Slave to Obsession 7 letters. Psychological and spiritual methods for overcoming obsessive thoughts. What it is

Hello, dear readers! Getting rid of obsessive thoughts is, in fact, a very important process, because they take away a person’s energy, strength, time and health. Life should be protected and appreciated every minute, and not wasted. Therefore, today I will share with you the most effective methods that will help you free yourself from heavy and unnecessary thoughts.

What it is?

Psychologists are inclined to believe that this is a neurotic disorder, most often arising from traumatic events. And it is not necessary to witness murders or unexpectedly lose loved ones. For some, the death of a pet may be decisive, as it will cause deep experiences that the psyche, for some reason, was not able to cope with at the moment. But don’t be afraid that you are now entitled to medication and hospital treatment.

There are various techniques thanks to which a person is able to independently cope with this complexity. As a last resort, you can enlist the support of loved ones, significant people for you, or consult a psychotherapist. The only thing is to be prepared to make efforts for healing and liberation.

Judge for yourself, obsession does not last a day or two, and if you decide to fight it, it means a long time has passed during which you decided to look for help. A modern world too overloaded with information and events that can distract you at any moment. And you won’t be cured just by completing a task; systematicity is needed here, if only to avoid falling into this exhausting state again in the future.

Top 10 technicians

1. Refusal to fight

The very first rule in dealing with negative thoughts is not to fight them. It’s paradoxical, but it’s true. They already take away energy, and if you consciously pay attention to them, exaggerating and immersing yourself in complex experiences, without finding any resource or way out in them, you will simply exhaust your body. You know the expression: “To avoid thinking about a white cat, think about a purple dog”? It exists in different variations, but it has the same meaning.

Imagine that there is a “delete” button in your head, press it and switch your attention to more pressing matters and pleasant experiences. For example, remember the most pleasant event from childhood, what most brings a smile to your face, serenity and touching? You won’t even notice how anxiety will subside, giving space to other feelings.

2.Creativity

A great way to cope with your feelings. Take a piece of paper and write about what torments you and haunts you. If you want, draw, and your artistic abilities do not play a role at all, so you should not try to draw it beautifully and correctly. You can simply mold it from scrap materials, ordinary paper, plasticine, clay is perfect. After you express painful ideas in a convenient way, listen to yourself, did you really write or draw everything you wanted? If yes, then now is the time to get rid of this obsession. Do not regret it, but tear it into small pieces, throw it in the trash, or burn your creation.

3.Conversion

Changing tormenting fantasies and feelings into resources and new opportunities, the zone of proximal development. Yes, it can cause indignation, but think for yourself, if something bothers you for a long time, it means that your subconscious is trying to “break through” into your consciousness, and in such a not very pleasant and desirable way gives you a signal. What pops into your head most often? Alarm about the iron or gas not being turned off? Then start developing attention and memory. Then you will know exactly what you turned on or off, and what else you did.

Believe me, this skill will be very useful to you, both at work and in everyday life and relationships. And this article will help you.

4.Patterns

Try to pay attention to exactly at what moments anxious thoughts begin to bother you, maybe there is some kind of pattern? For example, before bed, or an exciting event? Often our subconscious is looking for ways to evade unwanted work, meetings and other things. Yes, at least from admitting to yourself that you are tired of something, that you have no desire to stay close to someone who is already unloved person, study in the specialty chosen by your parents and do something out of habit.

5.Distraction

Have you noticed that while watching the fire, looking at the water, we think about what happy life and how good is it at the moment? As if everything around you is suspended, and it seems that there is only you and the elements? Do you know why this happens? Because the brain, switching attention to all sorts of dynamic processes, believes that the rest is not so significant, so all sorts of sticky and tormenting emotions go away, and that’s why you feel relaxation, a surge of strength and inspiration.

The more often the brain is occupied, the less likely it is that neurosis will occur.

Therefore, I suggest adopting one technique, as soon as you start to feel that bad thoughts are appearing in your head, start doing:

You need to sit comfortably, close your eyes and count each inhalation and exhalation. That is: “Inhale once, exhale twice.” When you count to 10, it counts as one cycle. You need to do at least three, if you notice that it is not enough, you can continue. It is only important to breathe slowly, fully concentrating on counting, the movements of your chest and sensations.
Then, when you feel that you have relaxed enough, having gotten rid of tension in every part of your body, you imagine an image that is exhausting, and you give free rein to your imagination, destroying it in any way you can think of.

I also recommend reading the article about. There is a whole program of different methods for relaxation described there, you can use any one you like, adding a second part where you need to deal with the sticky obsession.

6.Physical activity

If you are mainly tormented by dissatisfaction with yourself, not being ideal and echoes of low self-esteem, for example, that you do not look the way you would like, that you have not achieved what you want due to your character, and the like, then this will help you exercise stress. In principle, it helps in any case when you just need to switch gears and give your brain a chance to rest.

Tired, exhausted - you simply won’t be able to torture yourself any longer, plus a clean apartment, a well-groomed garden, or a noticeably thinner and toned body will be a nice bonus.

As an option, sign up for courses and make your dream come true. For example, learn to sew elegant dresses or climb rocks, skate beautifully or dance tango. When you begin to turn into reality your desires, which you usually did not care about, you will feel happy, and then the level of control over your thoughts and, in general, claims to yourself will decrease.

7.Affirmations

The method of positive affirmations will help you get rid of so-called neurosis on your own. To do this, first try to unravel the meaning of the ideas that prevent you from living, constantly spinning in your head, and then transform them into positive statements that you will begin to consciously repeat to yourself several times a day. Well, if we return to the example with the iron not turned off, we can reformulate it like this: “I am attentive and notice all the details and nuances that surround me.”

You will find detailed instructions on how to compose and use them. Also, get rid of negative language, and generally avoid using the word “not” in your sentences. And for the success of this action, come up with a punishment, for example, 5 push-ups for each negative wording. You can make a bet with loved ones in order to increase motivation.

Any ways positive thinking will bring changes to your life, learn to notice the beautiful and pleasant in it, and then your consciousness will be rebuilt, ceasing to torment you with obsessive ideas.

8.Analysis of reasons

If you want to “look deeper” in order not just to get rid of the consequences, but to find out the root cause of your condition, I suggest you try the paradoxical technique, which consists of a thorough and detailed analysis of each thought. Take a piece of paper and do a so-called brainstorm, that is, write down absolutely everything that is swarming in your head at the moment. There’s no need to judge, just write until you feel like you’ve “zeroed out,” so to speak, and are a little exhausted, and you can stop there.

Re-read what you wrote, what feelings do you have about the text? Find scary phrases and “play” with them, writing down at least 5 points for each, answering the question: “What if?” Such exercises help to rationally approach the subject of tension and anxiety, since it often happens that emotions are so “overwhelming” that a person is not able to realize that he is sometimes worried about something that does not actually coincide with reality, and if you look more closely, then you can see it.

9.Reduction to absurdity

Laughter - best therapy and the opportunity to release accumulated energy and cope with anxiety, so why not resort to it? For example, you constantly replay in your head the situation that a girl won’t like you on the first date. Now imagine how much she grimaces at the sight of you and tries to run away, but falls, this makes her even more scared, and so on. Continue until you feel that the situation is truly fun for you.

This technique can be difficult for serious people who have forgotten what it is to play and have fun. But if you overcome your resistance, believe me, the result will not keep you waiting. I’m not calling you to be frivolous and irresponsible, it’s just that sometimes it’s important to add lightness to your life, and even more so, humor.

10. Postpone until later

Remember Scarlett O'Hara's immortal phrase: “I won't think about it now, I'll think about it tomorrow”? This is from the movie Gone with the Wind. So, this really works. We don't reject an idea, we just put off thinking about it until later. And then she ceases to be intrusive, because the mind is calm, you will definitely return to her, only later. And then, perhaps, the tension level will begin to fall, and other pressing matters will appear that require your attention. But in this method it is important to be honest with yourself, otherwise you will stop trusting yourself, so later be sure to take the time to realize exactly those fantasies that are poisoning your life.

Prayer is suitable for believers, because even scientists have found that when a person prays, sound vibrations make the space harmonious and calm. And if you feel peace and quiet joy, then this will be the best treatment not only for the soul, but also for the body.
If you have completely different views on religion, you can try meditation. From previous articles, you may have noticed how often I recommend resorting to it, and for good reason, because these methods really work, both on the physical level and on the mental level. You can find out more.
Start the fight with bad habits, especially those that destroy health and kill time. With their help, you will not get rid of obsession, but on the contrary, you will strengthen it, until it arises. prolonged depression, mood disorders, insomnia and panic attacks.

Conclusion

By changing the way you think, you will attract other changes in your life. So why not make it high quality and rich? Time passes, and it is impossible to turn it back, and neuroses only speed up this process. So take care and appreciate every minute, take care of your health and everything will be fine with you! Subscribe to updates and join groups on social networks, the buttons are at the top right. And that’s all for today, dear readers! See you soon.

