Most people have intrusive thoughts, but for many they come up occasionally and are inconvenient at worst, experts said. Intrusive thoughts can be violentIn addition to running someone over or pushing your partner off a cliff, other violent intrusive thoughts include wanting to harm your newborn baby or imagining yourself losing control and stabbing yourself with a kitchen knife. Breaking the cycle of intrusive thoughtsCompletely eliminating intrusive thoughts isn’t possible because they’re normal for most people, experts said. What doesn’t really help, Abramowitz said, is trying to resist or analyze intrusive thoughts, because a lot of the time that just makes someone more obsessive. If you’re struggling with intrusive thoughts, remember you aren’t your thoughts and you’re not a dangerous person.

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Persons: CNN —, ”, Sue Varma, Stephanie Woodrow, Woodrow, Varma, ” Woodrow, ’ ”, Jon Abramowitz, —, Abramowitz, “, ” Abramowitz, you’re, it’s Organizations: CNN, University of North Locations: cologne, fretting, New York, Washington , DC, University of North Carolina