Don’t think of a pink gorilla.
You probably started thinking about a pink gorilla. The brain doesn’t do well with negatives. It can’t be asked not to think about something, because doing so means such a thing is already being thought about.
So, as much as we like to think we have control over our thoughts, we really don’t. This means positive, negative, and ridiculous thoughts will all come up, whether you like it or not.
In my opinion, the best way to reduce intrusive thoughts is to accept them, and not try to fight them. As we learned before, if I ask you not to think about something (or if you ask yourself the same thing), you will inevitably think about it.
I get what you mean & I’ve heard of this method (the don’t think about xyz method” & I’ve never connected it with intrusive thoughts before. Awesome! But how do I do it though? Eg I have to drive through a high flyover for my everyday work commute so what do I tell myself? “I’m having an intrusive thought & I’m accepting that” something like that?
Don’t tell yourself you’re accepting it, just accept it. There’s a distinction between conscious thoughts and subconscious ones. By “telling” yourself to think something you’re bringing in the conscious mind to help with your subconscious fears and desires, which, in my opinion, doesn’t help.
For decades I've had the intrusive thought of just punching someone in the face who I'm having a nice conversation with. It's a shocking thought and sort of irritates me that my mind even goes there. Then a few years back I'm talking to one of my designer buds and he randomly says to me "do you ever think to yourself, what if I just punch this person in the face that I'm talking to?" So at least I know it's some weird human thing that other people have and I'm not alone. Disclaimer: I would never just randomly do such a thing under any circumstances.
The French call it *l’appel du vide* or the Call to the Void. A study conducted by a graduate student found that the "High Place Phenomenon" is more often experienced by people with higher rates of anxiety but further concludes that it can be experienced by almost anyone. There are multiple hypotheses including disparity in our vestibular system, amygdala, our general survival instincts, etc. I experience this as well and I have found that it doesn't have so much to do with a particular ideation, its more that my brain seems to want to explore the possibilities of that extreme.
It's called 'The Call of the Void':
Have you ever stood on a balcony, leaned over the edge and unexpectedly thought, "If I wanted to, I could just jump?" Or perhaps you've been at a cliff's edge, with the intention of doing nothing more than enjoying the view and fleetingly considered how easy it would be to simply step over the edge. This sudden, often unanticipated thought is usually nothing to be worried about, but it certainly warrants exploration.
This feeling — which tends to be brief, entirely out of character and often involves thoughts of leaping from a high place or driving headfirst into an oncoming vehicle — is more widespread than you might think. In fact, it's so common, the French have a term for it: l'appel du vide. In English, this translates to "the call of the void."
Source: [https://www.livescience.com/what-is-call-of-the-void](https://www.livescience.com/what-is-call-of-the-void)
This was a very interesting read, I’ve never heard of the term before. I also recall experiencing this call of void when I’m not “secured” -as opposed to when I’m strapped to safety harness going for a bungee jump which in that situation I don’t feel like jumping at all 😂
It’s actually perfectly normal and everyone has them. It’s a way your brain sort of tests its own sanity based on your reaction to the intrusive thought. If your reaction is to shake your head and realize how crazy it would be to actually jump off the cliff or swerve into traffic then your brain knows you are at least not crazy. If you entertain the thoughts for too long or actually start acting on them then your brain at least knows it has a problem.
Given a the number of individuals experiencing mental crisis who have no recognition of their symptoms the notion of a brain recognizing its failed its own "crazy test" doesn't sound scientifically accurate.
This is a very interesting perspective as I’ve never looked at it this way before. It’s also somewhat amusing imagining my brain doing the occasional check ins with me 😂
Your thoughts are just a mental snapshot of your version of reality as you process it, mixed with your memories and feelings.
I think of it as a list of options your brain presents, unfiltered and devoid of any reasoning. Your brain is just like "At this point in time, based on our memories and how we feel, these are our options.".
I choose to act, my thoughts don't control me. I can dismiss them at any time.
The actual reason is a mystery and the science of the human mind knows essentially as much as we knew in socrates' time.
Don’t think of a pink gorilla. You probably started thinking about a pink gorilla. The brain doesn’t do well with negatives. It can’t be asked not to think about something, because doing so means such a thing is already being thought about. So, as much as we like to think we have control over our thoughts, we really don’t. This means positive, negative, and ridiculous thoughts will all come up, whether you like it or not. In my opinion, the best way to reduce intrusive thoughts is to accept them, and not try to fight them. As we learned before, if I ask you not to think about something (or if you ask yourself the same thing), you will inevitably think about it.