Obsessive thoughts are very well known to everyone. Adults and children, educated and illiterate, rich and poor, believers and non-believers are all, to one degree or another, susceptible to the attack of obsessive thoughts. These thoughts can have different expressions:

The thought occurred to you that you forgot to close the garage or door. If you are nearby, then you will come back to check, but if you are not able, then until you return home, these thoughts will not leave you alone.

You have a fear of illness. When something hurts, you feel like you have a terrible disease. In this case, if possible, you constantly check your health. You become the most frequent visitors to your family doctor.

The thought occurred to you that you might lose consciousness. This thought attacks you so much that your blood pressure rises and it becomes difficult to breathe, leading to more panic.

You have a fear of pollution. You feel like your hands are always dirty.

You are afraid of being attacked by germs, and therefore often wash your hands and other things that you often come into contact with.

You are attacked by the thought that happiness is not for you, and you will never have it.

You are afraid that someone might hurt you physically. You need to constantly check the door, you are constantly suspicious of people, it is very difficult for you to stay at home alone, etc.

Obsessive thoughts can attack you not only in your physical life, but also in your spiritual life.

After a person is confronted with the doctrine of God's sovereign election, he is assailed by the thought that suddenly he is not chosen. No matter how much a person tries to drive it away, it attacks his mind more and more, which leads to the loss of Christian joy. He tries in every possible way to refute this teaching, but this does not solve his problem.

After a person was faced with Christ’s warning about the danger of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, he began to be attacked by obsessive blasphemous thoughts. They attack his consciousness so strongly that sometimes it seems that they fly off his tongue. No matter how a person tries to get rid of them, they attack him stronger and stronger, plunging him into despondency and fear.

I think many of you have experienced or are experiencing something similar. At first glance, it seems that this is a very simple and insignificant problem, but it is not so. Obsessive thoughts permeate our consciousness. They don't let us go for a second. We want to forget ourselves, to be distracted, but we are powerless. They make us suffer, a feeling of anxiety appears and sometimes plunges us into deep depression.

Many psychologists try to define this and offer a method of treatment, but all their efforts do not bring the expected result. Some doctors prescribe medications to help a person cope with intrusive thoughts. In some cases, medications can relieve acute tension, calm you down, and create a temporary relief effect, but they do not solve the problem. Others argue that obsessive thoughts can be overcome with willpower. They claim that a person can prevent these thoughts from coming to them. But the fact is that the power of obsessive thoughts is that they can appear in our minds without our will. Still others suggest just not thinking about it, but thinking about something good. To some extent, they are right, but the fact is that they themselves have not wanted to think about it for a long time. The power of obsessive thoughts is that the more we try to get rid of them, the more they attack our consciousness. These thoughts try to take power over us. The question arises, how to find freedom from obsessive thoughts?

In 2 Corinthians chapter ten, Paul gives some very valuable principles to help you find freedom from obsessive thoughts.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Freedom from obsessive thoughts begins with understanding the nature of those thoughts. We need to determine where they come from and why they constantly attack us violently at certain times.

I. The nature of obsessive thoughts

2 Corinthians 10:3-5“ 3 For although we walk in the flesh, we do not fight according to the flesh. 4 The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds: [with them] we cast down imaginations 5 and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God

In this text, the Apostle Paul describes the reality of spiritual warfare in the Christian life. This war is connected not with the devil and demons, but with human thinking. In the life of every person there is a constant war in the field of thinking. This is why Paul talks about the fact that while we live in the flesh, we make war. This war has not yet spared a single person, and it is aimed at destruction.” strongholds" The Greek word translated “ stronghold” means “fortress” or “fortified place.” This metaphor suggests that powerful spiritual fortresses appear in human thinking, which are strengthened by the forces of hell. These fortresses can be: thoughts, ideas, views, philosophies, false teachings - rebelling against the pleasure of knowing God. These fortresses also include obsessive thoughts.

These fortresses do not appear immediately. As you know, any fortress is built gradually, stone by stone. The more time you spend building a fortress, the more powerful it becomes, and the more powerful the fortress, the more difficult it is to defeat. The nature of obsessive thoughts is due to the fact that if we do not react to them immediately, they have the power to build powerful fortresses.

Also in this text, the Apostle Paul reveals the nature of these fortresses. The Greek word translated “ plans” means “reasoning”, “reflection” or “thought”. This word speaks about a person’s thinking. The Greek word translated “ exaltation” means “eminence,” which means a high tower that serves as a fortification. Verb " rebellious” – means “to raise” or “to erect.” This metaphor comes from the word for raising a tower. Those. Here Paul speaks of the rise of strength in man's thinking. Middle voice of the verb “ rebellious” says that this tower is being built without the influence of man himself. We may not notice how obsessive thoughts build strong fortresses in our minds. It all starts simple. The first stone is laid, and if a person does not destroy it, he begins to build a fortress in our consciousness. And what longer person does not act, the stronger the fortress becomes, and sometimes it seems to a person that he is becoming completely powerless against these thoughts.

If we imagine the process of building a fortress with obsessive thoughts schematically, it will look something like this:

Basically, all obsessive thoughts are associated with objective reality. For example: a garage that won't close, physical pain, a dream, a strange sensation, the presence of germs, or even a Bible truth. Objective reality itself does not always say something. It can be interpreted in different ways. For example: abdominal pain does not necessarily mean the terrible disease of cancer, it may be due to increased acidity.

Every day we encounter different kinds of objective reality, but the problem is that one day a thought came to a certain circumstance. For example: you are reading the Bible, and your gaze falls on the text: “Whoever blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not have forgiveness.” The question arises: what if I once blasphemed the Holy Spirit in my thoughts? While you are remembering, a blasphemous thought suddenly appears in your mind. You try to get rid of it, but it is no use. Or another example: you heard that a man in a nearby church died of stomach cancer. One moment you feel pain in your stomach, and suddenly the thought comes that this pain is also associated with this terrible disease.

Where do these intrusive thoughts come from? Where does a person who wants to live a godly life get ungodly thoughts? Psychologists cannot answer this question due to the rejection of the spiritual world.

Spurgeon answers this question this way: “There are thoughts in our minds that were not born in it, but were, like some wonder, brought from heaven by the spirit. Angels whisper to us, and demons do the same. This is not fiction! Both good and evil spirits talk to people, and some of us have experienced this. Sometimes we are visited by strange thoughts - not the fruit of the activity of our soul, but traces of angelic visits; at other times we are overcome by temptations and evil thoughts that have ripened not in our head, but thrown into it by visitors from hell.”

The main problem with intrusive thoughts is not related to the circumstance or the thought that visited our mind, but to our interpretation of it. This objective reality can be interpreted in different ways. For example: you read the text and a blasphemous thought came to you. You can interpret that this temptation came from the devil, or you can interpret that you blasphemed the Holy Spirit. Or you have a headache, which you can interpret as increased blood pressure or as the presence of a terrible disease, brain cancer.

It is the interpretation that determines your reaction. We always react based on our interpretation of reality. For example: a blasphemous thought came to you. If you interpret it as a temptation from the devil, then you will ignore it. If you interpret it as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, then you will begin to condemn yourself. You will try to get rid of it, but it will be useless. Constantly judging yourself and trying to protect your mind from attack will lead to despondency and, for some, depression. The same thing happens with the interpretation of headaches. You can interpret it as being tired and going to rest, or as having a terrible illness and running to doctors in fear.

In our scheme there is another block called skill. When this happens repeatedly, you develop the skill of interpreting and reacting. It is in this block that the stones from which the fortress is built are laid. For example: a blasphemous thought attacked you more than once, and in each case you condemned yourself. In this case, you have developed the habit that every time you encounter an objective reality, in this case this text, whether reading the Bible, or in memory, or in a sermon, you will be subject to an attack of intrusive thoughts that condemn you . It becomes a habit in your mind.

That is why we must constantly wage a battle in our minds, not allowing obsessive thoughts to build fortresses. We must destroy these fortresses when the first stones are still being laid.

One might ask why it is so important to not allow intrusive thoughts to build fortresses? Why do we have to constantly fight in our thinking? The fact is that obsessive thoughts have their consequences.

II. The problem of obsessive thoughts

Firstly, obsessive thoughts do not define, but distort reality. They force us to look at external factors not through the prism of God’s Sovereignty, but through the prism of these thoughts. These thoughts force us to focus on the “imaginary” reality. For example: a person begins to think that he has blasphemed the Holy Spirit, or a person begins to condemn himself for something of which he is not guilty. The problem is that a person begins to define his relationship with God not through the prisms of God's truth, but through the prisms of obsessive thoughts. At times, he condemns himself for what is not a sin, but justifies in himself what is a sin.

