You don’t need to label your thoughts as good or bad. Instead, you can call them unwanted or intrusive thoughts, turning them into something more neutral and realistic.

Write down your intrusive thoughts.

Write down the specific thought or image you just experienced when you notice an intrusive thought. Doing this has two benefits: first, it forces you to slow down your thinking and tendency to worry because you can’t write nearly as fast as you can think. Secondly, taking the thoughts out of your head and putting them on paper will help you get distance from them and give you a different perspective, making the thoughts feel less mysterious.

Validate your intrusive thoughts and emotional reaction.

To validate something means to recognise that it’s there. Once you’ve validated the intrusive thoughts themselves, validate your emotional response to them. Even if you know intellectually that intrusive thoughts aren’t dangerous, it’s understandable and completely normal that you might sometimes feel frightened and disturbed when they arise.

Redirect your attention.

The final step is to gently but firmly redirect your attention elsewhere. Have several trusted methods that work for you: listening to a podcast, reading a book, going for a walk, making a call, and cleaning the bathroom. Find what works for you.