A good way to see intrusive thoughts is with Tourette's (see that recent awards controversy). The compulsion to say obscene language becomes very strong when you're in scenarios where that is most likely to cause problems. And the thought just drills in there, feeding into a vicious cycle (cont.)
(continuing) that becomes so overwhelming, the result becomes a pure explosive outburst just to get the intrusive thought out of your system. (At least, from what I understand of it) There's a reason Tourette's people are often scared of being in public, and it's precisely those intrusive thoughts.
I don’t see why I wouldn’t enjoy dressing like a plumber and smashing priceless tortoise shells underfoot, so by Joe’s metric Jane’s thoughts ought to be considered impulsive
@perkulatorBenny from what i can find, intrusive thoughts are unwanted, distressing, and disturbing mental images, typically at odds with our own values and beliefs. like Cannibalism is often an "intrusive thought", because we usually hold it as a barbaric practice.
I think "impulsive thoughts" just means something that's sudden, whether good or bad. It's why we call it "impulse control" when you don't just immediately act on whatever pops into your head (because it usually goes right back out again). "Intrusive thoughts" are more of a long term thing.