Secondly, obsessive thoughts control a person. When a person misdefines reality, he begins to act on the basis of lies. A person is afraid when there is no need to be afraid. He is constantly in fear of the attacks of these thoughts. He cannot relax peacefully with his family in the park; he is constantly tormented by the thought that suddenly the garage is not closed. He cannot read the Bible calmly. He is afraid of being attacked by obsessive thoughts. He constantly tries to refute them, constantly proving something in his mind. This person becomes a slave to obsessive thoughts. The more he tries to get rid of them, the more they become. And then a feeling of their violence appears.

Third, obsessive thoughts lead to despondency. Very often, an obsessive state is accompanied by depressive emotions. It is difficult for a person to do anything. He constantly lives in fear. He is afraid to be alone somewhere. He is depressed because wicked thoughts are swirling in his head.

Fourth, all this leads to an obstacle to pleasure in the knowledge of God. The fact is that in this state a person concentrates more on himself than on God. He tries more to take control of the whole situation than to learn to live by trusting God and His Word. He may and wants to enjoy God, but this strong fortress does not allow him to do so. This is the central reason for the need to fight obsessive thoughts. Paul says that these fortresses are built against the enjoyment of the knowledge of God.

So we come to important issue How to practically deal with obsessive thoughts? There are several very important lessons in our study text.

III. Dealing with obsessive thoughts

A. Accept the Reality of Spiritual Battle

2 Corinthians 10:3"For we walking in the flesh, not according to the flesh we are militant”

The battle for our thinking is constantly ongoing. There are a lot of enemies around us who are trying to build fortresses in our minds. Remember that if you are being attacked by intrusive thoughts, there is nothing strange. This is a spiritual reality. Stop being afraid of the attacks of obsessive thoughts. Remember, they do not define your reality. What you are experiencing is what many Christians have experienced and are experiencing.

Charles Spurgeon felt these attacks very strongly: “One day, when I was suffering in grief due to the attacks of the tempter, I went to see my old grandfather. I told him about my terrible experiences and then concluded by saying, “Grandfather, I am sure that I cannot be a child of God, because if I were, I could not have such unclean thoughts.” “Charles, that’s nonsense,” replied the good old man. – You experience such temptations precisely because you are a Christian. These blasphemous thoughts are not yours, they are the thoughts of the devil, which he tries to put into the head of a Christian in order to sow a feeling of guilt in him. Don’t appropriate them for yourself, don’t give them a place either in your home or in your heart.”

The Apostle Peter, consoling us, says that many Christians have experienced and are experiencing attacks from the devil.

1 Peter 5:8,9“ 8 Be sober and watchful, because your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him with firm faith, knowing that the same sufferings are happening to your brothers in the world.”

So, recognizing the reality of spiritual battle, we need to stop being afraid of intrusive thoughts. They do not define any reality of life, but are aimed at depriving us of the pleasure of knowing God.

B. Recognize the failure of human methods

2 Corinthians 10:3,4“ 3 For we, while we walk in the flesh, We do not fight according to the flesh. 4 Weapons of our warfare not carnal but mighty in God to pull down strongholds..."

Very often people try to fight these fortresses by simply bypassing them. Some begin to struggle with objective reality, trying to protect themselves from it. The problem is that most of the facts are completely beyond your control. You cannot cross out the texts of the Holy Scriptures about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, you can very little influence the physiological processes in your body, you cannot protect yourself from bad information, etc.

Unable to change reality, some people resort to another method - they try to do everything possible to prevent these thoughts from bothering them. The problem is that you cannot stop thoughts from coming to you. This is the reality of spiritual life that every person faces. Moreover, the more you try to get rid of them, the stronger and more often they will attack you.

Without the ability to inhibit thoughts, people begin to influence their reactions. A person is trying to get rid of fear. He tries to think about something else, but the problem is that this fortress continues to stand as it stood. A person may somehow find relief, but it will be temporary. That is why the Apostle Paul says: “ the weapons of our warfare are not carnal”.

C. Learn to Think According to God's Truth

2 Corinthians 10:3-5“ 3 For although we walk in the flesh, we do not fight according to the flesh. 4 The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but strong by God to destroy strongholds: [with them] we cast down arguments 5 and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

The problem of intrusive thoughts is not related to circumstances or thoughts, but to our interpretation. Our goal is to destroy the fortresses of obsessive thoughts and prevent them from building new ones. The only weapon for this is the weapon of God's truth. It is with this weapon that we overthrow or destroy all thoughts that build fortresses against the delight in the knowledge of God. There's only one thing the right remedy Dealing with obsessive thoughts is learning to think in accordance with God's truth. If intrusive thoughts don't define reality, we need something that can define it.

First of all, our ability to correctly evaluate reality depends largely on our overall worldview, how we think about ourselves and how we think about God. We need to constantly remember that we are not primarily a Christian experiencing intrusive thoughts, but a Christian struggling with those thoughts. We are first and foremost a Christian. We need to constantly interpret reality correctly, based on God's truth. A few examples:

If you are depressed because blasphemous thoughts come to you, then this is due to the fact that you do not correctly interpret reality. The fact is that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with blasphemous thoughts. Moreover, it is impossible for a Christian to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. These thoughts are lies attacking you.

If in certain circumstances, due to obsessive thoughts, you are overcome by fear, then this fear is associated with an incorrect interpretation of reality. The true reality is that if you are a child of God, even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, God will be with you (Psalm 23).

If you think that despite your desire for God, He will not accept you because you are not the chosen one, then this is a false reality. The true reality is that Christ said: “Him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).

We need to destroy every thought that hinders our enjoyment in the knowledge of Christ. Freedom from obsessive thoughts is directly related to what you think about God and yourself. John Bunyan wrote about this in his book “Pilgrim’s Progress.” This happened to the Pilgrim in the “valley of the shadow of death”: “As he passed by the terrible entrance to hell, the wicked crept up to him and began to whisper the most terrible blasphemies in his ear. It seemed to the Christian that they were coming out of his own lips. This caused him to feel deep grief and sadness. He reproached himself that he could blaspheme the One whom he had loved so much just recently. “And if I could restrain myself, then, obviously, I would not sin like that,” he thought. But he didn’t think to cover his ears. Then he would immediately understand where these terrible blasphemies come from. Completely depressed and unable to utter a single word, he suddenly heard a human voice in the darkness: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” These words “ The Lord is with me”, inspired the Pilgrim and he realized he had nothing to fear.

D. Learn obedience to Christ

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 We take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ”

We need to not only make a correct interpretation based on the truth, but we also need to act on it, bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Moreover, the Apostle Paul notes not just any thought, but every thought that tries to build a fortress against the enjoyment of the knowledge of God.

How might this look in our case with obsessive thoughts? Our response should reflect trust in Divine truth. We don’t need to prove anything, we don’t need to justify ourselves to God in prayer, we don’t need to try to get rid of them. If we know that based on Biblical truth, these thoughts do not define true reality, but try to distract us from the pleasure of knowing God, then we simply need to learn to ignore them.

Remember, the purpose of intrusive thoughts is not to make you evil, but to deprive you of the pleasure of knowing God. If you set a goal to get rid of them, you will experience frustration because the more you get rid of them, the more they will attack you. If you make it a point to bring your thinking into obedience to Christ, you will learn to ignore them based on your trust in God.

E. Discipline yourself

Present tense of the verb “ captivate” indicates constant struggle. Do this constantly to correct reaction has become the experience of your life. Discipline yourself so that with each attack of intrusive thoughts you feel not fear, but delight in knowing God and having a special relationship with Him.

Obsessive thoughts, on the one hand, can lead you to despondency, on the other hand, they can contribute to deeper enjoyment in God through trust in Him. It all depends on your attitude towards them.

Charles Spurgeon, 12 sermons on the Holy Spirit, “Blagovest”, Brest, 2004, p.31

Charles Spurgeon, My Address, p.62

John Bunyan, “Pilgrim’s Progress”, publisher Kostykov, Moscow, 2005, p.70

The quality of your thoughts also affects how your brain functions. Happy, favorable, positive thoughts improve brain function, and negative ones turn off certain nerve centers. Automatic negative thoughts can torment and torment you until you take concrete action to get rid of them.

We'll talk about the inner critic later, but for now, familiarize yourself with the concept of ants. Ant (English). - ant; For “automatic intrusive negative thoughts,” the abbreviation “ANTs” (automatic negative thoughts) is used. Or "cockroaches".

They are, as it were, the background of our thoughts. Involuntary negative thoughts come and go spontaneously, like the bats They fly in and out, bringing with them doubts and frustrations; we hardly notice them in our daily lives.

For example, when you are late for the train, you think to yourself: “What a fool I am, I always do everything at the last moment,” or when in the store you try on clothes and look at yourself in the mirror: “Ugh, what a nightmare, it’s time to lose weight !

