Which comes first, the scary feeling or the scary thought?

[Melanie717]

This one has had me baffled for years.
I’m always trying to see which one sets off the other.

So say you get a scary thought out of nowhere, could even be an intrusive thought. It freaks you out. You feel the anxiety running thru your bones because of this thought.

*OR*

You already have the scary feeling, your brain has no idea why, so it hurries up and finds a scary thought to match the feeling?
If this is the case, then the nervous system is clearly malfunctioning, and the brain is just trying to make sense of it by landing a frightening thought right into your mind.

Which one do you think it is?

 

[Fidelia]

It is the thoughts that produces the feelings. When you start nursing those scary thoughts, chances are high that you would start having those feelings of fear about those things you have been thinking about.

 

[Hazel]

In my experience, the scary feeling often comes first, triggering a cascade of scary thoughts. For instance, I might feel a sense of unease or discomfort in a certain situation, and then my mind starts to race with worst-case scenarios. It can be a cycle, but recognizing it helps break the pattern.

 

[Melanie717]

In my experience, the scary feeling often comes first, triggering a cascade of scary thoughts. For instance, I might feel a sense of unease or discomfort in a certain situation, and then my mind starts to race with worst-case scenarios. It can be a cycle, but recognizing it helps break the pattern.

I think this is right! Even people with OCD (myself included) can sometimes brush off a repetitive thought or theme, but sometimes they cannot. Why?
Because it all depends on the mood.
An anxious and depressed mood will sink with the anxious thought/OCD theme, while a normal mood with all neurotransmitters nicely in place can brush it off and move on. Your mood will dictate the reaction.