Persistent and negative thoughts are one of the most common signs of an anxiety disorder. Anxiety makes it nearly impossible to stop focusing on things that you don't want to think about. These thoughts are rarely positive, often related to your fears or distressing emotions, and in many cases, the existence of the thought causes further anxiety and often leads to more obsessions.

Obsessive thoughts are the hallmark of obsessive compulsive disorder, but there are types of "obsessive" thoughts that are present in a variety of anxiety disorders that won't necessarily cause a diagnosis of OCD. Below, we'll look at examples of these obsessive thoughts and how they affect you.

All Types of Anxiety Can Lead to Obsessive Thoughts

The idea of "obsession" is that you cannot focus on anything other than a specific issue (or a few issues), and no matter how hard you try you cannot distract yourself. Many people who don’t have anxiety disorders still experience such thoughts. For example, your first crush back in high school may have led to obsessive thoughts at the time, if their affection was all you could think about.

But when these thoughts are negative or cause you anxiety/stress, then it's highly likely you have an anxiety disorder.

Obsessions from OCD

Obsessive thoughts are required for someone to be diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder. These obsessive thoughts are often violent, sexual, or fearful in nature. The thought may change depending on the situation (more on that in a moment), but once they've entered your mind, you'll often do anything you can to get rid of them.

Some examples of obsessive thoughts include:

• Fear of getting sick.
• Thinking about hurting a loved one or stranger.
• Focusing on some type of aggressive sexual act (with someone you know or strangers).
• Need for organization or symmetry.
• Worry over little things (did I lock the door, etc.).

Notice that some of these are obviously far more distressing than others. There are those that have unwanted fantasies about murder or rape, while others may simply constantly fear they haven't turned off the stove. But one thing they all have in common is that they cause significant distress, and once the thought enters a person's mind, it becomes difficult to shake without some type of action.

That's what causes compulsions. Compulsions are the action that the person completes in order to reduce this obsessive thought. When the person fears germs (obsession), they may need to wash their hands repeatedly (compulsion). When the person fears the door being unlocked (obsession), they may need to lock it 3 or more times (compulsion) to stop that fear. 

Those that are concerned about doing something violent or sexual may try out any habit that causes the intensity of the thoughts to decrease - most often, however, the person performs safe and acceptable routines or rituals - not necessarily the violent or sexual act itself! In OCD, these obsessions are simply unwanted thoughts - they are highly unlikely to be acted upon. 

It's crucial to remember that anxiety genuinely causes these negative thoughts and negative thinking. The way that anxiety alters your brain chemistry makes it very hard to focus on the positives or the future, and so it's not your fault that you can't distract yourself from these thoughts or that you're having them at all.