Hi, my name is angexox24. I wanna know how I can stop myself from getting intrusive thoughts

angexox24

I have been diagnosed with anxiety, depression and symptoms of ptsd, and right now I’m struggling with thoughts to hurt myself or put myself in situations knowing I’ll get hurt, and I wanna know if there’s any tips to stop myself, for example I hit walls when I can’t control my emotions and the other day I put my thumb on my lighter to see if it would be hot but I don’t think I was meant to act on it, at first it was a thought in my head then I got curious and next thing I know I was feeling a burning sensation on my thumb sometimes i wanna hurt myself but other times it just happens and I don’t remember why 

Bashford61

Not an expert but It sounds like you need a distraction from having these thoughts. If you can distract yourself with some activities to occupy your mind, Harming yourself can never lead anywhere good. I would suggest speaking to a health professional as I did after a suicide attempt which led to my Aspergers diagnosis.  

Rosie_Scope

Hi @angexox24, sorry to hear you're having intrusive thoughts. Do you have any professionals supporting you with your mental health at all? Or any close friends and family who you can talk things through with? It's really important that you get some help and support if you're thinking of harming yourself regularly. I'm going to pop you an email today so keep an eye out for that

Have you ever found grounding techniques helpful? They can sometimes help to diffuse things a little if you're having strong emotions. Things like finding five things you can see/hear/touch/smell, or touching something with an interesting texture and focusing on how it feels, splashing some water on your face or holding an ice cube and feeling the cold, there's lots of things to try. Just be aware that if you know you struggle with sensory issues you don't want to overwhelm yourself further with sensations you can't cope with.

I'll move your post over to our mental health boards so that members with similar experiences can find your post and offer their advice and support. I hope things start feeling easier for you soon