The strange thoughts your mind can have thread

[anrchy]

So I decided to start a thread about this topic. Had seen people talking about it a little in a thread off topic, and thought wow I do this kind of thing too! It would be awesome to talk about it with you guys so here goes...

I've had many a time where I would be in a social situation, or other, and a strange random thought would enter my head. The most common for me is while driving or doing things where I don't have to focus as much attention and my mind wanders. I've had thoughts/urges to swerve into a car or off a cliff. Picturing what it would look like or feel like in my head. I'm a very visual thinker so this has had the tendency to distract me from what I'm actually doing slightly or cause muscle twitching in the for of a reaction as if I was actually doing it. For example if I pictured myself swirving the car off the road I could actually feel my arms slightly twitch with the movement as if I were jerking the steering wheel in that direction.

Now it hasn't ever become dangerous or anything. I don't actually twitch or whatever hard enough to actually move the steering wheel at all but it has kind of freaked me out cause I go through all the same emotions that would accompany me actually doing it.

I also have had the urge to yell out things that were opposite of an appropriate outburst. I can't think of any examples off hand that I have experienced but basically, if I were at a funeral my thought would be something that would be very offensive to atleast most people. Also while hiking I have had urges to jump off cliffs or jump in front of mountain bicyclists.

I used to be worried that something was wrong with me. It would scare me cause I thought I would actually do one of these things eventually. I know now that I have full control of my body and nothing happens by accident like that or is out of my physical control.

What are some of your experiences and views on this topic?

 

[Wax]

A few times when I was younger someone would be crying because something truly horrible had happened and I would start to laugh...I don't know why but I couldn't control it so I would just fake it into a cry but be trying my hardest not to laugh. It wasn't that I thought it was funny but I just couldn't help it.:|

I'm sure I will think of other things that I can't recall at the moment.

 

[VIII]

I've thought the same things on occasion, particularly swerving my car off the road or into something. I knew I wouldn't do it, but as you said I would visualize andgo through the emotions of it

I guess I sometimes like to try to ponder what it would be like to experience something so.... final?

Socially I think we all need to let it loose sometimes. Customs, formal interactions, food/shop interactions. If I am on auto-pilot through these interactions it builds up for me in a way and I need to let it all go. I ordinarily outburst odd things though so I'm not sure any of this applies outside of me.

I've done that as well archaic. It wasn't funny but a smile kept creeping in and it would make me laugh. I think I got overly nervous about not knowing what I was supposed to do/say.

Also an odd social habit, when people outburst strange noises/Sound-FX out of nowhere and in any situation. The weirder part is in my experience most people nearby or in conversation with this person won't even register it. Since then I've noticed myself do it as well.Don't know why I posted this... I shouldn't be typing.

 

[anrchy]

A few times when I was younger someone would be crying because something truly horrible had happened and I would start to laugh...I don't know why but I couldn't control it so I would just fake it into a cry but be trying my hardest not to laugh. It wasn't that I thought it was funny but I just couldn't help it.:|

I'm sure I will think of other things that I can't recall at the moment.

That's happened to me many times as well. I didn't even think about it but it def applies to this thread. There was a point in time where I burst out laughing while my family was mourning the death of my uncle. I had been so emotional during these few days crying my face off and what not. All of a sudden instead of bawling I started laughing. The few family members that saw/heard completely understood what was happening. It felt as if I had a ton of sadness hit me that my wires got crossed for a second. The strength of laughter was equal to my earlier fits of crying.

I've also had many urges to open a car door and jump out while it was in motion, or roll the window down and jump, when I'm the passenger. I would imagine the impact of the ground and rolling to a stop. Sometimes other cars running over me. Seriously wtf

 

[SpearFisher]

I think everyone has thought about jumping out of a car and rolling to a stop. It's to cool not to think about.

 

[Guyomech]

It seems to be happening less with age, but I've had many very odd destructive urges. Like I'm walking through the house with a big fat paintbrush loaded down with wet black paint, headed toward the utility sink, and passing by paintings and art objects made by my wife and other artists I like a lot... And imagining making bold black brushstrokes on them. Not in a way where I'd actually be at risk of doing these things, but I still imagine it vividly, along with the ugly consequences.

Even weirder, I've had these bizarre recurring violent imaginings. I've never done anything violent to another person or animal in my entire life... But sometimes I'll be standing there talking to someone, usually either someone I want/need to make a really good impression on, and/or someone who is much stronger physically than I. And I'll imagine, right in the middle of them talking to me, just suddenly, out of the blue, either hawking and spitting in their face, and/or winding up and cracking them on the chin with all my might. Then I get this vivid flash of the horrific consequences: their utter shock and disbelief, followed by my either getting pummeled or somehow humiliated, followed by everyone I know abandoning me, my business collapsing, me living in a cardboard box under a bridge somewhere. And all the while I'm keeping a straight face and trying to actually listen to them.

