‎

Para Sabay-an

by Maria Angelica Sabay

You’ve probably heard the phrase “my intrusive thoughts won”. Maybe while scrolling through TikTok, you’ve come across videos where beauty influencers ruin their makeup after they’ve just finished doing it, or Gen Z cutting their hair shorter than they expected. All of them with the same caption saying ‘their intrusive thoughts won’. This phrase often goes viral for its ‘quirkiness’ and ‘relatability’ and has become a daily part of people’s speech. It’s a lighthearted way to describe something chaotic or spontaneous someone might be tempted to do. Though the phrase seems harmless– misusing it can cause real harm to the communities that may be affected by it.

One time, I was in the elevator in the SJH building. A classmate of mine joked about pressing all the buttons inside. She mentioned how her intrusive thoughts were going to win if she did it. Everyone in their friend group laughed, thinking how quirky and funny what my classmate said. The situation got me thinking– maybe a lot of people don’t know what it actually means. But we shouldn’t make such a fuss about it.  After all, everybody jokes about it. I mean, it’s all over the internet, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram Reels, etc. Especially in our department, where most students are deemed ‘chronically online’. They’ve used that term as a fun gag or go-to punchline  within friends. But is this actually an intrusive thought? 

In psychology, intrusive thoughts are unwanted thoughts or ideas that come up unexpectedly. These thoughts can be directed to the person themselves, their loved ones, or people they care about. Usually common in people with mental disorders such as Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

These intrusive thoughts vary, from violence, sexual acts and taboo sexual fantasies, contamination thoughts, relationship doubts, committing blasphemy, recurring unwanted memories, embarrassment or public shame. For instance, someone with PTSD might have unwanted flashbacks of a trauma that they have experienced, or a person with OCD might have intrusive thoughts about acting out pedophilia despite being a victim of one. 

These thoughts are disturbing and dark, unlike the ones that we know from the internet. It causes distress, anxiety, and panic amongst these people. So intrusive thoughts winning for them isn’t quirky– it’s terrifying.

This is why the misuse of the term “intrusive thoughts”—though seemingly harmless to many—can have a damaging impact on neurodivergent people and contributes to the stigma of these mental disorders. Mistaking intrusive thoughts for impulsive makes light of the struggles and shame they go through. But because of the virality of the term, it’s easy for the true meaning to get misconstrued.

It’s not lost on me that internet phrases and terms like these will keep popping up from time to time– it’s inevitable. People will keep making up new meanings to already existing words. I mean, this is not the first time we’ve misused terms. For one, AAVE (African American Vernacular English) has been in constant use on social media. And more often than not, are used by non- African Americans with phrases and terms like “ts” now meaning “this” or the infamous “I finna be in the pit.” 

So, does this mean that we should just let the misuse of languages carry on? Because it’s going to keep happening anyways. But just because something has become the norm, doesn’t mean we should keep it that way. Especially when these norms perpetuate harmful stereotypes towards communities.

In OCD related terminologies,  people have been using the term “OC” to describe a feeling or urge to fix something when something isn’t aligned, symmetrical, or clean. This term waters down people with OCD as being clean-freak or symmetry warriors. 

Narratives like these help sustain this notion that people with OCD only struggle with wanting to be clean and having symmetry in their life. Misusing clinical terms like these help perpetuate false narratives about mental disorders. This can enable people to make malinformed statements that cause harm to neurodivergent communities.

One example is of a Redditor in r/spirituality. The original poster asked how he can let go of the thoughts that his girlfriend is ugly. He asks for help on reddit on what to do with his situation. He said that he’s been having this subconscious voice when he looks at his girlfriend that calls her ugly, and mentions that these thoughts do not represent his own– a trait very common among people with OCD. 

This Reddit post was then tweeted on X, formerly known as Twitter, where the caption says “those are uh specific intrusive thoughts”. One reply stated that the redditor “truly lost it” if he believes that the thoughts did not represent his own. Then someone replied to that reply “I also love that this is in a spirituality subreddit, like he can meditate away his lack of attraction”. The replies suggest that the redditor’s intrusive thoughts are actually his own thoughts.  This reflects a failure to recognize that what the redditor may have been experiencing were intrusive thoughts.

Those types of comments could cause more confusion to that person– possibly deepening the guilt they might be feeling due to their intrusive thoughts. And I do understand that it can be difficult for many to grasp what intrusive thoughts are. There aren’t a lot of resources about this topic that are being shared on social media and mainstream media could use a lot of improvement when it comes to representing mental disorders. But we also have to keep up with our responsibility of being mindful of what we say, especially on the internet. Comments like those on X can make it difficult for people struggling with mental health to seek proper help, especially when they feel shamed for sharing their experiences.

Instead of blindly using these phrases, we learn about them so we value the impact that these words create. As Mental Health Awareness Month comes to an end,  our mindfulness shouldn’t. Being mindful and aware of the use of our words should be a daily routine for all,  exercising our freedom of speech in this new digital era with responsibility. So the next time that new trends come up like the phrase “my intrusive thought won”, we remind ourselves of what it truly means and how this would impact the lives of many.