Thought Disorder | Attorneys, Lawyers & Legal Resources

Thought Disorder

Thought disorder, also known as formal thought disorder in the psychiatry field, is a symptom of psychotic mental illness. The characteristics of this symptom include a constant disruption of conscious thought and an impact on oral and written communication. People with thought disorder commonly speak very rapidly and change topics in the midst of a thought.

Symptoms

The following are symptoms of thought disorder:

Pressure of speech -- words are delivered at a quicker pace than is customary for the language being spoken.

Distractible speech -- changes in surroundings cause the person to suddenly switch topics.

"Then, I got in my car and drove to...did you just get a haircut?"

Tangentiality -- answering questions in a roundabout or incoherent manner.

"Where did you grow up?" "Well, let me think. I'm from Florida, but I don't know where my ancestors are from. So, I could be German or Italian."

Derailment -- train of thought suddenly shifts from one idea to another that is entirely unrelated.

"I was watching this great comedy movie at the theater, so yeah, I put the garbage out on the curb for pickup every Tuesday."

Incoherence -- also referred to as word salad, speech is unrecognizable because one word does not coincide with the next, resulting in strings of indecipherable gibberish.

"Where are we going for dinner?" "Lou Yankees jacket, missing teeth bald circle. Gary darling. Scum glasses marry me."