What if I stabbed my best friend? What happens if I drop a child down a flight of stairs? What happens if I hit someone with my car? As alarming as they may be, these questions arise naturally in the human brain. More commonly known as intrusive thoughts, these thoughts occur spontaneously with no particular origin (Berry, May, Anrade, & Kavanagh, 2010). In most cases, intrusive thoughts are dark in nature and appear in the mind when an individual least expects it, hence their name (Berry et al., 2010). These noetic interruptions are quite common: between 79% and 99% of people in nonclinical studies experience intrusive thoughts (Barrera & Norton, 2011). On the other hand, in some individuals these intrusions can worsen and become more than just fleeting thoughts. Although intrusive thoughts and their related impulses occur universally in the human population, they can lead to clinical conditions such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). OCD is a clinical disorder with “recurrent and intrusive thoughts, images, or impulses experienced as ego-dystonic and extremely distressing” (Barrera & Norton, 2011). Evidence suggests that OCD and other similar disorders result from the deliberate avoidance of noetic interruptions. As these interrupting mental processes appear more frequently, the affected individual perceives them as a personal image that shows high incompatibility with his current personality. In an attempt to prevent these negative thoughts from becoming reality, people with OCD develop rituals and routines to “not think about” certain intrusive thoughts (Belloch, Morillo & Garcia-Soriano, 2009). Although they initially begin as fleeting thoughts, intrusive thoughts can develop into full-scale obsessions. What was or… half of the paper… CD and its underlying causes could potentially point to a solution for other similar anxiety disorders. Works Cited Barrera, T. L., & Norton, P. J. (2011). The assessment of intrusive thoughts in relation to obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, 40(2), 98-110. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from EBSCO host database. Belloch, A., Morillo, C., & Garcia-Soriano, G. (2009). Strategies for controlling unwanted intrusive thoughts: which are relevant and specific in obsessive-compulsive disorder?. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 33(1), 75-89. Retrieved October 28, 2013 from the PILOTS database: Published International Literature On Traumatic Stress. Berry, L. M., May, J., Andrade, J., & Kavanagh, D. (2010). Emotional and behavioral reaction to intrusive thoughts. Evaluation, 17(1), 126-137. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from the SAGE Journals database.