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A thinking disorder is a medical condition that results in disorganized or incoherent speech or writing, making it difficult for patients to communicate effectively. It is commonly associated with psychotic mental illnesses, but can also be a symptom of other medical conditions. Treatment involves addressing the underlying causes and may include medication and therapy.
A formal thinking disorder, or thought disorder, is a medical term used by physicians to describe thinking that manifests itself through disorganized or incoherent writing or speech. This disorder can present in a variety of ways, making it difficult for a patient to communicate effectively. Although a thinking disorder is usually associated with a psychotic mental illness, patients with other medical conditions may also have symptoms.
It is believed that disordered thinking typically results in disordered speech. During times of extreme compulsion, some people may show some signs of a thought disorder, such as incoherence, but this condition is usually temporary. When a person exhibits these symptoms regularly without brain injury or traumatic events, however, that person is thought to have a thinking disorder.
A patient with a thinking disorder often confuses others when trying to speak or write. Speech may be delayed or may jump rapidly from one idea to another, as if losing the train of thought. Confused or confusing statements that make almost no sense are another sign of a possible thinking disorder.
Difficulty staying on a topic or even remembering what was said is a possible sign of a thinking disorder. For example, blocking occurs when a patient is talking about something in particular and stops suddenly, usually because he has forgotten what they were discussing. Derailment occurs when a person is talking about one topic and quickly switches to a completely different one. Distractable speech is similar, but instead of a smooth transition to an unrelated topic, the patient often stops in the middle of what he was saying and starts talking about something else that was distracting him at the time.
General incoherence, or schizophasia, is another possible sign of a thinking disorder. It is commonly known as word salad, and patients with this symptom often have little or no sense to those with whom they are trying to communicate. Many times, it can feel like random words are strung together into a sentence or paragraph. In some cases, the words that are strung together relate to a topic.
This disorder is generally believed to be a symptom of psychosis, which is often caused by schizophrenia or other similar mental disorders. The underlying cause of this disorder may be misdiagnosed, however, due to this. Signs of a thinking disorder may be present in other medical conditions, including brain tumors or trauma, dementia, autism, and Tourette syndrome.
Treatment of thinking disorders typically involves treating the underlying causes. Some medications have been shown to successfully reduce the severity and frequency of symptoms and these are usually combined with therapy, which helps a patient understand and control the disorder. In severe cases, hospitalization may be required.
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