Negative intrusive automatic thoughts- this is an incessant voice that sounds in our head 24 hours a day: negative ideas, comments, negative thoughts about ourselves. They constantly drag us down, they are like footnotes that undermine our confidence and feeling self-esteem. They are the “second wave” of thoughts that Beck noticed.

The first thing you must do is pay attention to these thoughts, learn to notice when they appear and when they leave your consciousness. Look at the picture of the glass: negative thoughts are foam on the surface. It fizzes and dissolves, revealing your thoughts or feelings that you feel at the moment.

They show the meaning we attach to what is happening around us. They also give us insight into how we perceive the world and what place we occupy in it. Automatic negative thoughts are a manifestation of what rises from the bottom of the glass, what bubbles to the surface from a deeper psychological level.

Automatic negative thoughts greatly suppress self-esteem, they are like endless nagging; Negative in nature, they will constantly make comments towards you, causing depression, giving everything you try to do or achieve a negative connotation.

Becoming aware of your negative thoughts can help you deal with your deeper emotional issues. Automatic negative thoughts weigh on you drop by drop, distorting your self-confidence and self-esteem.

Automatic intrusive negative thoughts:

they exist persistently in your mind

you just need to start noticing them;

they are aware

show how you think, they lie on the surface, this is not the subconscious;

they oppress

because they are inherently “bad”, they make you depressed and spoil your mood;

they are regulated

depend on the situation (for example, if you are walking down the street at night, you think: “I’m scared, now someone will attack me”);

they “seem to be true” - they are masks that we put on and believe them (for example: “I’m no good”, “I’m too fat in these jeans”, “I’ll never get my work done on time”, “I always choose not to”). this/wrong guy/girl”, “Nobody loves me”);

we conduct an internal dialogue with them

we can always convince ourselves of something or talk ourselves out of something: we put on masks and believe them;

they are constant, especially if your problems have long been embedded in your life, for example, if you have depression. Your NNMs constantly convince you that you are worthless, that no one loves you, that you are worthless, that you are helpless and alone.

Did you know that when a thought occurs, the brain releases chemicals? This is amazing. The thought came, substances were released, electrical signals ran through the brain, and you realized what you were thinking. In this sense, thoughts are material and have a direct impact on feelings and behavior.

Anger, dissatisfaction, sadness or frustration contribute to the release of negative chemical substances, which activate the limbic system and worsen physical well-being. Remember how you felt when last time were you angry? Most people's muscles tense, their heart beats faster, and their hands begin to sweat.

The body reacts to every negative thought. Mark George, MD, proved this with an elegant brain study at the National Institute of Mental Health. He examined 10 women on a tomograph and asked them to alternately think about something neutral, something happy and something sad.

During neutral reflections, nothing changed in the functioning of the brain. Joyful thoughts were accompanied by a calming of the limbic system. When they had sad thoughts, the subjects' limbic system became highly active. This is compelling proof that your thoughts matter.

Every time you think about something positive, joyful, pleasant and kind, you contribute to the release of neurotransmitters in the brain that calm the limbic system and improve physical well-being. Remember how you felt when you were happy. Most people relax, their heart rate slows down, and their hands remain dry. They breathe deeper and calmer. That is, the body also reacts to good thoughts.

What is the limbic system? This is the most ancient section of the brain, which is located in its very depths, more precisely in the center to the bottom. What is she responsible for:

sets emotional tone

filters external and internal experience (distinguishes between what we ourselves thought and what is actually happening)

designates internal events as important

stores emotional memory

modulates motivation (what we want and do what is required of us)

controls appetite and sleep cycle

makes emotional connections with other people.

processes odors

regulates libido

If you worry every day, namely, deliberately think about what bad things can happen to you and your family in the future, and at the same time you have a hereditary history of anxiety disorders and even have an adverse childhood experience, then it is likely that your limbic system is very active condition.

It’s quite interesting that the limbic system is stronger than the cortex, including the frontal cortex, which is aware and controls everything. So if a charge of activity hits from the limbic, the cortex cannot always cope. Moreover, the main blow does not hit the bark directly, but in a roundabout way. The impulse is sent to the hypothalamus, and it instructs the pituitary gland to release hormones. And the hormones themselves trigger this or that behavior.

When the limbic is calm (low-active mode), we experience positive emotions, have hopes, feel included in society and loved. We have good dream and normal appetite. When she is overexcited, the emotions are generally negative. The limbic system is responsible for translating feelings into a physical state of relaxation and tension. If a person has not done what he was asked to do, his body will remain relaxed.

I explain that bad thoughts are like an infestation of ants in your head. If you are sad, melancholy and anxious, then you are attacked by automatic negative thoughts - “ants”. This means you need to call on the big, strong inner anteater to get rid of them. Children love this metaphor.

Every time you notice “ants” in your head, crush them before they have time to ruin your relationship and undermine your self-esteem.

One way to deal with such “ants” is to write them down on a piece of paper and discuss them. You should not accept every thought that comes to your consciousness as the ultimate truth. You need to decide which “ants” are visiting you and deal with them before they take away your power. I have identified 9 types of “ants” (automatic negative thoughts) that show situations worse than they really are. By identifying the type of ant, you will gain power over it. I classify some of these “ants” as red, that is, especially harmful.

9 Types of Automatic Negative Thoughts

1. Generalization: accompanied by the words “always”, “never”, “nobody”, “every”, “every time”, “everyone”.

2. Focus on the negative: noting only the bad moments in each situation.

3. Prediction: In everything, only a negative outcome is seen.

4. Mind Reading: the confidence that you know what the other person is thinking, even when he hasn't said it.

5. Mixing thoughts with feelings: in Believe in negative feelings without a doubt.

6. Guilt Punishment: accompanied by the ideas “must”, “obliged”, “necessary”.

7. Labeling: assigning negative labels to oneself or others.

8. Personalization: taking any neutral events personally.

9. Accusations: the tendency to blame others for one's troubles.

Negative Thought Type 1: GENERALIZATION

These “ants” come crawling when you use words like “always”, “never”, “constantly”, “every”. For example, if someone in church annoys you, you will think to yourself, “People in church are always picking on me” or “Only hypocrites go to church.”

Although these thoughts are obviously wrong, they have incredible power, for example, they can scare you away from church forever. Negative thoughts with generalizations are almost always wrong.

Here’s another example: if a child doesn’t listen, an “ant” may crawl into his head: “He always doesn’t listen to me and doesn’t do what I ask,” although most of the time the child behaves quite obediently. However, the very thought “He always disobeys me” is so negative that it makes you angry and upset, activates the limbic system and leads to a negative reaction.

Here are more examples of “ant” generalizations:

“She’s always gossiping”;
“At work, no one cares about me”;
“You never listen to me”;
“Everyone is trying to take advantage of me”;
“I get interrupted all the time”;
“I never get a chance to rest.”

Type 2 of negative thoughts: EMPHASIS ON NEGATIVITY

In this case, you see only the negative aspect of the situation, although there are positive sides to almost everything. These “ants” detract from positive experiences, good relationships, and work interactions. For example, you want to help your neighbor. You have the ability to do this, and you know what needs to be done.

But, as you are about to offer help, you suddenly remember how your neighbor once offended you. And although at other times you communicated with him in a friendly manner, your thoughts begin to revolve around the unpleasant incident. Negative thoughts discourage the desire to help someone. Or imagine you're on a great date. Everything is going well, the girl is beautiful, smart, good, but she was 10 minutes late.

If you focus on her being late, you could ruin a potentially wonderful relationship. Or you came to a new church or synagogue for the first time. This is a very important experience. But someone noisy distracts you from the service. If you focus on the interference, the impressions will be spoiled.

Type 3 of negative thoughts: BAD PREDICTIONS

These “ants” crawl when we foresee something bad in the future. “Ants” predictors suffer from anxiety disorders and panic attacks. Predicting the worst causes an immediate increase in heart rate and breathing. I call these expectations red “ants” because by anticipating negativity, you are causing it. For example, you think it's going to be a bad day at work.

The first hint of failure strengthens this belief, and for the rest of the day you are depressed. Negative predictions disturb peace of mind. Of course, you should plan and prepare for different options developments, but you can’t focus only on the negative.

Type of negative thoughts 4: IMAGINAL READING OF OTHER THOUGHTS

This is when you feel like you know other people's thoughts even though they haven't told you about them. This is a common cause of conflict between people.

Here are examples of such automatic negative thoughts:

"He does not like me...";
“They talked about me”;
“They think I’m good for nothing”;
“He was angry with me.”

I explain to patients that if someone looks at them darkly, then perhaps that person is just experiencing stomach pain. You cannot know his true thoughts. Even in a close relationship, you will not be able to read your partner's thoughts. When in doubt, speak frankly and refrain from biased mind reading. These “ants” are contagious and sow hostility.

