivated by what is happening in front of you. It can be difficult to see anything else in the room because the screen takes up almost your entire field of vision.

That is what intrusive thoughts can feel like for someone with OCD.

The thoughts can feel scary, vivid, and incredibly real. When you are sitting in the “front row” of OCD, the thought can become the only thing you can see. The evidence around you, your past experiences, your values, and what other people may be telling you can feel distant or irrelevant. Even when the people in your life can clearly see that OCD is telling you a story that doesn’t fit with reality, it can be incredibly difficult for you to see that yourself.

The fear can feel overwhelming, almost like a tidal wave that is about to consume you. And when that fear becomes intense enough, you may begin to believe the story OCD is telling you about the thought.

OCD is very good at convincing you that an intrusive thought is important simply because it showed up in your mind.

But here’s the interesting thing about the movie theater: imagine slowly moving from the front row toward the back.

As you move farther away from the screen, you begin to gain some distance. The movie is still playing. The images are still there. The story hasn’t changed. But suddenly, you can see more than just the screen.

You can see the rest of the theater.

You can notice the people sitting around you. You can see the walls. You can look at the exits. You can recognize that you are sitting in a movie theater watching a movie.

The screen is still there but it is no longer your entire reality.

This is the kind of distance I hope to help my clients develop in therapy. The goal isn't necessarily to make intrusive thoughts disappear. Instead, we work on recognizing how close you are to the screen and developing the skills to step back far enough to see the full picture.

Will the intrusive thought still be there?

Yes.

But now you have some distance from it.

You can notice the thought without immediately treating it as a fact. You can notice the fear without assuming the fear means something is wrong. You can recognize the story OCD is telling you without automatically believing it.

The goal is not to convince yourself that the screen isn't scary. The goal is to remember that the screen is only one part of the room.

OCD can pull us into our imagination, asking us to analyze, predict, question, and search for certainty. Mindfulness and present-moment awareness can help us step back into reality and to notice what is actually happening right now rather than becoming completely absorbed in the story OCD is telling us.

The movie is still playing.

But you don't have to sit in the front row.