Please, somebody tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this stuff! And to those of you who know me in person, I hope this doesn't cause you to keep your distance. It's just my crazy runaway brain...

 

[tango]

I remember learning about this kind of thoughts in 'abnormal psychology' and they are considered as normal. They said most people have them at some point. I remember some examples were the sudden urge to push someone in front of a car, kicking an animal and dropping a baby.

 

[anrchy]

It seems to be happening less with age, but I've had many very odd destructive urges. Like I'm walking through the house with a big fat paintbrush loaded down with wet black paint, headed toward the utility sink, and passing by paintings and art objects made by my wife and other artists I like a lot... And imagining making bold black brushstrokes on them. Not in a way where I'd actually be at risk of doing these things, but I still imagine it vividly, along with the ugly consequences.

Even weirder, I've had these bizarre recurring violent imaginings. I've never done anything violent to another person or animal in my entire life... But sometimes I'll be standing there talking to someone, usually either someone I want/need to make a really good impression on, and/or someone who is much stronger physically than I. And I'll imagine, right in the middle of them talking to me, just suddenly, out of the blue, either hawking and spitting in their face, and/or winding up and cracking them on the chin with all my might. Then I get this vivid flash of the horrific consequences: their utter shock and disbelief, followed by my either getting pummeled or somehow humiliated, followed by everyone I know abandoning me, my business collapsing, me living in a cardboard box under a bridge somewhere. And all the while I'm keeping a straight face and trying to actually listen to them.

Please, somebody tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this stuff! And to those of you who know me in person, I hope this doesn't cause you to keep your distance. It's just my crazy runaway brain...

Me too! Mines a little different. I was talking to someone a couple weeks ago and while I was listening I had the sudden thought of going crazy, throwing a chair at the window and brushing all the breakables off this counter and onto the floor while screaming. I have no negative thoughts towards this person in which I would actually ever do this to them but it was so crazy. And then I envisioned what their reaction would be, who they would tell and on and on and on.

It's so strange that we envision the aftermath and a lot of times very long term consequences. Also that these thoughts in particular have no attachment to a negative emotion that would cause us to act in such a way. Much different from the urges that are attached to an actual negative feeling towards said object/person. Like ramming the car in front of you because they just drove their car under the speed limit for the last 5 miles.

Last week I was driving home from work, 3am and I'm on the straight stretch that takes me home. I envisioned unbuckling my seat belt, putting the cruise control on standing on my seat leaning forward and accelerating as fast I could get the car to go and colliding with the telephone poll at the end of the road. I saw myself crashing through the windshield and dying because of it. That one gave me the chills the rest of the way home.

 

[lexiqon]

I can relate to this, I've had many strange and inappropriate thoughts at random times. Sometimes it will be making a scene during a lecture and running out of the theatre never to return. Jumping from high buildings. Occasionally pushing someone, dropping a baby (this one disturbs me the most). I would never do these things, but it really worries me sometimes if something ever happened to my frontal cortex would I actually act on these thoughts? Wtf brain?!? Glad to know I'm not the only one..

 

[Macre]

I used to think about how my boss or friends would react if I just stood up and punched them in the face. I could be having a perfectly valid conversation with the person, but thinking about how they'd react if I did.

It wasn't in a psycho kind of way, I wouldn't actually do it, I just sort of found it amusing. I was very mischievous in my younger days, I'll just put it down to that. I no longer have these thoughts.

Peace

Macre

 

[cirquefreak333]

Could it be that demons are controlling our thoughts in these moments of unwelcome thoughts? Just speculation
I'm always worried a demon will force me to drink bleach. Or more over, I imagine drinking bleach and am afraid that my body will betray me and I'll actually drink bleach. Or do something violent, or ask someone to kill me.

 

[Blackandblue]

Umm...so as you know I like to experiment and explore...

To anyone wondering how I got sent for a psychological assessment it was because I basically took these thoughts and decided to experiment with them.

It was ok when it was random. It was absurd, and funny.
Then it become socially awkward, as I escalated to test the waters more.
Then it was no longer acceptable, and alienated me.
Then it become blatantly dangerous or stupid.
Then I took it to a much greater extent that I won't talk about here, to see whether doing this incrementally was any more particularly liberating. It certainly was. I also felt 'chilly' doing it, because of the dissonance and the breaking of norms. But also stress relieving. Anyway, then I had to go to a mental hospital.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY.
It doesn't feel that great to crazy (just to try it out)
It's not even that much more fun.
AND YOU MIGHT GET DIAGNOSED WITH A MENTAL ILLNESS.

