The Difference Between Impulsive And Intrusive Thoughts
Intrusive thoughts are thoughts that appear in your consciousness, often without a specific reason. Impulsive thoughts are characterized by a sudden urge or desire to act on something.
Intrusive Vs Impulsive Thoughts
Intrusive thoughts are often unwanted ideas or distressing thoughts or images. They appear in our minds either randomly or as a consequence of a specific trigger.
Intrusive thoughts can be disturbing and can be signs of anxiety or distress or lead to mental health problems. In particular, intrusive thoughts have been associated with mental health conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders and also eating disorders.
Intrusive thoughts can be related to a wide range of themes such as violence, sexuality or religion.
It is important to note that these are just thoughts and do not represent actions. However, even thoughts can make us feel uncomfortable or elicit an uncomfortable feeling [1].
Having long-term intrusive thoughts can cause distress and can make you feel like you need to control your thoughts [1, 2].
Impulsive thoughts refer to a sudden or strong urge to do something without considering the consequences. Impulsive thoughts are not a recognized psychological term, however, they can be associated with neurodivergent conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as well as with mental health conditions like borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder and substance use disorder.
In addition, it can also be present in neurodegenerative diseases such as Frontotemporal dementia.
Although one may have impulsive thoughts it does not mean one will act on them. However, impulsive thoughts may lead to impulsive behaviour potentially causing harm or regrets.
The key difference between intrusive and impulsive thoughts is that while intrusive thoughts are unwanted and often distressing thoughts that pop into your mind, impulsive thoughts (or impulses) are sudden urges to do something without thinking about the potential consequences.
What Causes Intrusive Thoughts?
Intrusive thoughts can occur both randomly or as a consequence triggered by a specific situation.
Intrusive thoughts can occur either randomly or can be triggered by a specific situation. Oftentimes, they disappear as quickly as they appeared [1, 3].
However, intrusive thoughts can be related to an underlying mental health problem such as OCD or PTSD or some other health problems like brain injury, dementia or Parkinson's disease.
In addition, intrusive thoughts can be related to traumatic and stressful experiences [4, 5] and are a common symptom of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders such as postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder [6].
Interestingly, people with high levels of psychopathic traits like dishonesty, cruelty, etc may experience fewer intrusive thoughts [7]
However, it is important to remember that intrusive thoughts are common and can happen to anyone. In fact, one study found that around 94% of all participants had at least one intrusive thought in the 3 months prior to the study [1].
What Causes Impulsive Thoughts?
Impulsive thoughts can be attributed to a variety of factors, both biological and environmental.
Biological Factors
When looking at impulsive thought from a biological perspective, the neurotransmitters involved in controlling impulsive behaviour are dopamine and serotonin acting on the receptors in the brain [8]. Not only that, the prefrontal cortex has been identified to be an important player in impulsivity. Interestingly, a link between the thickness of the superior frontal cortex, impulsiveness and perceptual reasoning has been identified [9, 10].
Environmental Factors
Environmental factors can also contribute to impulsive thoughts. For instance, a high-fat or high-sugar diet has been shown to induce impulsive behaviour [11].
Psychological Factors
In addition, impulsive thoughts can also be influenced by psychological factors. For instance, negative emotions can lead to impulsive actions and the urgency of these actions depends on the current state and the desired goal state [12].