How do you calm obsessive thoughts?

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So... Over the past year, I've been extremely obsessed with something that I don't really want to talk about. I just can't stop thinking about it and it's really uncomfortable, because it has got to the point now where I am not functional anymore. I can't focus at school, my grades have gone down and I have completely lost my sex drive at age 18 because I just can't stop obsessing about it.

It's something on which most people wouldn't waste a lot of time on, but I'm kind of complicated.


So, I wanted to know: Is there a way to obsess less? Thanks in advance.

I'd say distraction. The mind goes where it's told not to. But I suppose you have thought of that aswell.

Do you have any friends you could do things with? Or is there anything at all that could take your mind off of it? Perhaps some special interest, maybe music if you like that. If nothing helps then it might be beneficial to see a therapist.

Unfortunately, no, I have absolutely zero friends, so that isn't an option. Video games don't help as I think about it while playing and music makes it even worse. Books help quite a bit though, so I'll spend more time reading. Thanks for your reply.

I can get over unwanted obsessive thoughts by saying no to them. Every time I catch myself thinking the unwanted thought, I switch my mental focus to whatever is in front of me, whatever I'm doing at that second.

The thought will come back; it may come back in 10 seconds or 10 minutes or three hours. Each time the thought comes back, I switch focus. It's a discipline and it works. As days and weeks elapse the unwanted thought is absent for longer periods of time.

I got past a major debilitating angry obsession that way. It took months. Being free of it is a pure gift to myself.

For me I have obsessive thoughts to do things so the best way to calm them down is to act on them and get them over with.

Acting on them becomes problematic when they are self-destructive though.

Thanks for your replies. They helped.