Empathy and Advice Welcomed Naming my demons

Hi. For reasons that would take a while to explain, I had the idea that maybe I could name my intrusive thoughts (about why I and the world would be better off without me) as coming from like an annoying neighbor, or something like that.

The intention is to make a separation between me and my intrusive thoughts. That way, when I am feeling bothered by thoughts of self destruction (kinda like right now) - I can internally say, “oh, shut up dorkface!” That’s not the name I have come up with, but I didn’t want to offend anyone by using a regular name. I haven’t quite given that character a name.

Just thought I’d share here for 2 reasons:
- someone else may find it useful
- if I am totally off the reservation here, and I sound like I am entertaining delusions or something like that, hopefully someone will tell me. Preferably with no ad-hominem attacks (name calling).

I think this is a good idea, Im sure I've read somewhere something a bit like this, id give this a go also- its not delusional. Unless looking at it from a buddhist point of view, then it all is anyway. (Something I've been dipping in and out of for years).

No, i don't think that's delusional. Depressive and intrusive thoughts aren't wholly organic to us, they're an alien presence in our own mind. Yes, our mind produces them, but not because of how we authentically feel about ourselves or the world. They're products of social conditioning, a chemical imbalance, or most often some combo of the two.

I think identifying that they are distinct entities within your mind, trying to alter your perception, is a constructive thing to do. If you can draw a distinction between your thoughts and the intrusive thoughts, it'll make it easier to prioritise your own voice over theirs.

I'm too afraid to this day to even describe the content of some of the intrusive thoughts my anxiety disorder plants in my head, but it did me so much good when i finally acknowledged that they weren't authentic thoughts or feelings. I know now they're just products of growing up being treated like some kind of aberrant monster. I was conditioned to expect the absolute worst of myself, so part of me still tries to act like that's what i am, the worst things possible. Once i understood that these thoughts don't represent who i am as a person, and instead simply represent what i'm afraid of being, it became infinitely easier to treat myself with kindness and understanding, and accept that i'm a decent person, who deserves to be here just as much as anyone else.

So if you want to give them names, and describe them as your demons, i think that's a solid, healthy idea, and the product of a pretty rational mind. Obviously you're free to call them whatever you want, but personally, i tend to just call mine The Beast.

Way back in the past demons were everywhere. When someone caught a cold they would call it a demon. That goes for other illnesses and misfortunes that befall us humans.

In a way we are different from our thoughts. Our spiritual selves are not are physical selves. "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" is an ancient saying describing this phenomenon. We humans are engaged in a constant struggle with spirit and flesh both vying for control. The goal is for spirit to win control making our lives more productive and logical. We humans seem to know what is right ], but we don't always choose that path. I remember reading about a survey done at a mental hospital. They asked patients to answer the questions "as if" they were normal people. The results were astounding. Some of the patient's scores were like normal people , others were vastly improved. We do know how, we just need to do it people. Love

This sounds great.
I think of demonic (evil, which is live spelled backwards) and angelic (life enhancing) forces as metaphors that are battling in us and we may not have a preference, we are just neutral receptacles that have things like logic, self-awareness etc.
And naming demons might help the angelic side because "All warfare is based on deception" so if you just remove all ambiguity then all possibility of the angels being deceived flies out the window, does this make sense?