Negative Thought Type 5: MIXING THOUGHTS WITH FEELINGS

These “ants” arise when you begin to trust your feelings without doubt. Feelings are very complex and are usually based on memories from the past. However, they often lie. Feelings are not necessarily true, they are just feelings. But many people believe that their emotions always tell the truth.

The appearance of such “ants” is usually marked by the phrase: “I feel that...”. For example: “I feel like you don’t love me,” “I feel stupid,” “I feel like a failure,” “I feel like no one believes in me.” When you start to “feel” something, double-check whether you have evidence? Are there true reasons for such emotions?

Negative Thought Type 6: PUNISHMENT WITH GUILT

Excessive guilt is rarely a healthy emotion, especially for the deep limbic system. It usually causes you to make mistakes. Punishment with guilt occurs when the words “must”, “must”, “should”, “necessary” pop up in the head.

Here are some examples:

“I need to spend more time at home”; “I should communicate more with children”; “You need to have sex more often”; “My office should be organized.”

The feeling of guilt is often exploited by religious organizations: live this way, otherwise something terrible will happen to you. Unfortunately, when people think they have to do something (no matter what), they don't want to do it. Therefore, all typical phrases that appeal to feelings of guilt should be replaced with: “I want to do this and that. This aligns with my life goals."

For example:

“I want to spend more time at home”;
“I want to communicate more with children”;
“I want to please my husband by improving our love life.”
life, because it’s important to me”;
“I intend to organize life in my office.”

Of course, there are things you shouldn't do, but feeling guilty isn't always productive.

Negative Thought Type 7: LABELING

Every time you put a negative label on yourself or someone else, you prevent yourself from seeing the situation clearly. Negative labels are very damaging because by calling someone a jerk, uncommitted, irresponsible, or opinionated, you equate them with every jerk and irresponsible person you've ever met, and you lose the ability to communicate productively with them.

Negative Thought Type 8: PERSONALIZATION

These “ants” force you to take any innocent event personally. “The boss didn’t talk to me this morning, he’s probably angry.” Sometimes it seems to a person that he is responsible for all the troubles. “My son was in a car accident, I should have spent more time teaching him how to drive, it’s my fault.” There are many explanations for any trouble, but the overactive limbic system chooses only those that concern you. The boss may not talk because he is busy, upset, or in a hurry. You are not free to know why people do what they do. Don't try to take their behavior personally.

Type 9 of negative thoughts (the most poisonous red “ants”!): ACCUSATIONS

Blaming is very harmful because by blaming someone else for your problems, you become a victim and are unable to do anything to change the situation. A huge number of personal relationships collapsed because people blamed their partners for all the troubles and did not take responsibility for themselves. If something went wrong at home or at work, they withdrew and looked for someone to blame.

“Ant” accusations usually sound like this:

“It’s not my fault that...”;
“This wouldn’t have happened if you...”;
“How could I know”;
“It’s all your fault that...”

“Ants” - accusations always find someone to blame. Every time you blame someone for your problems, you are actually assuming that you are powerless to change anything. This attitude erodes your sense of personal strength and will. Refrain from blaming and take responsibility for your life.

In order for the brain to function properly, you need to manage your thoughts and emotions. Having noticed an “ant” crawling into your consciousness, recognize it and write down its essence. By writing down your automatic negative thoughts (ANT), you question them and reclaim the power they steal from you. Kill the internal "ants" and feed them to your "anteater".

Your thoughts are extremely important because they calm or fire up the limbic system. Leaving the “ants” unattended will infect your entire body. Challenge automatic negative thoughts every time you notice them.

Automatic negative thoughts rely on irrational logic. If you take them out into the light and look at them under a microscope, you will see how ridiculous they are and how much harm they cause. Take control of your life without leaving your fate to the will of an overactive limbic system.

Sometimes people have a hard time challenging negative thoughts because they feel like they will be deceiving themselves. But to know what is true and what is not, you need to be aware of your thoughts. Most “ants” crawl unnoticed; they are chosen not by you, but by your poorly tuned brain. To find the truth, you need to doubt.

I often ask patients about automatic negative thoughts: are there many of them or few? To keep your limbic system healthy, you need to keep the ants under control.

What to do?

0. Develop awareness. Developed awareness is the best remedy treating and preventing negative thoughts.

1. Monitoring negative thoughts. Learn to see them. Negative thoughts are part of a vicious circle. The limbic gives a signal - it causes bad thoughts - bad thoughts cause activation of the amygdala (the main guard of the brain) - the amygdala partially releases the excitement into the limbic - the limbic is even more activated.

2. See them as just thoughts - unreal formations. Don't give them any importance. They should not be actively pushed out either. Feed your anteater. Maintain the habit of identifying negative thoughts and reframing them. Praise yourself for this in every possible way.

3. Have doubts. Sometimes people have a hard time challenging negative thoughts because they feel like they will be deceiving themselves. But to know what is true and what is not, you need to be aware of your thoughts. Most “ants” crawl unnoticed; they are chosen not by you, but by your poorly tuned brain. To find the truth, you need to doubt. I often ask patients about automatic negative thoughts: are there many of them or few? To keep your limbic system healthy, you need to keep the ants under control.

4. Seek external confirmation. Attract to you more people that give you positive feedback. Good connections calm the limbic system, which also creates a feeling of gratitude. Focus on the positive, designate it. Positive thoughts are not only good for you personally, they also help your brain function better. Every day, write down five things you are grateful for that day.

5. Teach people around you to build strong emotional connections with you.(express your feelings, show the importance of the people around you, refresh relationships, strengthen intimacy, etc.). Reduce stress levels with the power of oxytocin. I will write more about this.

6. Act in spite of fear.

Can Positive Behavior Change the Brain? Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, assessed the relationship between brain function and behavior in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). People with OCD were randomly divided into two groups. One was treated with drugs and the other with behavioral therapy.

The researchers performed PET imaging (similar to SPECT) before and after therapy. The medication group, which was treated with an antidepressant, showed calming activity in the basal ganglia, which is implicated in dwelling on negativity. The behavioral therapy group showed the same results.

Behavioral therapy involved placing patients in a stressful situation and demonstrating that nothing bad was happening to them. This therapy aims to reduce sensitivity to feared objects and situations.

This might interest you:

10 Beliefs About Diseases You Should Ignore

For example, people who had an obsessive fear of “dirt”, seeing it everywhere, were asked to touch a potentially “dirty” object (say, a table) and, with the help of a therapist, refrain from immediately washing their hands.

Gradually people moved on to more and more “scary” objects. Eventually their fears diminished and disappeared completely. Behavioral therapy also included other techniques: eliminating obsessive thoughts (people were asked to stop thinking about bad things), distraction (advice to switch to something else). published

Usually people consider thought to be something unimportant,

therefore they are very little picky when accepting thoughts.

But from accepted correct thoughts all good things are born,

All evil is born from accepted false thoughts.

Thought is like a ship's rudder: from a small rudder,

from this insignificant plank trailing behind the ship,

depends on the direction and, for the most part, fate

the whole huge machine.

St. Ignatiy Brianchaninov,

Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea

During difficult periods of life, almost all people suffer from an invasion of obsessive thoughts. These terrible, nasty, sticky thoughts cling with particular force to a person who is experiencing the death of a loved one. So what are they?

Intrusive thoughts- this is the form in which false ideas come to us, trying to take power over us. Our consciousness is constantly exposed to their active attacks, but at critical moments in life this onslaught can intensify, which reduces the quality of life and prevents us from soberly assessing the situation, making plans and believing in the possibility of their implementation. Because of these thoughts, it is difficult for us to concentrate and find reserves to overcome problems, they are exhausting, and often lead to despair, as a result of which the reality that we begin to accept as reality is distorted.

What obsessive thoughts do people who are grieving usually have?

They are very diverse. I will give some examples, although they do not constitute even a hundredth part of all possible obsessive thoughts:

· All the good things in life have come to an end. All that remains is to live and endure;

· I don’t want to live, but I want to go to her (to him);

· I won’t have anyone else;

· No one needs me (not needed);

· I cannot live without him (without her);

· Everything that happened is my fault;

· There will be no joy in the future. Real life is over, and now there will only be survival;

· It is better not to live at all than to live like this. I see no meaning or hope in such a life;

· Now I have no meaning in life;

· It will never get easier. This pain and suffering is for life;

· No one needs me (not needed). I'm a burden to everyone.

And similar thoughts. They permeate our consciousness and do not let go of a person even for a second. Often these thoughts make us suffer to a much greater extent than even the events themselves that caused the crisis.

At times, these thoughts occupy the entire area of consciousness, depriving us of sleep, food, joy, and stability. The seeds of hopelessness, despair, melancholy sprout and give their nasty harvest precisely on the black soil of grief, which we have fertilized with these obsessive thoughts.

