Characteristics of Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts in Clinical and Nonclinical Population

Recently several clinical and social psychologists, in line with their empirical and objective researches, have stepped toward determining the role of "content" of various thoughts and its relation with "conscious awareness". They also interested on importance of thought strategies, perceptions and the way of individual interpretation on behavior and emotion. Intense negative and unwanted intrusive thoughts may occur in conscious awareness of normal individuals which ultimately can develop negative moods, however these types of intrusive thoughts, which at times may even seems unpleasant, are usually rare, controllable and easily can substitute by positive thoughts. Generally, these intrusive thoughts are common in normal population. At present, one of the most important issues in psychiatric disorders literature (depression, insomnia, generalized anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders, eating habits, psychoses and sexual behaviors) is study on similarities between content of these thoughts and conscious awareness in clinical and non clinical population. Considering the role of negative cognition issues as a key and pathogenic factor in psychiatric disorders, the aim of this review is to describe the recent developments on the role of thoughts and conscious awareness in clinical and non clinical population. Therefore this review may also lead us to identify content of the unwanted intrusive thought as well as mechanism of its development in clinical population.