Letting thoughts be

Intrusive thoughts can feel urgent, with the feeling that, in order to feel okay again, you have to fix them or get certainty about the thought. And when this feeling of urgency comes up, it can be hard to ignore.

But the more we try to analyse or figure it, the more it keeps the cycle going.

When we practise of letting thoughts be, it means that we are no longer trying to solve the thought or feed the OCD. Instead of reacting to it, you noticing what’s happening in the moment: an uncomfortable thought, an urge to act on it, but despite that, you practise going back to what you were doing.

Even if the urgency is still in the background, allowing the discomfort of not reacting to be there is part of training your brain to learn a new response — one that helps you move forward without getting pulled into the thought.