Obsessions roll in like a powerful wave, which is very difficult to resist if you don’t know certain rules. If we look objectively, we will see how these thoughts simply, brazenly and aggressively take our consciousness into slavery. Obsessive thoughts, like vampires, drink up the remaining energy we need and take away the feeling of life. They control our behavior, desires, free time, communication with other people, and do not allow us to get out of the state of grief.

Intrusive thoughts- a cunning and insidious enemy who does not appear openly, but disguises himself as our own thoughts and gradually imposes his desires and feelings on us. They act like banal viruses that have invaded the victim cell.

I would especially like to mention thoughts of suicide, as well as thoughts that cause feelings of guilt. They are almost always dangerously intrusive and in the vast majority of cases, thoughts are viruses.

There are a number of mental illnesses (depression of organic origin, schizophrenia, etc.) in which obsessive thoughts are present in the complex of symptoms. For such diseases, there is only one known option for help - pharmacotherapy. In this case, you need to contact a psychiatrist to prescribe treatment. I would like to note that here we are talking only about the only possibility of correction and treatment, but not about the cause of this serious condition.

Fortunately, the vast majority of people who suffer from compulsions during grief do not have any psychopathological disorders at all. With the help of a certain algorithm, they can get rid of unnecessary thoughts.

What is the nature of such thoughts?

From a scientific point of view, obsessive thoughts ( obsessions) is the incessant repetition of unwanted ideas and attractions, doubts, desires, memories, fears, actions, ideas, etc., which cannot be gotten rid of by force of will. In these thoughts, the real problem is exaggerated, enlarged, and distorted. As a rule, several obsessive thoughts arise at once, and they line up in a vicious circle that we cannot break. And we run around this circle like squirrels in a wheel.

The more we try to get rid of them, the more they appear. And then there is a feeling that they are of a violent nature. In addition, very often (but not always), obsessive states are accompanied by depressive emotions, painful thoughts, as well as feelings of anxiety and fear.

What does secular psychology say about obsessive thoughts?

Many psychologists, often speculatively and without evidence, have tried to explain the cause of obsessive thoughts. Different psychological schools still sharply debate among themselves on this issue, but the majority still associate obsessive thoughts with fears. True, these assumptions do not clarify how to deal with them.

So, we can say that classical psychology does not have an accurate and understandable answer to this question, and does not offer effective methods to get rid of obsessions.

How then to fight them?

For a long time, experts have made many unsuccessful attempts to find at least some method of dealing with obsessions. However, their efforts were partially crowned with some results only in the last century, when a method of pharmacotherapy was invented, which in some cases helps to cope with fear. The disadvantage of this method is that it does not last long and cannot be applied to all patients. And at the same time, I repeat, in most cases, pharmacotherapy relieves symptoms only temporarily, and does not eliminate the very cause of obsessions.

There is another old method that creates the illusion of solving the problem, but in fact only seriously aggravates it. I'm talking about drinking alcohol, drugs, crazy entertainment, extreme activities, etc. Yes, with their help you can disconnect from obsessive thoughts for a very short time, but then they will still “turn on”, and with increased force. Unfortunately, this method is very popular, despite the obvious harm caused to the body if it is used.

So what should we do? Is the situation really hopeless and we are doomed to become slaves to these thoughts?

Secular psychology does not provide recipes for effectively combating obsessive thoughts, because it does not see the nature of these thoughts. Simply put, it is quite difficult to fight the enemy if we do not see him and do not understand who he is. Schools of classical psychology, having arrogantly crossed out the vast experience of spiritual struggle accumulated by previous generations, began to re-build certain concepts. These concepts are different for all schools, but they are united by the fact that they look for the cause of all troubles either in the faceless and incomprehensible unconscious of the person himself, or in some physical and chemical interactions of dendrites, axons and neurons, or in frustrated needs for self-realization, etc. etc. At the same time, these schools do not have clear explanations of what obsessive thoughts are, what are the laws of their appearance and the mechanism of influence.

Meanwhile, effective method combating obsessive thoughts in mental health healthy person exists! Answers to questions and successful solutions to problems have been known for thousands of years.

Please tell us more about this.

The strength of intrusive thoughts is that they can influence our consciousness, and our weakness is that we have almost no influence on intrusive thoughts. That is, behind these thoughts there is an independent will that is different from ours. The name itself, “obsessive thoughts,” already suggests that they are imposed by someone from the outside.

This external imposition can be confirmed by the paradoxical content of these thoughts. That is, we understand that the content of these thoughts is not entirely justified, not logical, and not dictated by a sufficient number of real external circumstances. Obsessive thoughts can be absurd and devoid of common sense, but despite this, we cannot resist them.

When such thoughts arise, we often ask ourselves questions: “How did I come up with this?”, “Where did this thought come from?”, “How did this thought get into my head?”, “Why doesn’t this wild thought seem terrible to me?” . And, although we cannot find answers to these questions, for some reason we still continue to consider these thoughts our own. And obsessive thoughts continue to have a huge impact on us.

A person haunted by obsessive thoughts understands their absurdity and alienness to reason, and therefore, in most cases, evaluates these thoughts critically. But at the same time, he is not able to get rid of them by force of will. And this is another proof that we are dealing with an independent mind.

Who owns this mind and will directed against us?

Holy Fathers Orthodox Church they say that in such situations a person is dealing with an attack by demons. I want to clarify right away that none of them perceived demons as primitively as people who never thought about their nature. These are not those funny hairy ones with horns and hooves! They have no visible appearance at all, which allows them to act unnoticed. They can be called differently: energies, spirits of evil, essences. There is no point in talking about their appearance, but we know their main weapon is lies.

So, according to the holy fathers, it is evil spirits that cause the obsessive thoughts that we accept as our own. Habits are hard to break. And we are so accustomed to considering all our thoughts, all our internal dialogues and even internal battles as ours and only ours. But to win these battles, you need to take your side against the enemy. And for this it is necessary to understand that obsessive thoughts are not our thoughts, they are imposed on us from the outside by a hostile force. Demons in this case act like banal viruses, while they try to remain unnoticed and unrecognized. Moreover, these entities act regardless of whether you believe in them or not.

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) wrote about the nature of these thoughts: “The spirits of evil wage war against a person with such cunning that the thoughts and dreams they bring to the soul seem to be born in itself, and not from an evil spirit alien to it, acting and trying together.” take cover."

How can you determine which thought is obsessive and where it comes from?

The criterion for determining the true source of our thoughts is very simple. If a thought deprives us of peace, it is from demons. “If, from any movement of the heart, you immediately experience confusion, oppression of the spirit, then this is no longer from above, but from the opposite side - from the evil spirit,” said Righteous John of Kronstadt.

Isn’t this how obsessive thoughts act that torment us when experiencing loss?

True, we are not always able to correctly assess our condition. Famous modern psychologist V.K. Nevyarovich in the book “Soul Therapy” writes about this: “The lack of constant internal work on self-control, spiritual sobriety and conscious management of one’s thoughts, described in detail in ascetic patristic literature, also affects this. One can also believe, with a greater or lesser degree of obviousness, that some thoughts, which, by the way, are always almost felt as alien and even forced, violent, actually have a nature alien to humans, being demonic. According to patristic teaching, a person is often unable to discern the true source of his thoughts, and the soul is permeable to the demonic elements. Only experienced ascetics of holiness and piety, with a bright soul already purified by prayer and fasting, are able to detect the approach of darkness. Souls covered with sinful darkness often do not feel or see this, because in the dark the dark is poorly distinguished.”

What do alien thoughts lead to?

Thoughts “from the evil one” support our despair, unbelief, pessimism, addictions, passions. Thoughts that we mistakenly take to be our own push people to suicide, resentment, unforgiveness, a false sense of guilt, unreasonable fears, and unwillingness to admit their mistakes to God. Masquerading as our thoughts, they obsessively push us to commit bad deeds. Obsessions prevent us from getting on the path spiritual development, they urge us not to waste time on correcting ourselves, instill in us a terrible feeling of guilt, etc. It is precisely such thoughts that are “spiritual viruses.”

The spiritual nature of such thought-viruses is very simply confirmed by the fact that it can be incredibly difficult for us to do a godly deed, pray, or, for example, just go to church. We feel internal resistance, we make incredible efforts to resist seemingly our own thoughts that find great amount excuses not to do it. Although, it would seem, what’s so difficult about getting up early in the morning and going to church? But no, we will get up on time to go, for example, to the cemetery, but we will not do this in order to go to church. We can cry all evening, but it is much more difficult to force ourselves to pray during the same period of time. These are just some examples. Our condition was wonderfully described by the Apostle Paul: “I do not understand what I am doing: because I do not do what I want, but what I hate, I do... The good that I want, I do not do, but the evil that I do not want, I do... But if I do What I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that lives in me.” (Rom 7, 19, 20, 22, 23).

Throughout our lives we choose between good and evil. And, having analyzed the choice made, each of us can see the effect of these “viruses”.

