{"id":95,"date":"2021-10-19T19:00:16","date_gmt":"2021-10-19T17:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=102603"},"modified":"2021-10-19T19:14:09","modified_gmt":"2021-10-19T17:14:09","slug":"why-do-i-keep-having-random-violent-thoughts-in-public","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/why-do-i-keep-having-random-violent-thoughts-in-public\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do I keep having random violent thoughts in public?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Dean Burnett\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 19 October 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Everyone has inappropriate, alarming thoughts that occur to them out of nowhere. Thoughts of violence, of sex, of both. Many people worry that such thoughts mean there\u2019s something wrong with them. But the opposite is true; they actually mean your brain is working normally.<\/p>\n

Human brains don\u2019t just learn about the world by observing, experiencing and remembering things that happen to us. They also speculate, anticipate and simulate actions and outcomes. Our brains are constantly churning out thoughts about hypotheticals and \u2018what ifs\u2019 regarding our decisions and actions, to give us the best possible chance of succeeding with whatever it is we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

Most of these will be straightforward, uninteresting, and forgotten quickly. These are \u2018mundane\u2019 thoughts. But if your brain is trying to account for every possible option, then logically some of these options will be unpleasant, by dint of having violent, sexual, or other less acceptable qualities.<\/p>\n

This is just how the brain works, though. It\u2019s a part of who we are. But so is not acting on them. Such thoughts are believed to be the subconscious brain\u2019s way of checking where the boundaries are. That we experience alarm and distress at the very idea of violence is an important part of the process.<\/p>\n

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