Can I tell my therapist my intrusive thoughts?
Written by the clinical team at The Lyceum Clinic. Clinically reviewed by Sanah Younis, Founder and Clinical Director, BABCP-accredited (no. 1000792). Published 28 October 2026. Last reviewed 28 October 2026.
Clinical perspective: The Lyceum's specialist therapist in OCD.
Yes, including the ones you are certain cannot be said aloud. Thoughts about causing harm, unwanted sexual thoughts, and blasphemous thoughts are the ordinary content of OCD. A therapist who treats OCD has heard them, and will not be shocked.
Why your brain produced it
The brain is a threat-simulation machine. It scans what you value most, protecting children, loving your partner, your faith, and throws the exact opposite image at you to test the alarm system. The fact that the thought horrifies you is the proof that you are not the thought.
What happens when you say it
Nothing dramatic. It is named, it is put into the formulation, and the work begins on the compulsion that follows it rather than on the thought itself.
For more detail, read about OCD therapy.
Shame is the reason people wait
The single most common reason people delay treatment for OCD is shame about taboo intrusive thoughts. Years are lost to it. There is a clear, well-evidenced route out, and it begins with saying the thing you are sure cannot be said.