Aggressive obsessions

The aggressive obsessions They concern the fear of intentionally damage or kill others.

They can be defined in many ways: aggressive obsessions, violent obsessions, morbid obsessions … and the list could continue …

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This symptom of obsessive-compulsive (DOC) disorder implies the fear of hurting other peopleoften dear, or to kill them. In some cases, aggressive obsessions are directed to their own person, for example when you have unwanted, intrusive and recurring thoughts to hurt or kill yourself (suicidal obsessions).

The aggressive obsessions Often they concern violent acts such as murders (imagine stabbing, hitting, suffocating, poisoning someone) or criminal acts (thefts, malicious fires, bank robberies), and involve bloody mental images (of blood, wounds and death).

Individuals with violent obsessions They can fear of becoming serial killer or deliberately hurting someone they love. Obviously they generate a lot of anxiety and guilt, and attempts to drive them away from their mind are completely unsuccessful.

Some examples of aggressive obsessions are:

The fear of being overwhelmed by a murderous fury, stabbing or stabbing someone.
The fear of stealing the gun of a policeman nearby and shooting someone.
The fear of suffocating your child or partner.
The fear of performing sexualized acts towards their child.
The fear of hurting your child or breaking his neck to his pet.
The fear of pushing or falling someone down someone from the stairs or a high building.
The fear of intentionally poisoning someone (for example, by putting them some mice poison in food).
The fear of repeatedly affecting or beating someone to death.
The fear of walking someone behind and cutting his throat.
The fear of suffocating the child or partner as they sleep.
The fear of drowning the child as he swims or while taking the bath.
The fear of robbing a bank.
The fear of setting up a malicious fire.
The fear of getting angry and strikeing your child to death.
The fear of intentionally hitting a pedestrian or cyclist while he is driving and killing him.
The fear of aggressively pushing the shopping cart to other customers who are on their way.
The fear of grabbing the steering wheel when he guides someone else, and causing an accident.
The fear of putting your child or pet in the oven, washing machine or dryer.

Similarly to what happens in the case of sexual obsessionsindividuals with aggressive obsessions They often fear to move on to the act as a result of their violent impulses.

They are constantly wondering why they continue to be tormented by these unwanted thoughts and/or impulses and can feel extremely guilty for the very fact that they have them and terrified of not being able to control them.

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Some individuals have a form of Obsessive-compulsive disorder that leads them to confuse their concerns with their memories.

They can therefore erroneously believe they have already done in the past the terrible things they think (e.g. masturbating their child, stealing something in a shop, attacking a person, etc.), because their obsessions are vivid and detailed images that “perceive” more as fragments of memory than as well as anguish fantasies.

They can therefore carry out a variety of check and others compulsions To reassure yourself with regard to the fact that these are only “false memories” and not actually made horrible.

Like all forms of obsessive compulsive disorderthe violent/aggressive obsessions They are often followed (and reinforced/maintained) by compulsive behaviors (rituals) and from avoidance behaviors.

Some examples of compulsions that follow the fear of damaging others are:

Asking confirmation from other people not to have done anything wrong and not having moved away for a suspicious time.
Check that you have not written anything referable to their aggressive thoughts or confessions of violent acts.
Check the news (TV, radio, internet) to make sure that no violent crime has occurred nearby.
Return to the places recently visited to make sure that nothing ugly has happened.
Try to convince yourself that it would never act according to these thoughts.
Mentally retrace your past to prove that we would never be able to kill.
Asking other reassurances about being a good person.
Analyze your thoughts to determine if they reflect the “true self”.
Try to drive out their unwanted thoughts.
Squeeze handles, armrests or other surfaces to make sure your hands do nothing unwanted.
Try to neutralize indesirable thoughts or images by rejecting them mentally or transforming them into something “good”.

THE avoidance behavior associated with aggressive obsessions consist in limiting exposure to places, situations, people or objects that could trigger violent thoughts.

We report some examples of common avoidance behaviors for people who are afraid of killing or damaging other people:

Eliminate all “weapons” from the house, such as pointed objects, blunt objects, poisonous chemicals, strings, pistols, etc.
Maintain excessive control over your body (remaining excessively rigid) when you have people around.
Keep your hands in your pocket or away from other people.
Delegate the responsibility for the preparation of food to other people.
Avoid sex, intimacy, and other situations that involve physical vulnerability.
Avoid taking care of children alone and the related responsibilities.
Avoid remaining alone with children, pets, elderly people or other vulnerable subjects.
Avoid television shows or newspaper articles that deal with violent themes.
Avoid the police, the carabinieri and the security staff.
Avoid physical contact with others, particularly in the neck area (avoiding hugs or touches of the neck).
Avoid fear or horror movies.
Avoid handling knives, scissors, blades.

The treatment of aggressive obsessions It is based on the development of a new relationship with these unwanted and intrusive thoughts.

The patient must understand how these thoughts are neither dangerous nor indicators of what will happen in the future or that may have happened.

Less importance is given to intrusive thoughts/impulses and less sense of guilt and fear people experience when obsessions present themselves, the easier it will be that disdaling behaviors are not implemented (rituals and avoidance) that feed and keep the problem alive.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy aims precisely to this goal and usually gives relief from the symptoms over a few months of treatment, even if it is normal that they may want from 6 to 12 months of treatment to obtain significant results.

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