You may have noticed a lot more chatter on TikTok these days about intrusive thoughts. While some people use the term to describe their random impulses to, say, open and close their fridge door ...

None of us can escape intrusive thoughts, the random and usually off-putting musings that include visions of shoving your hand through the center of a beautifully decorated cake or a bridge collapsing ...

You’ve had a date night worthy of a (non-cringy) Bachelor episode. The romance? Off the charts. The mood? Lit. And then it happens. OCD-related intrusive thoughts burst into the bedroom. Indeed, ...

Everyone has passing intrusive thoughts that seem to come from outside their control: The content may feel alien, absurd, or threatening, and may pass after a few weird moments. Intrusive thoughts can ...

On average, people have about 6,200 thoughts each day. Inevitably, some will be unwanted, alarming, or just plain strange. You know the kind: You’re driving down the freeway and suddenly visualize ...

“Intrusive thoughts” has become a TikTok catchphrase for people describing random—sometimes fun or quirky—impulses, but the actual mental health term has a meaning a lot more nuanced, and misusing it ...

Sign up for CNN’s Stress, But Less newsletter. Our six-part mindfulness guide will inform and inspire you to reduce stress while learning how to harness it. Have ...

You may have noticed a lot more chatter on TikTok these days about intrusive thoughts. While some people use the term to describe their random impulses to, say, open and close their fridge door ...

Katie has a PhD in maths, specializing in the intersection of dynamical systems and number theory. She reports on topics from maths and history to society and animals. Katie has a PhD in maths, ...

Everyone experiences intrusive thoughts, and most people can brush them off without a worry. But what happens when those intrusive thoughts become inescapable?

Intrusive thoughts don't have to hold you back. “Intrusive thoughts tend to reflect our greatest fears or most unwanted scenarios, so you can treat it as a signal of something important to you,” Dr.

Many people with OCD first get advice from internet chat forums or therapists untrained in OCD. Although the advice-givers are usually well-meaning, the messaging isn’t always consistent with best ...