Carl Jung, a psychoanalyst, came up with the idea of the collective unconscious. This idea implies that we inherit fragments of our unconscious memories just like we inherit genes from our ancestors. The idea of collective unconscious suggests that we have memories in our brain which are unknown to us. That's one theory that tried to explain the phenomenon of the unconscious world.

Though the unconscious is not obvious, it tries to manifest itself through Deja Vu or sometimes through intrusive thoughts. Deja Vu is harmless, but intrusive thoughts are disturbing.

But what does the term "intrusive thoughts" really mean?

These are unwanted thoughts, impulses, or mental images that often cause significant anxiety, stress, and impairment within an individual's ability to function. These thoughts may surround the fear of committing an act one considers to be harmful, violent, immoral, sexually inappropriate, or sacrilegious. Such thoughts get stuck in mind and cause an immense disturbance. They're not like regular thoughts, they just come out of nowhere and show you the worst of a situation, the situation might be relevant to you or not.

Every person comes across such thoughts at one time or another but many people can't manage them. These thoughts might cause dysfunctionality in a lot of people. Therefore, it is wiser to see a shrink if you happen to experience any unwelcoming thoughts. These intrusive or irritating thoughts can be symptoms of several diseases like anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to name a few.

So how to react if such thoughts keep nagging you? Here are some management tricks you can use:

>> Let your thoughts flow. Don't resist them. If you try to resist them, these thoughts will take over you and will start multiplying. Therefore, just let them go through your mind once.

>> Mostly these thoughts overtake you when you're free. Make yourself busy when you have these thoughts, divert your mind to other things.

>> It is vital to know the triggers, what are the causal factors which make your thoughts intrusive in nature? It is important to be introspective.

>> Talk it out. Once you have the thought, talk to it, rationalize it, analyze the reality of the thought. That's how you will know how unimportant it is actually.

>> Remind yourself that it's just a thought. It can't do any harm if you contain the thought and manage it well.

In spite of everything, it is advised by professionals to visit a psychologist if you experience such thoughts. Because mostly these intrusive thoughts are just collateral damage to something worse which needs to be found out before it causes any further damage.