EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, I HAVE A THOUGHT ABOUT DOING SOMETHING "OUT THERE" LIKE THROWING SOMETHING AT MY NEIGHBOR OR TELLING OFF MY BOSS. DOES THIS MEAN I'M CRAZY?

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Studies have shown that 85-90% of ordinary people experience intrusive thoughts or mental images that they consider distressing or disruptive. Just because negative thoughts come into your mind, that does not make you crazy or abnormal. What distinguishes normal intrusive thoughts from psychotic or delusional thoughts is that the latter involve a break with reality. For example, a psychotic person may believe that the thought originates from a higher authority, such as Jesus Christ, and may even hear the thought as an actual voice (auditory hallucination). The person may then feel that he has no choice but to obey.

It is normal to have thoughts about things you would not actually do. You will become needlessly anxious if you attach great significance to the negative thoughts. If you have a negative and impulsive thought like “I'm going to embarrass my boss in front of everybody,” and then you say to yourself, “Because I have this thought, I'm a horrible person” or “That was terrible of me,” you are going to be a lot more bothered than if you can say to yourself, “It's just a thought, and I know I wouldn't act on it.”

Source: The Anxiety Answer Book by: Laurie A. Helgoe, PhD, Laura R. Wilhelm, PhD, Martin J. Kommor, MD