Lol.

And when I obsessed over an idea (say, I wonder if I just swirved my car...just a lil)...it would escalate when I appeased my will. So yeah, big dead end.

 

[SnozzleBerry]

Could it be that demons are controlling our thoughts in these moments of unwelcome thoughts?

Yes

 

[jamie]

you can always just not drink bleach though. It is a no brainer.

 

[anrchy]

Could it be that demons are controlling our thoughts in these moments of unwelcome thoughts? Just speculation
I'm always worried a demon will force me to drink bleach. Or more over, I imagine drinking bleach and am afraid that my body will betray me and I'll actually drink bleach. Or do something violent, or ask someone to kill me.

I think you have some fears you need to sort out bud.

My hypothesis is that demon and evil translate to negative. A negative thought could be blamed on an actual being but then you wouldn't be taking responsibility for your own actions. One part of Life may just be learning to control the negative thoughts. We all have them in one way or another. It's extremely evident when taking a good size dose of shrooms. Sometimes your mind can wander to a thought that gives you a neg feeling. That thought will stick and become hard to dispose of. A lot of times it will have a bounce effect or repeat effect and become even harder to control the more it happens (while on shrooms).

I have been working on disposing ways of thought and certain kinds of thought and emotion out of my mind. This has been a big part of my spiritual path. Any undesirable features in my head I focus on and observe daily. I learn what they are, how they work, when they happen, and how to predict them before hand. My anger has been the biggest achievement and is actually very close to completion. Anxiety I am working on as a secondary while I continue my work on anger.

Cirque, I recommend you do the same thing with fear. Fear is the mind killer. When you learn to control even one emotion you feel much different than you have ever before. Controlling an emotion, keeping it in check, is much different than an emotion naturally being dormant. Everyone has different balance. Some people are naturally calm, some naturally without fear. It's when you have better control over the emotions that are naturally strong in you that you feel more control over yourself and more confidence in the world we are in right now. Make sense?

 

[remediosvaro]

ever since i moved to the uk from california, ive been very prone to depression. the only way to stop it is to constantly do stuff. but sometimes ill just get these violently vivid surreal memories of where i used to live, very similar to dreaming. but theres emotion with it. these thoughts are very powerful, im not sure the point but they can completely change my mood in a second

 

[anrchy]

ever since i moved to the uk from california, ive been very prone to depression. the only way to stop it is to constantly do stuff. but sometimes ill just get these violently vivid surreal memories of where i used to live, very similar to dreaming. but theres emotion with it. these thoughts are very powerful, im not sure the point but they can completely change my mood in a second

"the only way to stop it is to constantly do stuff"

Your mind is a powerful tool. If you let the tool run itself it is going to do whatever is influencing it the most. By constantly doing stuff, you are avoiding dealing with the thoughts and emotions. This is a negative technique to coping with the issue.

While adaptive coping methods improve functioning, a maladaptive coping technique will just reduce symptoms while maintaining and strengthening the disorder. Maladaptive techniques are more effective in the short term rather than long term coping process.

These coping strategies interfere with the person's ability to unlearn, or break apart, the paired association between the situation and the associated anxiety symptoms. These are maladaptive strategies as they serve to maintain the disorder.

Search Wiki for "coping (psychology)" some good info there to help you understand how your brain is going to do things, often automatically, unless you take control.

Positive techniques (adaptive or constructive coping)

One positive coping strategy, "anticipating a problem...is known as proactive coping."[11] Anticipation is when one "reduce the stress of some difficult challenge by anticipating what it will be like and preparing for how [one is] going to cope with it".[13]

Two others are "social coping, such as seeking social support from others, and meaning-focused coping, in which the person concentrates on deriving meaning from the stressful experience".[11]

Keeping fit, "when you are well and healthy, when nutrition, exercise and sleep are adequate, it is much easier to cope with stress" - and learning "to lower the level of arousal... by relaxing muscles the message is received that all is well"[14] are also positive techniques.

One of the most positive "methods people use to cope with painful situations... is humor! You feel things to the full... but you master them by turning it all into pleasure and fun!"[15]

While dealing with stress it is important to deal with your physical, mental, and social well being. One should maintain one's health and learn to relax if one finds oneself under stress. Mentally it is important to think positive thoughts, value oneself, demonstrate good time management, plan and think ahead, and express emotions. Socially one should communicate with people and seek new activities. By following these simple strategies, one will have an easier time responding to stresses in one's life.[16]