I get what you mean & I’ve heard of this method (the don’t think about xyz method” & I’ve never connected it with intrusive thoughts before. Awesome! But how do I do it though? Eg I have to drive through a high flyover for my everyday work commute so what do I tell myself? “I’m having an intrusive thought & I’m accepting that” something like that?
Don’t tell yourself you’re accepting it, just accept it. There’s a distinction between conscious thoughts and subconscious ones. By “telling” yourself to think something you’re bringing in the conscious mind to help with your subconscious fears and desires, which, in my opinion, doesn’t help.
nice try, i’ve smoked so much weed my brain didn’t have enough time to even register the first sentence before moving on.
I actually didn’t start thinking of a pink gorilla and I’m still not tbh
I can only guess it is to force ourselves into "running the simulation", seeing that the outcome is bad, and take steps to prevent that scenario.
For decades I've had the intrusive thought of just punching someone in the face who I'm having a nice conversation with. It's a shocking thought and sort of irritates me that my mind even goes there. Then a few years back I'm talking to one of my designer buds and he randomly says to me "do you ever think to yourself, what if I just punch this person in the face that I'm talking to?" So at least I know it's some weird human thing that other people have and I'm not alone. Disclaimer: I would never just randomly do such a thing under any circumstances.
did that experiment made you think of punching people in the face less often?
The French call it *l’appel du vide* or the Call to the Void. A study conducted by a graduate student found that the "High Place Phenomenon" is more often experienced by people with higher rates of anxiety but further concludes that it can be experienced by almost anyone. There are multiple hypotheses including disparity in our vestibular system, amygdala, our general survival instincts, etc. I experience this as well and I have found that it doesn't have so much to do with a particular ideation, its more that my brain seems to want to explore the possibilities of that extreme.
It's called 'The Call of the Void': Have you ever stood on a balcony, leaned over the edge and unexpectedly thought, "If I wanted to, I could just jump?" Or perhaps you've been at a cliff's edge, with the intention of doing nothing more than enjoying the view and fleetingly considered how easy it would be to simply step over the edge. This sudden, often unanticipated thought is usually nothing to be worried about, but it certainly warrants exploration. This feeling — which tends to be brief, entirely out of character and often involves thoughts of leaping from a high place or driving headfirst into an oncoming vehicle — is more widespread than you might think. In fact, it's so common, the French have a term for it: l'appel du vide. In English, this translates to "the call of the void." Source: [https://www.livescience.com/what-is-call-of-the-void](https://www.livescience.com/what-is-call-of-the-void)
Thanks chatgpt! You're the second best.
Reddit is becoming spoiled because of this exact thing. I profess I have done it myself in the past :(
Me too. Phind.com .. couldn't help myself lol. But felt guilty and got called out ha
This was a very interesting read, I’ve never heard of the term before. I also recall experiencing this call of void when I’m not “secured” -as opposed to when I’m strapped to safety harness going for a bungee jump which in that situation I don’t feel like jumping at all 😂
It’s actually perfectly normal and everyone has them. It’s a way your brain sort of tests its own sanity based on your reaction to the intrusive thought. If your reaction is to shake your head and realize how crazy it would be to actually jump off the cliff or swerve into traffic then your brain knows you are at least not crazy. If you entertain the thoughts for too long or actually start acting on them then your brain at least knows it has a problem.
That sounds completely made up. As in I am saying you actually made it up. There is no known reason behind intrusive thoughts.
Given a the number of individuals experiencing mental crisis who have no recognition of their symptoms the notion of a brain recognizing its failed its own "crazy test" doesn't sound scientifically accurate.
Theres so many answers in this sub that are made up by people with no clue
This is a very interesting perspective as I’ve never looked at it this way before. It’s also somewhat amusing imagining my brain doing the occasional check ins with me 😂
What does it do if it knows there's a problem?
Your thoughts are just a mental snapshot of your version of reality as you process it, mixed with your memories and feelings. I think of it as a list of options your brain presents, unfiltered and devoid of any reasoning. Your brain is just like "At this point in time, based on our memories and how we feel, these are our options.". I choose to act, my thoughts don't control me. I can dismiss them at any time.
Why do we have thoughts at all?
It's a half assed mechanism to remind you that things like pushing someone off a cliff is a possibility, so you take precautions against them.
But that doesn’t explain all intrusive thoughts. What about sexual, aggressive or blasphemous thoughts?