Is there a difference between "Call of void" and "intrusive thoughts"?

[Edulars]

Hi everyone, I'm new here so in case something is wrong I apologize.  When it comes to psychology, I'm a total layman, so the question can be quite simple.  For a long time I believed that the thought of jumping from a very high place (or similar thoughts) was uniquely called "Call of the void" (which is not completely wrong), but today talking to a friend, she tells me that the name of this is actually "intrusive thoughts".  She has a degree in psychology so there's no reason to doubt it, but I'm a little stubborn so I've been trying to look a little bit more about it.  Is there any difference between the two?  Is "Call of the void" a subcategory of "Intrusive Thoughts"?  or is "Call of the void" the "popular" name and "intrusive thoughts" the "scientific" name ?

[mistermack]

Since you're a total layman, and she's a psychology graduate, I would go with her opinion. 

I would say that "intrusive thoughts" covers an array of different problems, and "call of the void" would be just one of those. 

Since we evolved from a tree living animal, it's not surprising that we should occasionally get the odd throwback thought of launching into the air. Or is could be a faint whiff of Tourettes, where you get a compusion to do it, because you know you should not. 

[Peterkin]

2 hours ago, Edulars said:

 Is "Call of the void" a subcategory of "Intrusive Thoughts"?  or is "Call of the void" the "popular" name and "intrusive thoughts" the "scientific" name ?

I'm with mistermack : There can be all kinds of intrusive thoughts, like "She's lying. She doesn't really love me." and "Could I kill my father? Could I kill anybody?"  It may be on any subject. All these thoughts have in common is that they tend to come out of the blue and be distressing and repetitive. The specific category "call of the void" is a very common one, particularly in the late teens, early 20's, that comes in a small array of notions regarding of self-cancellation. Images of jumping off a balcony or bridge, walking into the ocean or fire; perhaps just staring up at the night sky and feeling as if you might be sucked up into it. I think that what Nietzsche was referring to

Quote

And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.

The lure of high places is probably the form that lasts longest; it stays with some people throughout their life. And, of course, suicides often choose the method that resembles their long-standing intrusive thought.