The Imp of the Mind: Exploring the Silent Epidemic of Obsessive Bad Thoughts

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Okay, so I'm reading the book The Imp of the Mind, and it goes through several factors of when someone should be worried of their intrusive thoughts. One of them was basically if you're having suicidal ideation, get help. ASAP. All the others, as far as harming others, I can say don't apply to me... but the suicidal ideation does. I'm just so tired of having these thoughts, they terrify me. When it comes down to it, I know, I KNOW that I don't want to harm others but I think if I have to kill myself to protect others from me, I will. The thought of dying does somewhat comfort me in knowing that I won't have to deal with these thoughts and won't have to worry about harming others. I don't want to kill myself, which is why I'm seeking emergency help when I get off of work tonight, but even more so, I don't want to harm others. The Imp of the Perverse’ is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49), written in 1845. Of all of Poe’s stories, this is one of the strongest tales to prefigure the ideas of Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis. Before we proceed to a summary and analysis of this story, it might be worth reading ‘The Imp of the Perverse’; you can find it here. As a research psychiatrist I found reviewing this book to be both enjoyable and challenging. The author makes effective use of what I presume to be literary techniques to demystify his subject. His anthropomorphic title, The Imp of the Mind, drawing on Poe’s “The Imp of the Perverse” (1850), conjures a dynamic homunculus residing in the brain (the orbital frontal cortex?), biding its time until a moment of frontal lobe vulnerability and then mercilessly disrupting executive function. Literary license notwithstanding, to many people it certainly feels like this is happening. Its occurrence in epidemic proportions (the subtitle of the book is Exploring the Silent Epidemic of Obsessive Bad Thoughts) is perhaps hyperbole, but undoubtedly attractive to the potential reader. A Review of Lee Baer’s text, Imp of The Mind – for Clinicians and Overachieving Clients — OCD and Anxiety Clinic of Ontario OCD and Anxiety Clinic of Ontario In the second season of Sex Education, Otis gets teased for obsessively asking for consent every 10 seconds while losing his virginity; in I May Destroy You, a sexual assault victim has an intrusive thought of his own rape while having sex, but imagining himself as the perpetrator; in this year’s It’s A Sin, a character goes to obsessive lengths to protect herself after learning a friend has Aids.

The Imp of the Mind By Lee Baer, PhD | OCD in Kids The Imp of the Mind By Lee Baer, PhD | OCD in Kids

Dr. Baer explores the root causes of bad thoughts, why they can spiral out of control, and how to recognise the crucial difference between harmless and dangerous bad thoughts. I wanted to get better. I didn't want to be miserable and scared of my own shadow for the rest of my life. Lee Baer's book (along with another great therapist's book) helped me gather my thoughts and jump into ERP therapy. Now, I couldn't be happier.In the first book to fully examine obsessive bad thoughts, Dr. Lee Baer combines the latest research with his own extensive experience in treating this widespread syndrome. Drawing on information ranging from new advances in brain technology to pervasive social taboos, Dr. Baer explores the root causes of bad thoughts, why they can spiral out of control, and how to recognize the crucial difference between harmless and dangerous bad thoughts. A useful resource, though I think the author should have made an effort to distinguish more between OCD and "pure O", where the former is accompanied by a compulsive action often unrelated to the nature of the obsession, i.e. the seemingly nonsensical repetition of flipping a light switch on-and-off to prevent someone's family member from getting into a car accident, and where "pure O" is limited to intrusive thoughts without the accompanying compulsion to perform a specific action to rid oneself of such thoughts. And ‘The Imp of the Perverse’ shows us that we all know this, deep down, because, deep down, we all have that impulse within us. It’s just that most of us don’t act on it. Lee Baer, PhD. The Imp of the Mind. New York, Plume Publishing (Penguin Books), 2001. pp. xiii,5-11. Informative, interesting and incredibly accessible. The writing is clear and concise, with a sort of gentle therapist's tone that never feels condescending or trite - Baer's explanations of how obsessive worries work, how they differ from 'normal thought processes' and how to treat them are frank but hugely empathetic.

The Imp of the Mind: Exploring the Silent Epidemic of

I was so incredibly sad to hear that Lee Baer passed away in 2017, right when I found his amazing books. At this time, I was struggling from Pure O OCD and my old therapist didn't know what Pure O OCD is, so I was getting the wrong treatment. I left that therapist and found a new one. It was then that I realized what I had through his diagnosis. The id does things purely because it wants to, and does not think about whether they are morally right or wrong. If it feels good, id thinks you should do it. Except, of course, that the id doesn’t think at all, at least not in any meaningful sense. Next, make a note of which figure triggered the strongest emotional response. Now, still picturing that image and face and name as vividly as possible, incorporate some of the following content:OCD has been shown by modern psychologists to be on the same continuum as Tourette's syndrome. In fact, many of the one illness also have the other, about 75% of those with Tourette's have clinical OCD, and ~25% the other way. At that point in my illness I was devouring every bit of vaguely “OCD” media I could find: documentaries, news reports, reality TV, celebrity interviews, standup comedy, even specials about psych wards in general – anything that gave me some insight into the humanity of a person with mental illness. I want to ask you if YOU REALLY WANT TO COMMIT SUICIDE, but I'm not sure you can give me a clear answer, because you are obsessing.

The Imp of The Mind - Obsessions and Compulsions | PDF The Imp of The Mind - Obsessions and Compulsions | PDF

Baer's book focuses on the patient tormented by "bad thoughts" and living in fear of carrying these out. What is not clear is where the boundary lies between "bad thoughts" and "obsessive" thoughts . When does an "obsessive" thought become a "bad thought" and who decides this and when can an "obsessive" thought be simply and safely labelled a "special interest " and therefore not something to be concerned about... In this sense Baer is in fact helping his patients to relabel their thoughts... These then become less scary, cease to be wrong or bad and regain their proper place in the pantheon of thought. Some TV shows and films have dabbled in OCD storylines over the years, to varying degrees of prominence and accuracy. These range from the surprisingly good (Michael J Fox in Scrubs), to the unsurprisingly bad (Monk), to the questionable (Hoarders), to the totally fictional and outright saccharine (As Good As It Gets). It honestly strikes me as tragic that intrusive thoughts about harm inevitably target either ourselves or the people closest to us; those we love and most fear harming: Parents, siblings, romantic partners, spouses, children and grandchildren (especially in the case of the many mothers [41% of those with postpartum depression] who experience these thoughts for the first time about their child). This section will be updated with information, advice and features for children and young people (up to age 18).Le livre a la structure d’un Essai, façonné dans le récit d’expérience que l’Auteur a eu le long de son vécu et des cas qu’il a observé . Ce qui rend la lecture plus aisée, plus naturelle et variée. Loin donc d’une conception académique, plutôt rigide de la question.