Here are the four things that have helped me most — to improve the quality of my thoughts and break out of the intrusive thought loop faster.

I love sport. I feel different when I move — and I notice it on those days when I sit in front of the computer working all day with very little movement. My back hurts and I feel overall stiff, not only physically but mentally too. Like something isn't flowing.

Our minds try to make sense of how our bodies feel. Exhausting the body through exercise and movement generates a potent combination of feel-good hormones and neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and endorphins — which help boost our mood and have a positive effect on the quality of our thoughts.

I go to the gym and practise boxing. Boxing is a very demanding sport in terms of cardio, but it also requires coordination, thinking and focus. Aside from being fun and providing a physical and mental challenge, one of the things I appreciate most about boxing is that after every session, I am so exhausted that I have no energy left for any thoughts, including intrusive ones. I go home with an empty mind. Boxing is my medicine.

You are the one that is aware of them.

Imagine a radio playing songs — all genres, all styles, some random, some fun, some strange. You are not the radio. You are the one listening.

It's essential to be mindful of what we see, hear and talk about, and the content we consume. Is it positive and empowering, or negative and depressing? This has a direct impact on the quality of our thoughts.

The good news is that we can always choose.

I love solving problems. One of the things I used to do to cope with panic attacks was reach for my phone as a distraction — which, looking back, was an escape. But it was there that I noticed I kept returning to the same types of game: maths puzzles, Sudoku, and so on — anything that required solving a problem. These forced me to focus on solving something rather than on the anxiety and intrusive thoughts it generated.

It was then that I learned something important: solving a problem requires focus, and that focus pulls energy away from anxiety and intrusive thoughts.

What problems can be solved? Any, literally. You could organise your space, clean your home, plan the week or run errands. My mind started to adapt — and getting things done also made me feel good.

Whenever I'm triggered by a thought, I now try to trace it back to what I believe to be true in that specific moment — the belief that gives the thought its emotional charge. Thoughts are guides, and one of the gifts they offer is showing us whether a belief is in line with our true selves or not.

How to know? Feel it in your body. Is the thought causing fear or anxiety? Your belief system may not be aligned with who you truly are. It might be a good time to examine it — and update it.

I mentioned in the post on intrusive thoughts, that putting myself in the right state is what allows me to choose the thoughts I want to have.

These four things are part of my recipe.