Intrusive Cognitive Content and Post-Deployment Distress
It’s a pretty common experience to have intrusive cognitions (ICs, or thoughts, memories, and images that are distressing, unwanted, and happen seemingly “out of nowhere”). Lots of people feel like they might be going crazy when that happens, even though ICs happen to almost everyone - even well-trained soldiers in the U.S. Army have this experience. Understanding more about these experiences will help lots of different people, but particularly trauma survivors since ICs are common after trauma, and are a hallmark feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).