Anyone got tips for making anxious thoughts appear ‘less valid’

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When I get anxious thoughts they make me feel sick to my stomach. For me this physical expression of fear makes me think these thoughts are 100% true

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I typed up a response but I realized I dunno what you mean when you say anxious thoughts

I get intrusive thoughts all the time that cause anxiety for me

Are your anxious thoughts like paranoia about bad things that could happen?

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Yes this 1515151

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Ok, something that helps me (that I need to remind myself right now too!) is that one of my counselors told me that “thoughts are not facts.”

I took an anxiety workshop where they broke down the anatomy of anxiety and OCD. You can’t change your anxious thoughts and it’s very difficult and exhausting to try and control them. BUT the thing you can control is your reaction to said thoughts.

I find it helps to try and be an ‘impartial observer’ of your thoughts. For me it’s intrusive, disturbing or offensive thoughts. For you if it’s paranoia of bad things that could happen, I suppose you would observe these thoughts for what they are, just anxious thoughts.

You label the thought “anxious” and try to let your mind move on to other things. I sometimes get a barrage of awful thoughts and I really try to tell myself “wow that was awful. moving right along now!” (easier said than done with thought broadcast)

There’s also a CBT technique where you sit in a chair and say to yourself “this chair will break and I will fall and hurt myself.” And when it doesn’t happen, you take away the negative power that your paranoid thoughts have over you.

Hope some of this helps?

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Oh buddy this helps so much!

@darkman213 I will give you a better/longer reply soon but thanks so much. This applies so much to my situation

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awesome, I’m glad to hear that!

going through similar problems so just thought I’d let you know how I’m trying to figure this out

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It might be a bit comparable to the chair-thing…but I always have a few examples ready in my mind of when i had such thoughts and they wete obviously fake, untrue and weird. E.g. i thought my dad would die the next day because he touched me and it didnt come true. By remindibg me of those, i realise indeed that my thoughts are often untrue and i can ignore them.

Also knowing what triggered it and whats the real issue helps to bribg me back to reality. E.g. the real issue is i did something i felt bad about, so i feel guilty. My mind always makes that into “so you will go to hell!”. But in reality i just feel guilty and should solve the real issue.

And making myself FEEL more comfortable. With relaxing music, comfy blanket, etc.

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Son have you tried Woebot?

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Depending on their type I have several different reactions:

  1. Out think them (Prove to myself in all ways possible that it is true, if it doesn’t work or there is some contradictions, then it probably isn’t right)

  2. Let them go (If I can’t control it, then their is no point of obsessing over it)

  3. Make them funny (If I have to listen to it, I might as well be entertained)

  4. Write about it (I like to review these later to see if there is any changes in what I once believed)

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