When Should Someone Talk to a Mental Health Professional About Unwelcome Thoughts or Emotions?

Are you feeling trapped in a cycle of thoughts and feelings that you can’t break even if you try hard? Just like maintaining physical health, it’s important to take care of your mental health. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) 2024 report states that 57.8 million adults live with some form of mental illness.

You may feel confused about your mental state and find it difficult to make decisions. In such cases, consulting a medical professional can be helpful. You don’t have to be shy about it. It’s okay not to be okay sometimes. To know when you should talk to a mental health professional, read the blog.

What Is Mental Health?

Mental health is similar to your garden. Just like your plants need light, water, and care, our minds should get proper positive thoughts, understanding, and control. It consists of our emotional and psychological factors, which influence our thinking and behavior. Many factors can affect our mental health in different ways. 

Biological factors like genes and brain cells, trauma from life experiences, and a family history of mental health problems can be the reasons.

What are intrusive thoughts?

Have you ever felt a strange or unwanted thought popping into your mind without being invited? The thoughts can be violent, frightening, phobia, disgusting, or embarrassing sometimes.
Don’t worry, intrusive thoughts are very common in the human mind. So it can be considered normal and easily tackled. OCD, PTSD, Postpartum depression, eating disorders and anxiety may be the reason for intrusive thoughts.

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Intrusive Thoughts Examples

Intrusive thoughts can range from mildly bizarre to seriously disturbing. Sometimes they make no sense at all, while other times they might latch onto one of our deepest fears or insecurities. Everyone experiences different “flavor” of intrusive thought too.

Here are some examples of the types of uninvited guests that might show up in your mind:

• Homicidal thoughts: Unwanted thoughts to kill somebody or violent ideations. The effect of this can vary in intensity and nature.
• Suicidal thoughts: In this condition always thought the how to die and the person will not active in the social life. 
• Fear of germs or contamination: The extreme phobia of germs and is also called germophobia.
• Sexual thoughts: The thought comes up with a sexual act, that may be considered taboo.
• Delusional thoughts: The false belief that people strongly believe, even exposed that is false with evidence.
• Violent against others or yourself: The thoughts made you hurt yourself or others without prediction.
• Blasphemous: Actions, words, or attitudes that disrespect religious beliefs. 

When Should Someone Talk to a Mental Health Professional About Unwelcome Thoughts or Emotions?

The instability of the mind can happen for several reasons. Sometimes it can be tackled by yourself by giving more positive thoughts and a happy environment. But in some cases, we should get professional assistance. 

Trust me, this is not a big deal or you don’t have to be tense. It is more common nowadays. If you don’t know the severity of your unwelcome thoughts and emotions, the following points will help you to know when you should consult a mental health professional.

Persistent and Distressing Thoughts or Emotions

The unwanted thoughts can affect your peace and happiness. It may cause worse in your daily life and affect your work. You may find it hard to focus on anything or work. It is the time to reach a mental professional.

Always remember that seeking help is not your weakness, it will be a brave step for your mental health. 

Difficulty Coping

In this stage, you may feel tired and emotional more often. You feel overwhelmed with your thoughts and actions. This also makes you struggle to cope with daily life and activities. Your feelings will surround you like the dark rainy clouds.

If you are feeling these thoughts will not be in your control, seek professional help. After all, you have to achieve the  peace of mind and emotional stability.  

Impact on Daily Life

Every disease or issue can be controlled and tolerated until it affects daily life. A person struggling with mental health problems may lack motivation to participate in daily activity and work. Some of the common problems affecting daily life are social interaction, communication, attention, sleeping, etc. 

If you feel these issues, take the courage to reach out to a medical professional who can make you feel better.

Changes in Behavior or Mood

In this condition, you feel a noticeable change in your behavior and mood. You always feel unhappy or irritated for even small things. This can also affect your physical health in eating food, sleeping, and dealing with your surroundings.

If you feel that the situation is going worse and out of control, immediately consult a mental health professional. The expert can give you the perfect solution.

Suicidal Thoughts or Urges

If you are showing mood swings at extreme or trying harmful activities like carelessly crossing roads is the effect of suicidal thoughts. In this stage, always think about how to die and life has no meaning.

Saying bye to your closed ones and giving away precious time is also part of this condition. Only remember one thing, death is not a solution for any problems. So if you are in this stage, immediately talk with a mental professional who can heal you. Always remember your life matters and some people care about you so much.

What Causes Intrusive Thoughts?

The main and most common cause for intrusive thoughts is stress. It can happen due to an unstable personal life, work pressure, or any other reason. People with low stress can also feel temporary intrusive thoughts. 

OCD, PTSD, Postpartum depression, eating disorders and anxiety may be the reason for intrusive thoughts. The intrusive thoughts are uninvited thoughts, sometimes caused by family genes. 

Besides this, there are phobias, shameful, immoral, or violent people who have a chance to cause intrusive thoughts.

How to Stop Intrusive Thoughts?

• Find it: First, you have to analyze your thoughts and find out if it is intrusive or not. The thoughts can be very different from usual thoughts, which can be disturbing and affect your daily life.
• Don’t Fight: If you have intrusive thoughts, please don’t fight against them. It can make you worse. Try to understand and accept it. It will mostly go away if you accept it. 
• Don’t Judge Yourself: You have to take care of yourself and don’t think that you are weak or unstable. Don’t judge yourself with your thoughts. You are not going to follow the thoughts.
• Seek Medical Help: You can ask for professional help from a mental health professional. They can easily find out and solve your issue.

Another counterintuitive tip: Don’t try to suppress the thought entirely, as that often backfires and makes it even stickier. Instead, practice allowing the thought to enter your mind, but treat it like a cloud temporary drifting through, rather than entertaining it or dwelling on it.

Staying engaged in your current activity or grounding yourself with your senses can also “re-route” your mind from the intrusive thought loop. Listen to an interesting podcast, go for a walk, or do a body scan to bring your focus back to the present moment.

How and Where To Find Professional Help For A Mental Health Disorder?

If you find out you have such intrusive thoughts take the courageous step to reach out for professional help. Now let you know how and where you can get the best professional help.

In recent years, we have several options available to consult a mental professional. There are free helpline numbers where you can talk for a long time and online sites for fast and easy communication. Offline, there are therapists, counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists. 

You can also find support groups online and offline. Anxiety and Depression Association of America, Mental Health America, and Psychology Today are the most famous online supporting groups.

FAQs on Seeking Mental Health Professional

How to communicate with someone with mental health issues?

First, you should be a good listener and hear the problem calmly. Then offer reassurance and patiently convince them to seek professional help.

When should you talk to someone about mental health?

If you feel that your loved ones are struggling with intrusive thoughts and struggling for weeks or months, they are showing serious mental health issues. Immediately reach out for professional help.

What’s the most painful mental illness?

Borderline Personality Disorder is considered as a mental illness with the most emotional pain and distress.