Thought-Action Fusion and OCD

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is Thought-Action Fusion?SymptomsTreatment

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

What Is Thought-Action Fusion?

Symptoms

Treatment

Close

OCDis a complex illness with manycauses, including biological, psychological and social factors. A psychological process that may help cause and maintainOCD symptomsis thought-action fusion. Let’s explore the relationship between thought-action fusion and OCD symptoms.

Thought-action fusion is when you believe that simply thinking about an action is equivalent to actually carrying out that action. For example, if a thought randomly pops into your mind about something unacceptable—such as murdering your partner—you would believe this to just as bad as actually harming them.

In this way, thought-action fusion and thought suppression may work hand-in-hand to create distressing obsessions. And in turn, such obsessions can lead to debilitatingcompulsions, which are used as an attempt to neutralize or undo the feared outcome or thought.

What Are OCD Obsessions?

Addressing thought-action fusion is a key component of many cognitive-behaviorally orientedpsychological treatmentsfor OCD. Although the imagined link between thoughts and actions is almost always illogical, if you have OCD it can sometimes be difficult to haveinsightinto the irrationality of these thoughts. Therapy focuses, in part, on challenging the imagined link between thoughts and actions/outcomes through experiments or observation.

For example, if you are afraid that thinking about a bomb going off in your workplace makes it more likely that this will happen, you could intentionally think about this and then see if this feared outcome comes true or not. Although initially distressing, these types of experiments can help challenge beliefs about the link between thoughts and actions as well as make thought suppression less likely; indeed, if your thoughts are not actually dangerous, why push them away?

Behaviorally-oriented therapies such asacceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)also work to build flexibility in thinking rather than trying to eliminate distressing thoughts like obsessions using a variety of mindfulness techniques, metaphors, and life enhancement exercises. ACT teaches clients to be less invested in their thoughts, which helps to avoid the tendency to label thoughts as dangerous.

The Best Online Therapy ProgramsWe’ve tried, tested and written unbiased reviews of the best online therapy programs including Talkspace, Betterhelp, and Regain.

SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Berle, D., & Starcevic, V. “Thought-action Fusion: Review of the Literature and Future Directions”.Clinical Psychology Review2005 25: 263-284.Einstein, D.A., & Menzies, R.G. “The Presence of Magical Thinking in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”.Behaviour Research and Therapy2004 42: 539-549.

Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Berle, D., & Starcevic, V. “Thought-action Fusion: Review of the Literature and Future Directions”.Clinical Psychology Review2005 25: 263-284.Einstein, D.A., & Menzies, R.G. “The Presence of Magical Thinking in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”.Behaviour Research and Therapy2004 42: 539-549.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Berle, D., & Starcevic, V. “Thought-action Fusion: Review of the Literature and Future Directions”.Clinical Psychology Review2005 25: 263-284.Einstein, D.A., & Menzies, R.G. “The Presence of Magical Thinking in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”.Behaviour Research and Therapy2004 42: 539-549.

Berle, D., & Starcevic, V. “Thought-action Fusion: Review of the Literature and Future Directions”.Clinical Psychology Review2005 25: 263-284.

Einstein, D.A., & Menzies, R.G. “The Presence of Magical Thinking in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”.Behaviour Research and Therapy2004 42: 539-549.

Meet Our Review Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

What is your feedback?