A disturbance of speech, communication, or content of thought, such as delusions, ideas of reference, poverty of thought, flight of ideas, perseveration, and loosening of associations. Thought disorder is often used synonymously with the term psychosis.
A symptom of schizophrenia, characterized by incoherence, loose associations, and distortion of concrete reasoning.
Abnormal thinking that is pathological, bizarre, or not based in reality. Common thought disorders include hallucinations (false perceptions in any of the senses based on no external reality, for example, hearing voices of the absent or dead], delusions (persistent, unshakable, and false beliefs held despite obvious evidence to the contrary), and confabulation (the invention of plausible fictions to account for gaps in memory). Thought disorders also include depersonalization (thinking that one’s body is unreal, unfamiliar, floating, dead, changing in size, or being observed by the self from the outside), derealization (thinking that the environment is unreal and that one is separated from the surroundings), and word salad (a seemingly random, illogical mixture of words and sounds). A thought disorder may or may not be a sign of mental illness. Temporary feelings of depersonalization or derealization are normal and do not indicate mental illness. Persistent hallucinations are a key feature of schizophrenia, and delusions of persecution can be a symptom of paranoia. Some drugs may cause thought disorders.
Thought is a mental activity by which people reason, solve problems, form judgements and communicate with each other by speech, writing and behaviour. Disturbances of thought are reflected in how a person communicates: the normal logic of thought is broken up and a person may randomly move from one subject to another. Schizophrenia is a mental illness characterized by thought disorder. Confusion, dementia, depression and mania are other conditions in which thought disorders may be a marked feature.
Thought disorders denote irregularities in the structure or content of thoughts, evident through a person’s speech, writing, or conduct. Schizophrenia triggers various forms of thought disruption, encompassing the breakdown of logical associations, the creation of novel terms, thought interruption (abrupt halting of thought process), the perception of thoughts being added to or taken away from the mind, and often auditory hallucinations.
Incoherent thoughts manifest across various forms of confusion, such as dementia and delirium. Swiftly transitioning between ideas characterizes hypomania and mania. Depression leads to slowed thinking, diminished association, and an inclination to excessively focus on insignificant matters. Obsessive-compulsive disorder features recurring thoughts that seemingly intrude involuntarily. Delusions, prevalent in conditions like schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, might exemplify distorted thinking.