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10 Ways To Stop Intrusive Thoughts From Taking Over

Lukas Schwekendiek
4 min readMay 12, 2021

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  1. Recognize that is a Thought — Most often we buy into the thoughts, making us unaware of ourselves in the process. We buy into the stories they tell and forget that it is but a story. Recognizing the fact that this is not real makes it much easier to distance oneself.
  2. Make a different Choice — Think now of a cow that is Purple. Now make a choice to get a different colored cow in your mind. Perhaps a Red one or a Blue one. Did your thought change for just that moment? That is how simple it can be the. The choice to have a different thought is simple; it’s the repetition that is hard.
  3. Pop it like a Balloon — Hold the thought in your mind like a balloon. Let it float up into the sky, away from you. And then, let it pop and let it go. This way of visualizing things helps greatly and is a key component in most meditative Practices.
    Meditation, in general, helps to get rid of anxiety, stress and intrusive thoughts but it has to become a regular practice.
  4. Focus on something else with all you have — The alternative, opposite of Meditation is single-minded focus. It is the opposite approach that leads to the same thing: Being present in the moment without other thoughts. Focus on whatever you may be doing at the moment, be it reading this post, washing the dishes or just enjoying a nice cup of coffee and take in…

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Lukas Schwekendiek
Lukas Schwekendiek

Written by Lukas Schwekendiek

Life Coach, Speaker, Writer. Published on TIME, Inc & Huffington Post. Coaching available again! Email: Lukas.schwekendiek@gmail.com with the word "Coaching"

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