This is exactly how spiritually experienced people viewed the nature of obsessive thoughts. And their advice on overcoming these thoughts has worked and continues to work flawlessly for many centuries!

And pride, envy, alcoholism, overeating, condemnation and all other passions - they are also born from obsessions. Aren't these the same thoughts behind them?

Yes, exactly them. And this, too, has been known to many devotees of piety since ancient times. They explained to us how to deal with such thoughts. Our susceptibility to passions and sins is a special case of the influence of entities that disguise themselves as our thoughts. It is they who rape the soul, push it where it is beneficial for them, while very often corrupting our personality.

But I would not like to talk today about the connection between such thoughts and passions. This is the topic of a very long and serious conversation that deserves a separate conversation.

What is the mechanism of introduction and influence of obsessive thoughts?

These thoughts are embedded directly into the emotional sphere. Have you ever noticed how they overwhelm our emotions? A thought has arisen, and emotions are overflowing, although nothing can be explained logically. Moreover, logic often says the opposite, but the control of logic over us has already been lost, and emotions rage and control us.

The fact is that our emotional sphere is most vulnerable to such intrusions. By and large, we cannot control it. Everyone knows how tears well up in our eyes at the most inopportune moment, and this happens against our will. Our emotional reactions often interfere with business, and then we can rarely explain to ourselves the reasons why they arose. How many times have we been unable to cope with our emotions, although we really wanted to? How much trouble has our own emotionality already brought us? Isn’t it true, we have to admit that we have no control over our emotions.

It is known that emotions can only be restrained by logic and reason, which protect us from falling into the power of emotions. This is confirmed by the fact that it is easier for a person whose logical thinking prevails to resist overwhelming emotions. Conversely, a person’s emotions in an inappropriate state - for example, when he is drunk, under the influence of drugs, very sick, tired, upset - are much more pronounced. It is in such states that great stupid things are done, which one later has to regret.

What keeps obsessive thoughts going?

Refusal of God's help, idleness, laziness, self-pity, apathy, despair, depression are the most nutritious substrates for the cultivation and multiplication of obsessive thoughts.

Is it possible to prevent such thoughts from arising?

Many saints could, but we sinners cannot. This happens because our spiritual state does not allow us to distinguish between these entities. People, for the most part, do not know how, and often do not even try to do this, because they consider any thought that comes to mind to be their own. And, of course, if a person cannot separate thoughts directed against him from his own thoughts, then he is vulnerable. Such a person can be likened to a small child who opens the door to everyone, without suspecting that “bad guys” also exist. Adults, as a rule, understand that letting everyone into the house indiscriminately is dangerous.

But don’t we ourselves open the door of our soul to all thoughts in a row? Isn’t this how entities enter into us, disguised as our thoughts and feelings? Needless to say, without trying at least a little to recognize unnecessary thoughts and protect ourselves from them, we doom ourselves to suffer from the violence that obsessions inflict on our soul. After their attack, only bedlam and nightmare remain in my soul. But the most interesting thing is that even after this we do not understand how the disaster occurred. And we are waiting for the next one...

How to protect yourself from them?

You must understand that defense is impossible if you do not know your enemies. People who do not live a serious (and not superficial, exclusively external ritual) spiritual life do not know their enemies. And even if they realize their existence, they have no means of self-defense.

If the enemy is known, then, first of all, you should learn to distinguish him from friends, even if he tries to disguise himself. If you see an enemy, then you must try not to let him in, not to open the door for him. And if you let him in, then try to get rid of him using certain means. We, instead of understanding what thought, desire, feeling we let into ourselves, invite everyone to us, indiscriminately: “Come in whoever you want - we always have the door wide open!”

But that is not all. We know how people should protect themselves, for example, from obsessive drunks: for a weaker person, it is best not to get involved in a conversation with him, but simply not to pay attention to the pester, to walk past him. It's the same with obsessive thoughts. But instead, we not only let them in, but also begin to have an internal conversation with them. We don't realize that they are stronger than us (until we use the algorithm, which we'll talk about in more detail below). And this “conversation” traditionally ends in our defeat.

Look how exactly Elder Paisius the Svyatogorets said about us: “A thought, like a thief, comes to you - and you open the door for it, bring it into the house, start a conversation with it, and then it robs you. Is it possible to start conversations with the enemy? Not only are they avoiding conversations with him, but the door is also tightly locked so that he does not enter.”

Are there psychotherapeutic techniques to get rid of such thoughts?

There are few such techniques. An accessible means combating obsessive thoughts, fears and anxieties that appear during periods of crisis is muscle relaxation. Relieving muscle tension and complete relaxation of the body reduces anxiety and helps get rid of fears, and, accordingly, in most cases, the intensity of obsessive thoughts decreases. I often recommend this method to my patients.

Doing a relaxation exercise is quite simple: lie down or sit down, relax your body as much as possible, mentally transport yourself to some a nice place, on nature. Start by relaxing the muscles of your face, then relax the muscles of your neck, shoulders, torso, and complete this process with your fingers and toes. Imagine that every muscle in your body is completely relaxed. Feel it. If you were unable to relax any part of the body or muscle group, then try to tense them as much as possible and then relax. Do this several times, and the desired muscle group will definitely relax. You should be in a state of complete relaxation for 15 to 30 minutes.

Don't worry about how successfully you have relaxed. Don't suffer or stress - let relaxation occur at your own pace. If you feel that extraneous thoughts are visiting you during the exercise, try to push them out of your consciousness, switching your attention to visualizing nature.

If you relax properly several times a day, this will definitely help you get rid of obsessions. However, I want to emphasize that with the help of this technique you can only reduce the influence and intensity of obsessive thoughts, but not fight the cause that causes them.

What should you do to completely get rid of obsessions?

In order to build your life in the future without these nasty viruses, first of all, we must acknowledge the presence of obsessive thoughts and the need to get rid of them!

Secondly, we need to take responsibility. I would like to note that if we accept these obsessive thoughts and then, under their influence, commit certain actions, then we are the ones who are responsible for these actions and their consequences. It is impossible to completely shift responsibility to obsessive thoughts, because we were the ones who accepted them and acted in accordance with them. It was not thoughts that acted, but ourselves.

Let me explain with an example: if an assistant tries to manipulate his manager, as a result of which he makes an erroneous decision, then it is the manager, and not his assistant, who will bear responsibility for this decision.

Third, You shouldn’t consider intrusive thoughts your own! Pay attention to the contradiction between your interests, your logic and those thoughts that are trying to take over you! Evaluate their paradoxicality, inappropriateness, and logical inconsistency. Assess the consequences and disadvantages of the actions that following these thoughts may lead to. Ponder this. Think about whether you see in these thoughts a direct discrepancy with what your consciousness tells you. You will probably find many inconsistencies.

Recognize that these thoughts are not yours, that they are the result of an external attack of other entities on you. As long as you consider obsessive thoughts to be your own, you will not be able to oppose them with anything and take measures to neutralize them. It is impossible to neutralize yourself!

Don't get into an argument with obsessive thoughts. If they appear, try to switch your attention, do not conduct internal dialogues with them!

Obsessive thoughts have one feature: the more you resist them, the more forcefully they attack. Psychology describes the “white monkey” phenomenon, which proves the difficulty of dealing with external influences within the mind. The essence of the phenomenon is this: when one person says to another: “Don’t think about the white monkey,” then that person begins to think about the white monkey. Actively combating obsessive thoughts also leads to this result. The more you tell yourself that you can handle it, the less you can handle it.

Understand that this condition cannot be overcome by willpower alone. You cannot resist this attack on equal terms. If we continue the analogy with the situation about alcoholics given earlier, then the most the best way getting rid of a compulsive drunkard will not be by actively resisting his attack, but by ignoring his words and actions. In our case, you just need to switch your attention from obsessive thoughts to something else (more pleasant), without coming into conflict with the obsessions themselves. As soon as we switch our attention and begin to ignore obsessions, they lose their power for a while. The more often we ignore them, the less they bother us.

This is what the holy fathers say about this: “You are used to talking to yourself and think about arguing with your thoughts, but they are reflected by the Jesus Prayer and silence in your thoughts” (Reverend Anthony of Optina). “A crowd of tempting thoughts becomes more persistent if you allow them to slow down in the soul, and even more so if you also enter into negotiations with them. But if they are pushed away the first time by strong tension of will, rejection and turning to God, then they will immediately withdraw and leave the atmosphere of the soul pure” (St. Theophan the Recluse).

Of course, it is better to switch attention to what helps effective fight with these obsessive entities. You can switch your attention to helping people, creative or social activities, or housework. Our ancestors believed that in order to expel obsessive thoughts it is very good to occupy yourself with useful physical work. But prayer helps better in this case. When a person switches his attention to prayer, these essences quickly lose their power. The combination of physical labor and prayer gives the best results. It is no coincidence that since ancient times in monasteries, prayer and work have gone hand in hand.

