Hello everyone!
Welcome to this episode of the Mindful in Minutes podcast.
Today we are going to do a practice for intrusive thoughts.
I think this is one of my top requested topics in quite a while and we're going to do something just a little bit different.
So we're going to start with a meditation to help you ground and calm yourself when you're feeling those intrusive thoughts creeping in.
And then I'm going to share a couple of journal prompts specifically to help with intrusive thoughts.
And this particular practice isn't in You Are Not Your Thoughts,
My meditation journal,
But it's the same formula that I have in all eight weeks worth of anxiety and thought work in that book.
So if you do like this practice where you meditate and then I really think you'll like that journal and I'll link to it in the show notes.
So if you want you can grab a piece of paper for this practice because when we're done I'm going to give you a couple of journal prompts that you can write about to really help you with your intrusive thoughts.
So grab anything you need and then when you're ready let's settle in.
I'll begin just by bringing ourselves out of our minds,
Out of our thoughts,
And back into our body just by noticing the connection between you and the surface beneath you.
Just feel your body being connected to the surface beneath you and feel the sensations in your body.
Whether you're sitting or lying down,
Just be here in this moment anchoring yourself to your body through these points that connect you to the surface beneath you.
And now take a big deep breath in through your nose and take a long breath out through slightly pursed lips.
Taking as much time as you need on that exhale.
So continuing a big full inhale,
Exhaling,
Taking your time through slightly pursed lips,
Inhaling,
Exhaling,
Taking your time through slightly pursed lips,
Breathing out.
As you continue to breathe in this way,
Whenever you feel your mind wandering or a thought pops into your mind,
Return to your breath and feel the points of contact between your body and the surface beneath you.
Just inhaling through the nose,
Taking that long breath out through slightly pursed lips.
As you exhale,
Imagine you're releasing worry,
Anxiety,
And unwanted thoughts,
Almost like a pressure valve is being released.
Each moment,
Each breath,
You release some of that worry,
Those unwanted thoughts,
And you move closer to a state of calm and clarity.
Inhaling fully and exhaling that long breath out through slightly pursed lips,
Releasing your worry,
Anxiety,
And those unwanted thoughts.
Anytime the mind wanders,
Just return to those points of contact between you and the surface beneath you.
Do two more rounds of this breath.
Finishing up that last round of breath.
When you're ready,
You can open your eyes and grab your piece of paper.
On the piece of paper,
Draw a line right down the middle of your forehead to the top of your head,
And then draw a straight line down the middle of your forehead.
On the piece of paper,
Draw a line right down the middle to break it into two columns.
On the left side at the top,
Write intrusive thoughts,
And on the right column at the top,
Write facts.
Take time on the left hand side writing down your most common intrusive thoughts,
And then next to it,
On the right side column,
Write down the actual truth of that statement.
For example,
If I had an intrusive thought that my oven was going to be left on and it will burn my house down,
I would write that on the left,
And then on the right hand column,
I would write,
I checked that I turned off the oven and I know my house will be okay.
You just continue on doing this,
Your intrusive thoughts on the left,
Then challenge that intrusive thought with the truth on the right hand side.
Do this for as long as you need,
And I hope it helps.
Thanks for joining me.
You
