Intrusive thoughts are those unwanted thoughts which seems to come from nowhere. These can be disturbing and unpleasant. A person usually feels as not being able to control these thoughts and they may distract themselves from daily tasks.

Intrusive thoughts are symptoms of the following:

• post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

• anxiety

• depression

• OCD

The thoughts could be explicit which people leads to keep it as a secret.and people wouldn't seek help because they would be ashamed of it.

As per Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), intrusive thoughts are those which are involuntary and they have no bearing on the reality or a person's desires. People do not act on these thoughts and they often find it shocking and unacceptable.

Intrusive thoughts could be persistent and these could cause significant disease. The more often people try to get rid of these thoughts by themselves, the more they persist and the more intense would they become.

Common types of intrusive thoughts

There are many intrusive thought, these are few of them:

Intrusive thoughts about sex and sexuality

Intrusive thoughts about relationships

Intrusive thoughts about religion

Intrusive thoughts about violence

Intrusive thoughts about eating disorders

Sources - Medical News Today