Intrusive thoughts

[RileyG]

How do you stop unwanted and intrusive thoughts?

 

[Freth]

I used to have these all of the time. It sounds obvious, but I've found relief in rebuking those thoughts and putting them out of my mind by "changing the channel". Take it to the Lord in prayer and trust Him to clear your mind. Also, I've found the more you focus on your Christian walk, the quieter and at peace your mind becomes. That's been my experience.

 

[Jonaitis]

Stop resisting and let them speak.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

How do you stop unwanted and intrusive thoughts?

You have identified them as intrusive so your way ahead. Now that you have identfied them, those temptations can be acted upon or ignored.
Blessings

 

[sandman]

How do you stop unwanted and intrusive thoughts?

Replace them with memorized scripture
Light dispels darkness. Here are a couple suggestion …but whatever ones are fitting for you.


Isa 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

2Sa 22:33 God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect. 34 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places.

 

[RileyG]

Thank you all. I need to read and memorize scripture more.

 

[IoanC]

Well, we are not the source of such thoughts. Human nature cannot generate negativity. So, they basically don't matter, they don't exist. They belong only to demons(unimportant detail) who transmit them in order to torment us; demons will get tired eventually from such activity and that is when the thoughts disappear.

 

[Blade]

The word of God says AMP "Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart]."

In any problem I had in my life I always looked to look to what He said in His word and I speak it I believe what He said and if He said it He always does it. He said we have the joy of the lord. He said we have the peace of God. Christ gave us His peace not as the world gives. We are strong in the lord in the power of His might. We put on Gods armor. On and on Psa 91 Isa 41:10. Unless we believe and receive God can not go against our will.

We don't have any problems all we need is faith in God. As God told Sarah "what is to hard for the lord"? What if we just believed no matter what we saw felt heard. What if we looked to His word find out what He said about our problem and just stood on His word...reminding Him of His word no matter how dark it gets we stand and then stand. People said to Christs I know you can but do you want to? YES He did want to. Some said Jesus I believe help my unbelief and HE DID! Do you see? He is for you in you with you never leaves. Speak His word.. He can not lie but He will never go against our word.

 

[RileyG]

The word of God says AMP "Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart]."

In any problem I had in my life I always looked to look to what He said in His word and I speak it I believe what He said and if He said it He always does it. He said we have the joy of the lord. He said we have the peace of God. Christ gave us His peace not as the world gives. We are strong in the lord in the power of His might. We put on Gods armor. On and on Psa 91 Isa 41:10. Unless we believe and receive God can not go against our will.

We don't have any problems all we need is faith in God. As God told Sarah "what is to hard for the lord"? What if we just believed no matter what we saw felt heard. What if we looked to His word find out what He said about our problem and just stood on His word...reminding Him of His word no matter how dark it gets we stand and then stand. People said to Christs I know you can but do you want to? YES He did want to. Some said Jesus I believe help my unbelief and HE DID! Do you see? He is for you in you with you never leaves. Speak His word.. He can not lie but He will never go against our word.

Thank you for your suggestion. I need to mediate and study Scripture more. I know it will bring much needed peace to my soul.

Blessings

 

[Mari17]

How do you stop unwanted and intrusive thoughts?

My advice might differ from some that you've already gotten. I have OCD, and have had intrusive thoughts. I do not believe that they are inherently evil or from some evil source. I also do not necessarily think that "attacking" them is the way to get rid of them. That may be the case for some kinds of intrusive thoughts, but when you have OCD, your brain functions a bit differently from that of someone without OCD. Our brains are highly creative and are good at making associations and sending thoughts that we don't want - and even making us think that we might actually want them. EVERYONE'S brains come up with weird, crazy, disturbing, and even "bad" thoughts - it's just that most people kind of automatically filter those thoughts out. But people with OCD are predisposed to anxiety, and it's almost like our brains are searching for something to be anxious about. We also tend to be extremely analytical and able to pick up on very small nuances. So if we have a disturbing thought, instead of easily and casually dismissing it, sometimes we "latch onto" the thought and try to figure out what it means about us; we start to get fearful, to hyper-analyze our thoughts and feelings, and to try to figure out what to do to "neutralize" the terrible thoughts and feelings we are having, which we worry mean terrible things about us. I'm happy to talk more about dealing with intrusive thoughts and/or OCD in general, if you'd like. Would you be able to give an example or two of the types of intrusive thoughts you've been having?

 

[Benjamin Müller]

I too have been having intrusive thoughts. My intrusive thoughts as of lately have been memories of past intrusive thoughts or memories of vulgar images or situations I didn't want to see or know about, and it's so frustrating. I've been in prayer a lot and I've taken to writing down scripture towards some of the thoughts.

I was thinking about how Christ was tempted in the wilderness and when Satan told him to turn these stones into bread and throw yourself down etc. and Christ responded with commandments; law and scripture and so I've been isolating each negative thought and trying to rebuke it with scripture while also trying to not to obsess over it.

It's those who practice lawlessness who will not inherit the kingdom of God. We need to take every thought captive and rebuke it rather than letting it nestle into a home somewhere in our minds where we proceed to act on those thoughts. We also need to think on the things that are lovely. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

I'm trying to dismantle these thoughts, but I'm only beginning. Ask God for strength to overcome. "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." - Hebrews 4:15

 

[subtlecollision]

You can't stop intrusive thoughts by trying to stop intrusive thoughts. The more you fight them, the more they'll pop up. You need to ignore them and stop worrying if they do come up.

 

[Benjamin Müller]

You can't stop intrusive thoughts by trying to stop intrusive thoughts. The more you fight them, the more they'll pop up. You need to ignore them and stop worrying if they do come up.

Yup. Sometimes easier said than done though. Which is why I try not to obsess over them but replace the thoughts with something wholesome and good. I don't know if that's the best course of action, but it's a start, I guess.

@RileyG How are you doing?

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

Fr. Maximos of Mount Athos​

Fr. Maximos (Moschos?) of Mount Athos is quoted extensively on the subject of logismoi (distracting thoughts)in Kyriakos Markides' book, Mountain of Silence. Fr. Maximos describes five stages of logismoi as detailed in the teachings of the Fathers of the Church:

• Assault - the logismoi first attacks a person's mind
• Interaction - a person opens up a dialogue with the logismoi
• Consent - a person consents to do what the logismoi urges him to do
• Defeat - a person becomes hostage to the logismoi and finds it more difficult to resist
• Passion or Obsession - the logismoi becomes an entrenched reality within the nous of a person

Fr. Maximos explains that no sin is committed until the stage of Consent, though he warns that if a person is of weak temperment, they are unlikely to be able to resist the logismoi at the Interaction stage.

Fr. Maximos teaches that the best way to combat logismoi is to be indifferent, to ignore them. He suggests that a person should pray to combat logismoi, but only when not overcome by fear.