When you think about addiction struggles, it’s easy to picture the physical impact that substances can make on your body. But there’s also an underlying mental health component to addiction that needs to be addressed, too. For some, these mental hurdles can include intrusive and impulsive thoughts, which can also arise in recovery as well. With that said, what can you do to stay the course with sobriety when intrusive vs. impulsive thoughts arise?
Defining Intrusive vs. Impulsive Thoughts: What’s the Difference?
At Sana at Stowe in Stowe, Vermont, we understand the mental health component of overcoming addiction. As a comprehensive, dual diagnosis treatment center, we also have seen firsthand the impact of navigating co-occurring disorders (a simultaneous addiction and mental health disorder). There are a host of unhelpful thinking patterns and mental challenges that can make recovery a challenge. So what’s the difference between intrusive and impulsive thoughts?
According to Harvard Health Publishing, intrusive thoughts are thoughts that pop into your mind out of nowhere. They may range from strange or troubling to violent, sexual, or inappropriate. An intrusive thought is often associated with three main characteristics:
- They’re unusual or different from your typical thoughts
- They’re bothersome and unwanted
- They can feel repetitive and hard to control
Intrusive thoughts can easily generate feelings of shame or concern, but they are a normal experience. Often caused by stress or anxiety, intrusive thoughts occur in just about everyone’s minds from time to time, shares Mental Health America.
In comparing intrusive vs. impulsive thoughts, impulsive thoughts are associated with sudden urges that you need to gratify. They’re typically spontaneous and short-lived, leading you to take action without thinking about the consequences. As a result, you may end up doing something inappropriate that you regret later in the aftermath.
Intrusive vs. Impulsive Thoughts and the Addiction Recovery Journey
Looking at intrusive thoughts vs. impulsive thoughts, they both have a presence during addiction and in the recovery process. Intrusive thoughts are often tied to mental health disorders like anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) especially, intrusive thoughts can become a constant, debilitating struggle.
These mental health challenges can lead you to seek substances as a way to self-medicate, which eventually leads to addiction. What results are co-occurring disorders—two conditions making each other simultaneously worse.
On the other hand, impulsive thoughts can control your life when you have an addiction. Addiction cravings, for example, are the very definition of impulsive thoughts. With addiction, you have poor impulse control and are driven by the desire to satisfy your cravings. That means you often make decisions with poor judgment or engage in risky behaviors as you prioritize addiction over everything else.
Relapse and Impulsive vs. Intrusive Thoughts
Even when you’re actively working on your sobriety, intrusive and impulsive thoughts can remain a mental hurdle to overcome. In the early days of recovery, you may still be accustomed to acting impulsively. When addiction triggers lead to cravings, it’s a relapse warning sign that you may revert to substances again in the moment.
In the context of impulsive vs. intrusive thoughts, you may also face negative self-talk that leads to doubt and uncertainty about maintaining sobriety. Negative self-talk is a common type of impulsive thought that anyone can have. But when you’re navigating recovery, such thoughts can make you want to throw in the towel as you face challenges adjusting to your sobriety. You may even struggle to overcome shame from your addiction in recovery, leading to unwanted, intrusive thoughts.
Strategies for Coping in Sobriety
Intrusive and impulsive thoughts may define your addiction recovery journey right now, but they don’t have to continue their grip on your life. You can learn to manage them in a healthy way, and they’ll eventually lose their power.
In the face of intrusive vs. impulsive thoughts, what can you do to cope with them productively as you seek sobriety? Here are a few strategies to consider:
- Pursue self-care: Better sleep, eating right, exercising, and other self-care practices can help relieve stress and put you in a better mental state to fend off intrusive thoughts
- Find a healthy distraction: If impulsive thoughts are running through your mind, find a nearby distraction that can take your mind off of them. It can be as simple as listening to music, watching TV, or reading a book
- Spend time outside: Going for a hike or a walk in the park can help you center your thoughts and find delight in the natural world
- Seek therapy: Revisit your addiction treatment center’s outpatient rehab or aftercare programming for additional therapy. Evidence-based therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are designed to help you identify and change negative thought patterns
- Stay connected to support: If you’re struggling with intrusive vs. impulsive thoughts, tell a supportive friend or your recovery mentor. This is also a good reason to find and regularly attend an addiction support group in recovery
Dual Diagnosis Treatment in New England
If you’re dealing with ongoing intrusive thoughts vs. impulsive thoughts in recovery, we can help. Our holistic treatment programs empower you to confidently manage both the mental and physical aspects of recovery. And if a co-occurring mental health disorder is driving your intrusive or impulsive thoughts, our dual diagnosis treatment program can heal your addiction and mental health struggles all in one place. To learn more, call us today.
