fear of hurting other people?

Sometimes I have a fear of hurting someone with a knife. Sometimes the target of attack can be someone with whom I feel very close to an love very much.

The imaged do distress me because I would like to have dinner with someone whom I value very much, without having intrusive 'knife' thoughts entering my mind. The bad thoughts do disappear when I am more relaxed with the person or people that I happen to be eating with.

Thank God other people go through this. I remember such terrible thoughts I've had. I've never told a doctor because the images usually involve my Wife and Children and I would never hurt them they're my best friends. I was always afraid the doctor would take my kids from me. It's funny that everybody mentions OCD I use to have these really strange habits of drumming my fingers in patterns for long periods of time and I would make math patterns from the numbers on the clock. I haven't done these things in years but I still do little things like flip the remote in my hand smack my head with the things (not hard just tapping) I also use to be really bad with picking at my skin literally I would spend an hour plus looking on my arms for pimples.

Hey, I'm a 17 year old female.
I have been experiencing this for the last month or so.
It's so disturbing and I feel as though I'm going crazy!
It makes me fear that I could become a murderer or something, even though I would NEVER want to hurt another human being or living creature.
When this happens I have to say 'Not' in my head 5 times, I guess to stop the image from becoming real.
I thought I was seriously going crazy and was some kind of monster.
I've always had a lot of OCD symptoms but didn't think could possibly be one.
I'm going to see a doctor about my anxiety and OCD soon, but is there anything I can do till then?
My thoughts are with you, and I hope the both of us can get past this.

I have this same fear. I have been dealing with it for about 2 months now and it just started after I started having anxiety attacks which was 4 months ago. I totally agree with the person who said that we fear hurting others (especially our loved ones) because we would NEVER want to hurt them or anyone else...we have big hearts so we fear it. Like my boyfriend who also used to suffer from anxiety said he used to constantly fear dying...because that was his biggest fear. Well mine is hurting others...so that is what I constantly worry about...and the horrible images that uncontrollably pop into our head of us hurting others is just part of that. I know it must have something to do with OCD because EVERYTIME I have an image like this I shake my head as if that will get rid of the image lol Well goodluck to all of you who are struggling with this "this too shall pass" GODBLESS

I have been struggling with images of hurting myself or others for about 4 yrs. This is the 1st time I researched it and I came upon this post. I was so relieved to find others going through the same thing. It's terrible. I would never hurt anyone and these images scared me so badly that i tried to end my life so I wouldn't hurt anyone else. I am now figuring out ways to get rid of these images. sometimes I try to think about something, anything but those images. I distract myself. I play piano and if I sit at the piano I can think of nothing but the music. I also pray. I believe God helps and it takes my mind off of the image. I also now realize that i have control over my actions. Just because i think something does not mean I am going to do it. I find that if i think about the images too much it intensifies but if I put my mind on something else I eventually get over the hurdle.

Wow, i'm sitting on my couch with tears in my eyes after reading all of these posts. I've been struggling with these anxiety problems on and off for 9 years. Reading what you all are going through is like reading a description of myself.
It started right before my senior year of high school. My dad got a new job and we were moving from the only city I ever knew... and friends/church family that I loved. I think that's what triggered the anxiety. One night in youth group, out of nowhere, I had an overwhelming fear that I was going to die. I couldn't breathe..my throat and chest felt like they were closing, and my head felt fuzzy.Over time this fear of dying turned into an overwhelming fear that I was going crazy. I remember watching a story on the news about a mother who had killed her children and that was when the anxiety really started. I thought "What if that happens to me? What if I just snap one day?" I didn't have children (I was only 17) but I had a little sister who was 2. I was terrified that I was going to go crazy and hurt my precious sister. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep...I couldn't focus on anything but the anxiety. I saw a dr and after I told her my fears, she said "If you ever think you're going to act on those fears, you need to call 911 right away." That felt like she was confirming my fears-that I really WAS crazy. Ugh... I tried Zoloft, Lexapro, and Wellbutrin with little success. I stopped taking the meds and over time (approx 2 years) I was able to overcome these obsessive thoughts without medication. My family and my boyfriend (who is now my husband) helped me tremendously. If I could feel those fears creeping up, they would immediately do whatever it took to distract me before the anxiety took hold of me...
Now, fastforward 5 years and I'm a mom to a beautiful 2 yr old girl. After she was born, the anxiety returns on and off and the terrifying thoughts I had about my little sister are now focused on my daughter. I'm so frustrated and MAD at myself that these irrational fears are ruining what should be wonderful moments in my life. Terrible thoughts and pictures pop into my head that I can't seem to contol.
Thanks for listening and giving me hope that I'm not the only one. I have an appointment on Monday to see a counselor but you all have helped me tremendously already.THANK yOU!