Intrusive thoughts can pop into your mind and fade, or they can stick around for hours or days, adds Patrice Berry, Psy.D., a psychologist and founder of Four Rivers Psychological Services.

Intrusive thoughts are unwanted, upsetting thoughts often caused by OCD, anxiety, PTSD, or eating disorders. Therapy can help you manage them.

If intrusive thoughts are significantly affecting your daily life, or they involve thoughts of hurting yourself or others, it's important to seek help from a mental health professional.

Intrusive thoughts are distressing and often shameful. Experts explain how to cut them off once and for all so you can free your mind.

Disturbing intrusive thoughts can lead to intense shame, embarrassment, guilt, depression, and anxiety or fear about one’s character or what they might do, experts said.

If you experience intrusive thoughts as a result of a chronic condition like dementia or Parkinson’s disease, sticking to your treatment plan can also help reduce unwanted thoughts.

In a 2005 book about intrusive thoughts in psychiatric disorders by David Clark, they are described as “any distinct, identifiable cognitive event that is unwanted, unintended, and recurrent.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) affects up to 3% of people globally but is frequently misdiagnosed, often as anxiety, ADHD, or other psychiatric conditions.

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Intrusive thoughts are those pesky unwanted thoughts that pop into your mind. While everyone has them, they can be distressing. Learn how to stop them from distracting you.