Index
IMPULSIVE PHOBIAS, A VERY MYSTERIOUS APPARITION FOR THOSE WHO LIVE IT
Although I am the gentlest human being, fundamentally respectful of others, and all my education has taught me to be benevolent, I feel within me thoughts that present me with the worst things I could do.
These thoughts invade me as if they were stronger than me.
They are so clear and take up so much space in my mind… The more I try to fight, the more they invade me.
Fran is a very loving young man.
You are in the discovery phase of life together and you want to dedicate yourself to your partner.
Everything is ready for a romantic dinner that night.
He and his friend are calmly at the table. And suddenly, at Fran’s house, the irrepressible desire to take the knife and plunge it into her friend’s body became evident. This imperative thought is formulated in him as a command: “You must.” It becomes so strong that Fran, that night, will run and run. This fear of reliving a moment like this will remain hidden for many years.
Therefore, therapeutic work focused on stress and a better understanding of yourself will help you feel relieved .
THE MECHANISMS OF IMPULSE PHOBIA
The central question of impulse phobia is, in effect, asking whether one can lose control of oneself to the point of harming oneself or others , whether one can become the plaything of one’s own thoughts, letting go overwhelm by uncontrollable forces.
Thus, each one can, at one time or another, be crossed by a strange idea, an absurd thought: “Well, what if I threw myself into the water from the top of this bridge? But in general it is enough to let this thought unravel and disappear, we often smile and move on to something else.
Sometimes these worries are accompanied by overwhelming physical sensations: you feel anxious, anxious, scared. We are still overwhelmed with panic.
We find ourselves thinking that we are losing control of ourselves .
Anxious personalities are very preoccupied with the notion of self-control.
This feeling of no longer feeling in control of your own thoughts will fuel the negative effects and create a spiral of devaluation and lack of self-confidence.
And yet it is quite the opposite: in fact, what counteracts these unbearable thoughts is guilt.
You feel guilty about something you will never do. Thoughts and actions are completely separate domains.
People who are prone to impulsive phobias want to be so perfect that they feel their negative thoughts as a sign of insanity or perversion, and are intensely guilty of them.
SOME TYPICAL EXAMPLES OF IMPULSE PHOBIAS
Juliette is infinitely unhappy.
Last year he almost had a car accident. A person she could only glimpse almost hit her.
Since then, she has been worried about doing harm – she keeps asking herself questions about circumstances that could put others at risk.
As a result, he is often in intense decision-making and acting anxiety tainted by fear of harm, even unintentionally.
She feels trapped in the vertigo of possibilities.
This fear of committing an absurd, dangerous, and immoral act against one’s will is not accompanied by action.
There is an intense struggle against these thoughts that leads to exhausting guilt .
Sometimes the person finds relief in the implementation of a ritual or thoughts that “protect” him.
A particular (and frequent) impulse phobia has to do with the fear of being homosexual.
In adolescence, in particular, when identity is questioned, the young person may feel overwhelmed by the anxiety of choosing their sexual preferences.
Pablo is 17 years old. He has had a few girlfriends in the past. Children sometimes talk about being “gay”, in a derogatory and insulting way: “fag”, “aunt”…. Pablo learned that his uncle by marriage was homosexual.
Since then, the haunting thought has settled on him, painful for the intensity with which he was, perhaps, homosexual.
Although he has never had homophobic thoughts in his mind, he feels intense shame when he depicts himself in love with another boy.
Disturbing images are violently imposed on him, without his being able to do anything.
Given this, those around them tend to trivialize these phobias and that is why, most of the time, the person who suffers from them does not want to talk about them. Shame and silence only reinforce the anguish.
Often the patient has the impression that he is going crazy.
HOW ARE IMPULSIVE PHOBIAS TREATED?
You should definitely consult a psychologist, therapist, or psychiatrist .
Management will bring real relief to the patient, allowing him to verbalize his impulses, manage his shame and guilt, and live with the ability to manage his anxieties.
Most often, the impulse phobia goes away completely.
Alexa Clark specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. She has experience in listening and welcoming in Individual Therapy and Couples Therapy. It meets demands such as generalized anxiety, professional, love and family conflicts, stress, depression, sexual dysfunction, grief, and adolescents from 15 years of age. Over the years, She felt the need to conduct the psychotherapy sessions with subtlety since She understands that the psychologist acts as a facilitator of self-understanding and self-acceptance, valuing each person's respect, uniqueness, and acceptance.
