Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts: A CBT-Based Guide to Getting Over Frightening, Obsessive, or Disturbing Thoughts

I would whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone getting stuck and weighed down by upsetting unwanted thoughts and the downward spirals that often follow - or a loved one trying to understand more about the condition and how to help someone who is experiencing it. For context. I have, since my teenage years - and on and off over the decade since - struggled with unwanted intrusive thoughts, from the bizarre to the truly harrowing. I really do know how devastating this condition feels when you’re in it, but I want to share that I have gotten better and continue to get better - so of course I want as many people as possible to know that they can too. Discovering this book, and discovering from it the work of Dr Steven Phillipson about different subsets of OCD (lots of videos from him on YouTube via the Made of Millions channel), have together been a real turning point in my mental health. This book firstly makes clear that you are absolutely NOT alone, insane or a bad person, and that these thoughts are no reflection of your character whatsoever. It explains how this condition presents itself in different people and why we get “stuck” on certain topics (examples including violence, sex, peadophilia, insanity, ill-health, existential questions and religion etc). It shows scientifically what’s happening in the brain when we’re experiencing the condition, and goes on to provide techniques for how to disempower it. Huge thanks to the authors. This book has given me a lot of compassion for my younger self, and helped provide me with the tools to break the cycle.

I very rarely leave reviews but this book has compelled me to do so. I have been really struggling with overthinking and intrusive thoughts recently, this book has made me realise that its completely normal, its took the scariness away from it and made me rationalise my thoughts, a life saver! The authors totally get it, its informative, reassuring and doesnt shy away from talking taboo subjects to ensure that all intrusive thoughts are captured and normalised!!

A few weeks ago I had a semi breakdown due to unwanted intrusive thoughts. At the time I didn’t know what they were or why I was having them, but after some googling I came across a few websites that explained exactly what was happening and how I felt. I took a gamble and ordered this book as I was desperate and unable to access therapy due to the epidemic. This book has been amazing. It’s given an in-depth description of what unwanted intrusive thoughts are, why they get stuck, and tactics on how to try to overcome them. And describes why your brain reacts the way it does and what triggers these unwanted thoughts to enter your mind in the first place. It’s given me such relief knowing that this isn’t just me going crazy but is actually something many people go through. I highly recommend this book to anyone who struggles with these types of thoughts!

Good book but I don’t recommend it you are having your first OCD episode. It will make you read the book over and over again for relief which is a compulsion. Author did a good job on explaining the thoughts!

Honestly, changed my life. You need to read this book and share it with others. It explains intrusive thoughts so precisely.

A friend of mine recommended this book and honestly it is so helpful. I've struggled with anxiety and unwanted intrusive thoughts for many many years and reading this book it all just made sense. It gives a great explanation of how the brain works when we become anxious and helps you to understand exactly what happens in the brain when these thoughts happen. I started to read this whilst waiting to start counselling and it really did help me through a couple of difficult weeks. I would highly recommend this book.

This is a life changing book when you implement the practices. Read it over a few times though (the audiobook is also fantastic to listen to on repeat) before this book I never saw a way out, and now I have hope for a future that doesn’t obsess over intrusive thoughts. It took a while for it to click, but once I became serious and settled down with the book I knew I was onto a winner. It remains the only book that has ever helped me with intrusive thoughts. It’s the only book you need. If you’re reading this, please for your own sake buy it and stick to it. It has the potential to change your life. An important thing to note is this isn’t a way to get rid of thoughts, as the book has taught me, that’s impossible. But, it changes your relationship to thoughts so you can still live your life fully no matter what thought you have. An absolute gem, I can’t thank the authors enough. One of the only self-help books that has ever worked for me.

I've been meaning to write a review for this book for a long time, and this is the first amazon review I have ever written. But I stronhly felt the authors needed to be thanked and congratulated for writing such a wise, yet simple and evidence based book. This advice in this book is practical, deceptively simple and yet somehow profoundly wise. I strongly feel the advice offered to embrace uncertainty and avoid reassurance, helps to being the mind naturally back into the present moment and back to a more natural allignment, more free from the general clutter which preoccupies us. I have enjoyed the freedom of escaping the power of the constant battle between my "reassurances" and my constant picking of holes in these "reassurances", uncertainty is after all inescapable, so the advice to embrace it, though counterintuitive at first, is wise and almost spiritual. I actually found this to be a deeply spiritual book. Thank you so much for producing such a practical guide to escaping from reassurance and the negative spiral of thinking this can produce. I personally have a long road to recovery but now I have a map. Thank you.

Very Good and very important content.

I will keep this as a night-stand book to refer back to regularly until the habits are natural. Explains, in-detail, why your attempts at stopping the thoughts keep failing. Shares different information than I've never received from a therapist (even CBT-trained therapist). As a Christian, I am cautious with psychology books; sometimes they take a purely humanist perspective (denying any spiritual realm). I found this to be helpful, neutral, and sensitive in explaining how combatting irrational, intrusive thoughts with an aggressive/fighting disposition (even with using prayer and Scripture) can mistakenly cycle more anxiety by giving the thoughts weight. You can trust God, but also, unintentionally, be feeding a cycle of anxiety by validating intrusive thoughts; the authors speak about how sometimes people have a crisis of faith from doing this. Purchased "Needing to Know For Sure" as soon as I finished this. Will likely buy the "Overcoming Anticipatory Anxiety" too. Here are a few notes I made about the book: I recognize that whoosh was "first fear." I can’t control first fear. This is the amygdala doing its job. It’s normal. First fear can be caused by subconscious thoughts. But thoughts are just thoughts. Thoughts are not facts. Thoughts feel real only because of the emotion I place on them. I will not explore, entertain, or try to solve a problem connected to the thought. I will allow and accept the thought. By validating if it’s true or false, I give weight to the thought. I will not give False Comfort a voice because it feeds Worried Voice and creates more anxiety. You can’t reason with Worried Voice because, unrealistically, Worried Voice demands 100% assurance when tunnel-visioned. I choose to "accept and allow” the thought, which is more of an attitude than technique. I will float above the fray by removing myself from a turbulent experience: holding a neutral, third-party perspective on my thought; it is the opposite of entanglement. Floating is a non-distressed, uninvolved, and non-judgmental perspective. You view the thoughts from an emotionally-removed perspective. The feeling of urgency that comes from intrusive thoughts is a false message; allow time to pass with the thought—in an unrushed accepting response —is how to stop it. Emotional discomfort does not mean real danger. The thought that it might come back is just another intrusive thought. It does not matter if a meaningless thought comes back. The most effective ways to rob thoughts of power is to continue doing what you were doing before. Acceptance is an attitude of allowing the thoughts and not a technique for stopping them. If I am checking if I’m having the thoughts, I’m not accepting. Acceptance is when I don’t care whether the thoughts are there or not because they are unimportant or worthy of attention and because they don’t matter. This reduces anticipatory anxiety, reduces avoidance, and cultivates okayness in the mind.

This book was a game changer for me. Absolutely recommend if you experience intrusive thoughts and think that you’ve “tried it all” to make sense of them. A must read. This book helped me save myself from a seemingly never ending spiral

Very interesting read. Gave me more understanding.

Excellent book. Very useful