Impulsive Impulsive vs. IIntrusive ntrusive

By: Kris Gooding Student Employee, Disability and Access Services

Break that vase Cut your hair Throw your phone out the window. All impulsive thoughts. Impulsive thoughts are spontaneous ideas that are short lasting impulses. You recognize them as automatic, unprompted, and don’t typically intrude on your everyday life. Impulsive thoughts are distinctly different from intrusive thoughts.

Intrusive thoughts are unwanted and unpleasant, and they make you worry and feel distressed Alternatively, intrusive thoughts are generally associated with mental health disorders. People who don’t have a mental health disorder can have intrusive thoughts as well. According to a study conducted in 2014, 93% of participants experienced a least one intrusion within three months

Often, an intrusive thought is different from your typical thoughts, as they might be uncharacteristically violent, and are bothersome and/or hard to control According to the Chicago Counseling Center, the content of an impulsive thought can be similar to one of an intrusive thought, which is the ability “to move on from it relatively quickly without significantanxiety.”

So what should you do if you think you are having an intrusive thought?

It’s best to first identify the thought as intrusive and that the thought is not what you necessarily want to do Next is to not fight with it but accept it. Often, suppression just makes you think about the thought more. "The more you think about it, the more anxious you get and the worse the thoughts get," says Dr. Kerry- Ann Williams, a lecturer at Harvard Medical School. Finally, don’t judge yourself or try to interpret the meaning of the thought. Experiencing intrusive thoughts doesn’t make you a bad person or indicate that you will do something bad or harmful in the future.

It’s important to note the different between intrusive and impulsive and use them correctly. Misusing impulsive when you use intrusive ignores the severity that intrusive thoughts have on a person and can leave those who struggle with intrusive thoughts to feel invalidated or ignored.

All currently enrolled students are eligible to use the services of the Counseling Center If you require or think you require assistance, please contact University Counseling at 405-208-7901.