Do you ever find yourself daydreaming or distracted and your thoughts turn negative? You try to push away the upsetting thoughts, but it’s difficult, or even impossible. Those are intrusive thoughts.

Intrusive thoughts are a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a mental health condition in which a person experiences involuntary obsessions and compulsions that may cause distress.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Harrison Monarth is an executive coach who covers leadership. Does your mind often return to an unpleasant or stressful event?

OCD can sometimes involve distressing, intrusive thoughts about suicide, typically distinct from genuine suicidal ideation. Treatment like exposure therapy can help individuals heal from harmful ...

People often told Elona Washington, a publisher from the Nashville area, that she “acted like she had OCD.” She would panic if bobby pins in her hair faced different directions or would be so afraid ...

Obsessions and compulsions in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) vary between people and may focus on one or more themes. The term “taboo OCD” refers to OCD themes that center around socially ...

Ever since she can remember, writer Morgan Sullivan has had the nagging inkling that her routine behaviors could influence her future—and not in a positive, manifestational way. “As a little kid, I ...