Intrusive thoughts are unwanted involuntary thoughts, images or ideas that are distressing. They are often connected to other anxiety related conditions such as OCD, PTSD, ADHD, Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), etc.

Intrusive thoughts that have become compulsive or obsessive can be difficult to manage or eliminate. The thoughts become repetitive, overpowering, and paralysing and they can generate a huge amount of anxiety. They can cause irrational fear, loss of identity, disconnection from emotions such as love and affection, and confusion around what is real and what is unreal.

Compulsive intrusive thoughts are often suppressed rather than discussed, due to the overwhelming sense of shame or guilt many sufferers experience because of them.

It is very important to remember that these unwanted thoughts are not you!

The inner critical voice.

This is perhaps the most common category of intrusive thoughts. It is discussed in more detail below.

Inappropriate sexual thoughts.

Intrusive thoughts of kissing, touching, intercourse, fondling, oral sex, anal sex and rape.

Inappropriate aggressive thoughts.

Urge to violently attack, hit, harm or kill a person; impulse to shout out, abuse, attack or violently punish someone; imagining or wishing harm to someone close to you.

‘Blasphemous’ religious thoughts.

Repetitive, intrusive, sexual thoughts about God, religious figures, thoughts of being possessed, thoughts of breaking religious law, thoughts of performing rituals incorrectly.

The possibility that sufferers of intrusive thoughts will act on these thoughts is very low. Violent crimes are most often committed by those who feel no guilt or remorse. If you worry about your intrusive thoughts, this is an excellent predictor that you will not act upon the thoughts.

The 'inner Critic' or the 'critical inner voice' is the inner-chatterbox that relentlessly attacks a person's mind, causing shame, guilt, anxiety and stress. It is a harmful defence mechanism which can affect all areas of our lives, including our self-esteem, our relationships, our work and careers, our parenting, and our health.

The inner critical voice damages your sense of self on two levels:

Self-Deficiency

You feel grossly inadequate, shameful, and that something is really wrong with you. A sense of diminished worthiness becomes entrenched.

Self-Fragility

You feel delicate, with a sense of compulsion to depend on others for happiness, self worth, and security. This is fear based. Identity is beholden on external situations and people.

8 types of inner critics have been identified within the human psyche.

The 8 Inner Critics

The Perfectionist

The Guilt Nurser

The Self Limiter

The Demolisher

The Conformer

The Workaholic

The Indulger

The Quitter

True to its name, this critic pushes you to chase an impossible standard of perfection in everything you do. By setting the bar unrealistically high, it generates ongoing stress and anxiety as you strain to reach it. Underneath, it's driven by a longing to earn acceptance through achievement and performance. Its protective intent is to shield you from being judged, criticised, or rejected by others.

This critic holds onto every past mistake, refusing to let go or grant forgiveness — whether for your own errors or for wrongs done to you by others. It pressures you to live up to demanding moral codes inherited from your culture, religion, family, or community, leaving you anxious and burdened. Its protective aim is to stop you repeating past mistakes, but it does so by constantly replaying them in your mind, keeping you weighed down by guilt and a sense of obligation.

This critic works to cap your hopes, ambitions, and achievements by chipping away at your self-image, confidence, and self-worth. It attacks how you see yourself so that you won't push for more, take risks, or step outside your comfort zone — keeping your thinking small and your potential unrealised. Its protective purpose is to spare you the pain of failure, humiliation, public judgement, and criticism by never letting you put yourself in a position to experience them.

This is the critic that specialises in shame, leaving you feeling utterly hopeless, worthless, and undeserving of anything good. It's often most active in people who've lived through traumatic childhoods — sexual, emotional, or physical abuse. In its most extreme form, its "protection" takes the shape of wanting you gone altogether, on the belief that you'd be better off not existing, so you can no longer be hurt or carry on suffering. Its underlying drive is to erase your sense of self from existence.

This critic pushes you to fit into the "acceptable" mould defined by your society, culture, or family, so that you're always liked, approved of, and admired — even if that means burying your true values, authenticity, and conscience. It suppresses any urge to be a trailblazer, rebel, or independent thinker who challenges convention, and works to keep you disconnected from your real self and its expression. Its protective goal is to keep you safely away from rejection, abandonment, or shame.

This critic convinces you that happiness can only be earned through relentless effort and success, filling your mind with the exhausting, stress-inducing belief that you must constantly be productive. Its protective role is to shield you from the shame of being seen as lazy or as a failure.

This critic steers you toward addiction or destructive habits, hijacking your impulses around food, sex, alcohol, smoking, substances, or other harmful behaviours. It rules through shame and a sense of hopelessness, and its underlying purpose — however damaging — is to numb you against deep, often subconscious, emotional pain and distress.

This critic encourages self-sabotage, urging you to give up the moment things become difficult.