You should always remember that under no circumstances should you allow intrusive thoughts to cause an emotional response. Do not support obsessive thoughts with fantasies and imagination.

We also often reinforce obsessive thoughts with our own imagination and vivid fantasies. V.K. Nevyarovich writes: “Obsessive thoughts often arise in response to the question posed: “What if?” Then they become automated, take root in the mind and, with repeated repetitions, create significant difficulties in life. The more a person struggles to get rid of these obsessive thoughts, the more they take possession of him. An important reason for the development and very existence of neurotic fear is the developed sensory imagination. After all, a person, for example, is not only afraid of falling from a height, but also imagines in horror that he will die, “inflames” the fictional situation in every possible way, imagining, say, his funeral, himself lying in a coffin, etc.” What does this mean? That we strengthen the powers of obsessive thoughts with our imagination.

Moreover, the better we imagine what we are afraid of, the clearer we see the result achieved through obsessive drives, as well as the consequences of actions performed as a result of the influence of obsessions, the more vividly we revive obsessive memories, the more we reinforce these thoughts in ourselves. We must not allow obsessive thoughts to influence us and our behavior through our own emotions, fantasies and imagination.

Do not engage in self-hypnosis by repeating these thoughts to yourself . Everyone is well aware of the power of self-hypnosis, which sometimes helps in very difficult situations. Self-hypnosis can relieve pain, treat psychosomatic disorders, and significantly improve psychological condition. Due to its ease of use and pronounced effectiveness, this method has been used in psychotherapy for a long time.

Unfortunately, those grieving often experience self-hypnosis of negative statements. A person who finds himself in a tragic situation constantly, silently and out loud, unconsciously utters statements that not only do not help get out of the crisis, but also worsen the condition.

For example, a person constantly complains to friends or suggests to himself:

– Life ended with the death of a loved one;

– I won’t have anyone else;

– I don’t want to live;

– Life will no longer bring joy;

- There is no need to live now;

And other similar thoughts.

In this way, the mechanism of self-hypnosis is activated, which actually leads a person to certain feelings of helplessness, melancholy, despair, and subsequently to diseases and mental disorders.

It turns out that the more often a person repeats these negative attitudes, the more negatively they affect the thoughts, feelings, sensations, emotions, and ideas of this person. There is no need to repeat them all the time. By doing this, you not only do not help, but also drive yourself deeper into the crisis swamp.

If you find yourself repeating these spells often, then do the following:

Change the setting to the exact opposite, and repeat it throughout the day.

For example, if you constantly think and say that there is no joy after the death of a loved one, then clearly say 100 times that life will bring joy and every day your condition will improve. It is better to make such suggestions to yourself several times a day. After some time you will feel the effect of this exercise. When writing positive statements, avoid the prefix “not.” You should not say “in the future I will not be lonely,” but “in the future I will definitely be with my loved one.” Remember that this is very important rule drawing up statements. Do not make statements about something that is obviously unattainable or unethical.

Are there other methods of dealing with obsessive thoughts? Which ones do you think are the strongest?

As I already said, the most powerful weapon against obsessive thoughts is prayer.

World-famous physician, Nobel Prize winner in physiology or medicine for his work on vascular suture and transplantation of blood vessels and organs, Dr. Alexis Carrel said: “Prayer is the most powerful form of energy emitted by man. It is as real a force as gravity. As a physician, I have seen patients who did not respond to any therapeutic treatment. They were able to recover from illness and melancholy only thanks to the calming effect of prayer... When we pray, we connect ourselves with the inexhaustible life force that sets the entire Universe in motion. We pray that at least some of this power will come to us. By turning to God in sincere prayer, we improve and heal our soul and body. It is impossible for at least one moment of prayer not to bring positive result any man or woman."

The spiritual explanation for the help of prayer in this situation is very simple. God is stronger than Satan, and our prayerful appeal to Him for help drives out evil spirits who “sing” to us their deceitful, monotonous songs. Everyone can verify this, and very quickly. You don't need to be a monk to do this.

In a difficult moment of life

Is there sadness in the heart:

One wonderful prayer

I repeat it by heart.

There is a power of grace

In the consonance of living words,

And an incomprehensible one breathes

Holy beauty in them.

From the soul, as a burden rolls away,

Doubt is far away

And I believe and cry,

And so easy, easy...

(Mikhail Lermontov).

Like any good deed, prayer must be undertaken with reasoning and effort.

We need to consider the enemy - understand what he inspires in us, and direct the weapon of prayer against him. That is, the word of prayer should be the opposite of the obsessive thoughts that are instilled in us. “Make it a law for yourself, every time trouble happens, that is, an attack from the enemy in the form of a bad thought or feeling, not to be content with just reflection and disagreement, but to add prayer to this until opposing feelings and thoughts form in the soul,” says Saint Theophan.

For example, if the essence of obsessive thoughts is reluctance to accept circumstances, despair, then the essence of prayer should be humility: “God’s will be done!”

If the essence of obsessive thoughts is despondency, despair (and this is an inevitable consequence of pride and grumbling), a grateful prayer will help here - “Glory to God for everything!”

If we are tormented by anger at the culprit of the tragedy, then simply pray for him: “Lord, bless him!” Why will this particular prayer help? Because you will benefit from praying for this person, and evil spirits do not wish good for anyone. Therefore, seeing that good comes from their work, they will stop tormenting you with images of this person. One woman who took advantage of this advice said that prayer helped a lot, and she literally felt next to her the powerlessness and annoyance of the evil spirits that had overcome her before.

Naturally, we can be simultaneously overcome by different thoughts (there is nothing faster than thought), so the words of different prayers can also be combined: “Lord, have mercy on this person! Glory to You for everything!”

You need to pray continuously, until victory, until the invasion of thoughts stops, and peace and joy reign in your soul. Read more about how to pray on our website.

Do the Sacraments help in overcoming obsessive thoughts?

Of course, the Sacraments of the Church are a huge help, a gift from God for getting rid of these entities. First of all, this is, of course, confession. It is at confession, contritely repenting of our sins, that we seem to wash away all the dirt that has stuck to us, including obsessive thoughts.

Let's take the same grumbling about the situation (and this is nothing more than grumbling against God or resentment towards Him), despondency, resentment towards a person - all these are sins that poison our soul.

By confessing, we do two very useful things for our soul. First, we take responsibility for our current state and tell ourselves and God that we will try to change the situation. Secondly, we call evil evil, and evil spirits do not like reproof most of all - they prefer to act on the sly. In response to our deeds, God, at the moment the priest reads the prayer of permission, does His work - He forgives us our sins and drives out the evil spirits that besiege us.

Another powerful tool in the fight for our soul is communion. By partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, we receive the grace-filled power to fight the evil within ourselves. “This Blood removes and drives demons far away from us and calls Angels to us. Demons flee from where they see the Sovereign Blood, and Angels flock there. Shed on the Cross, this Blood washed the entire universe. This Blood is the salvation of our souls. The soul is washed by it,” says St. John Chrysostom.

“The Most Sacred Body of Christ, when well received, is a weapon for those who are at war, a return for those who move away from God, strengthens the weak, cheers the healthy, cures illnesses, preserves health, thanks to it we are more easily corrected, in labor and sorrow we become more patient, in love - more ardent, more refined in knowledge, more ready in obedience, more receptive to the actions of grace,” says St. Gregory the Theologian.

I cannot assume the mechanism of this deliverance, but I know for sure that dozens of people I know, including my patients, got rid of obsessive thoughts precisely after the Sacraments.

In general, hundreds of millions of people felt grace after the Sacraments. It is they, their experience, that tells us that we should not ignore the help of God and His Church with these entities. I would like to note that after the Sacraments some people got rid of obsessions - not forever, but for a while. This is natural, since this struggle is long and difficult.

And the last question... Obsessive thoughts often give rise to fears: fear for the future, fear for the soul loved one, fear of communication, fear of misunderstanding and others. These sticky fears haunt a person, and it seems that it is obsessive thoughts that sow their seeds. What should be done in this case?

Us, prone to fears, the words of St. Theophan the Recluse are addressed, which I would like to quote at the end of our conversation: “You write: I’m sad, there’s no peace anywhere. Something is pressing on me, my heart is heavy and dark...- The power of the cross is with us! This enemy... greets you with such tightness and languor. You are not alone, everyone experiences such attacks, but not everyone is the same. You are tormented by tightness; others are filled with fears; For others, it piles up such obstacles in their thoughts as if they were mountains... It happens that it creates streams of thoughts, disturbs the heart, and disturbs it inside. And all of a sudden, like a gust of storm. Such are the tricks of our enemies... You just don’t need to agree with anything (with thoughts inspired by demons - approx. M.Kh.), but endure it - and everything will pass... And everyone fall before the Lord. And call upon the Mother of God.”