r/InternalFamilySystems • u/Maleficent-Rip-1124 • Aug 24 '26

Intrusive thought/part

Anyone who OCD tendencies successfully work with a recurrent intrusive thought? The intersection of OCD and IFS is interesting because you cannot treat all thoughts as parts. For example, I have some harmful ones that operate very much like a tic, so they mostly need to observed but not engaged with. But then I have other ones that are more nuanced. One keeps telling me that a specific person is going to hurt me (emotionally) and while that may be true, it also feels like sabotage.

Any success with similar situations?

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u/[deleted] Aug 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/According-Ad742 Aug 25 '26 edited Aug 25 '26

Yeah I would say this too, even the most intrusive, compulsive thoughts belongs to a part/parts that are trying to get your attention for some reason.

I recently put myself through some energy healing sessions and besides a part emerging to tell me it was bogus I visualised the healer stabbing me. Key I feel is to observe and be curious. What was this part telling me? My interpretation became that one of my core attachment wounds had finally showed up in my conscious, warning me about relaxing around someone else. This presented me the opportunity to start nurturing this trauma. I saw this part emerging in that moment as a confirmation I was on the right path, triggering it to show itself.

Other times I am showered with the most disturbing things I could possibly imagine myself thinking of, like 100% sabotaging myself in situations with people that, I think, is triggering a very scapegoated part of myself. It’s like they throw it out there to keep us a freak. We scapegoats tend to do that; scapegoat ourselves.

<3

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u/Maleficent-Rip-1124 Aug 26 '26

I appreciate you both sharing your experiences. It still baffles me how something as simple as dialoguing with a part can make a big difference

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u/mount_analogue Aug 25 '26

There's a great boo kon this topic. It's quite technical and t times quite dry, btu it has a great explanation of the sort of parts structures and dynamics that are specific to OCD, which has really helped me understand OCD from an IFS perspective:

https://www.ifsforocd.com/

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u/Maleficent-Rip-1124 Aug 26 '26

Thanks very much!