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Qrn103
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20 May 2014, 1:13 pm

This is an issue of great contemplation for me, and is something that I am constantly working to maintain.
I often find myself in a battle of morality with myself, where the desires to do both good and bad build up simultaneously in a situation. Speaking from a point of neutrality, I generally strive to be polite and well-mannered in any situation, but there are moments where there won't even be any provocation and the overwhelming idea to do vile, hateful things will emerge from seemingly nowhere. Dangerous intrusive thoughts that creep in and sit side-by-side with my conscious ones.
The upside, I suppose, is that I can recognize that they are "separate" thoughts to my own. Still, it troubles me that I have them at all. Its as though there is another mind within my own, and he also happens to want be sociopathic for the "fun" of it. The only real requirement for these thoughts to appear is that I have to be thinking about some sort of face-to-face social interaction - whether I'm actually in one or not. Its not every time, but those are the only times the thoughts appear and its frequent enough that I've begun to worry about my own stability.

So my questions are these: Does anyone else deal with this problem as well? Does anyone know what it might be, whether they're just intrusive thoughts or not? And If you also experience this, how do you cope, IF you cope?



vickygleitz
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20 May 2014, 2:52 pm

I don't experience that. I feel horrible for you and hope that someone that can relate will respond.I am sure you are a good person or these thought would not bother you so much.



Qrn103
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20 May 2014, 4:00 pm

vickygleitz wrote:
I don't experience that. I feel horrible for you and hope that someone that can relate will respond.I am sure you are a good person or these thought would not bother you so much.


Thank you, it is a rather taxing thing to have to shoo away thoughts on a regular basis. I'm just glad I've never acted on them, so far - a lot of them are REALLY twisted and harmful towards others, and I don't know where they're coming from.
I'm glad my parents taught me to be as I am, though. I don't think I'd be able to fight off the thoughts without those strict dictations of right and wrong in me. They really like to push themselves to the front of my mind, when they appear. :\



MjrMajorMajor
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20 May 2014, 4:17 pm

Sounds like intrusive thoughts to me. If they're that extensive, I'd look into professional help. I wouldn't view it as such a good/evil dictonomy though--thoughts are not actions.

Good luck. Been there and know it's rough.



Ann2011
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20 May 2014, 4:28 pm

Thoughts aren't evil, only actions are. I get thoughts like this usually when I'm stressed out. For me medication helps - it reduces my anxiety and the thoughts go away. Other than that try to ignore them, its just your brain telling you it's disgruntled. Perhaps best to talk to a psychiatrist.



1401b
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20 May 2014, 5:17 pm

I believe that virtually everyone is doing absolutely the very best that they can in this life, and when we think otherwise it is because there are unseen, or unknown -or even ignored- contributors to a lack of seemingly "perfect holiness and success."
(this doesn't mean that I let as*holes "off the hook" for crappy behavior)

I also believe that there is always a rational causal "thread" for everything we feel and do.
I'm not saying that it's "logical," nor that it accurately matches reality, only that there is a rational and -if we knew or explored the reasons- predictable, stepping stone "path" as seen from our brain's point of view.

If one simply calls the entire path one single lump of "bad" or "evil," then the only coping mechanism available is suppression. Which rarely works worth sh*t.

If one accepts that there is probably an understandable reason or chain of reasons, and explores this, then interrupting the path anywhere in the chain (or coping with any link in the chain) could interrupt and/or change the final feeling or behavior.
This give us far more flexibility in achieving self improvement and cognitive peace.

Don't be too hard on yourself.
Explore and resolve, the reasons are often harmless.


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