21 examples of psychopathology of thought (explained)

Examples of psychopathology of thought that help to understand this class of disorders.

Schizophrenia is the mental disorder in which the different examples of psychopathology of thought most often occur, so they are strongly associated with each other. These psychopathologies can also occur in depressive and bipolar disorders.

Detecting this type of mental disorders is not easy in many cases, and the best way to assess the psychopathology of thought in patients is through their speech, since when a case of this type occurs, it is when having a conversation with the subject when you can see a disorganization in their thinking, and this disorganization can be presented in many ways.

In this article some examples of the psychopathology of thought will be briefly explained.classified in several categories.

Examples of psychopathology of thought.

First of all it is important to distinguish between formal psychopathologies, of the structure or course of thought, and psychopathologies of the content of thought. We will begin by discussing the first of these categories.

1. Examples of psychopathologies of the course of thought.

This is a group of thought psychopathology disorders related to reasoning, which are based on limitations of reasoning.They are based on limitations of logical reasoning and problem solving, being explained as disorganized thinking.

It is also frequent that this type of disorders are related to speech disorders, characterized by disorganized speech. Therefore, it is important to look at the way in which the person expresses him/herself through language.

The following are the most common examples that can be found in this category.

1.1. Derailment

This psychopathology of thought, also referred to as "loss of associations" or "flight of ideas", consists of a way of communicating verbally through intermingled ideas, so that there is no cohesion in what is said, despite the fact that each sentence for each person's thought is a "derailment".This is a way of communicating verbally through intermingled ideas, so that there is no cohesion in what is said, even though each sentence is well constructed separately, but when they are said in the same speech they do not agree with each other.

1.2. Speech pressure

Also known as "logrera", this is a psychopathology that causes the subject to start speaking spontaneous sentences without stopping and at great speed, so it is not easy to intervene in the conversation. It may even happen that he/she starts a new sentence before he/she has finished saying the previous one.

1.3. Incoherence, schizophasia or word salad

It is a way of speaking using sentences without a correct syntax, because words are put together randomly, so that it is difficult to understand what is being said.

1.4. Loss of the goal

In this psychopathology of thought, the subject tries to explain something, starting to talk about a certain topic and, in the middle of the speech, changes the subject without finishing his speech, changes the subject without finishing his previous explanation.and, therefore, fails to reach a conclusion.

1.5. Ilogicality

Occurs when the subject begins to talk about a specific topic and ends with a conclusion that does not ends with a conclusion that has no logical relation to the previous topic..

1.6. Tangentiality

It occurs when the patient is asked about a specific topic, answers with oblique answers that have little or no relation to the question..

1.7. Perseveration

Throughout a conversation the person repeatedly repeats words or ideasin such a way that, without meaning to, he/she expresses them again.

1.8. Distracted speech

This is divergent speech in which the person suddenly changes the subject or interrupts suddenly changes the subject or interrupts his or her speech in response to any stimulus in the environment..

1.9. Circumstantiality

This is a psychopathology of thought in which the patient, when trying to express something on a given topic, gives too many details that may even have no that may even have no relevance to that topic.

1.10. Resonances

The patient's speech is made up of words that are phonetically associated (rhymes)Instead of stringing together words in his sentences that give meaning to what he intends to explain, he may end up expressing a speech that is difficult to understand.

Word approximation, metonymy or paraphasia This is the use of words in a way that is not conventional or pseudowords are created but following the rules of the language itself to form words, this being a very rare disorder.

1.11. Neologism

The subject gives a different meaning to words or even invents non-existent words. even invents non-existent words. It is also a disorder that occurs very infrequently.

1.12. Echolalia

In this case the subject repeats in echo form words or phrases or phrases just said by the person who is talking to him/her.

1.13. Self-reference

This is the tendency of the patient to relate the topics that are being discussed to him/her, even if they are unrelated to him/her or simply neutral.even if they are topics that have no relation to him or are simply neutral.

1.14. Affected speech, emphatic speech or elation

The patient tends to use language that is excessively cultured, pedantic or pompous, being in some cases out of context, so they are not appropriate at that precise moment.

1.15. Poverty of speech or laconicism

The patient hardly speaks spontaneously and when asked, he/she tends to answer with monosyllables.The patient tends to respond with monosyllables or very briefly.

1.16. Poverty of the content of spoken language or thought.

It can also be referred to as "empty speech". In these cases, the subject takes longer than usual to respond to a question and, in addition, responds with a poorly elaborated discourse that conveys the subject's thoughts, responds with a poorly elaborated speech that conveys very little information..

In some cases, he/she is able to answer with the correct information but, in order to do so, he/she goes too far in the number of words he/she uses, when it would be normal to be able to explain it in a shorter and more concise way.

1.17. Block

This happens when the subject suddenly stops speaking while expressing something, so that he/she could not finish and may even forget the subject of the may even forget what he/she was talking about..

2. Examples of psychopathologies of the content of thought

These are psychopathologies of thought that can be detected through the content of the words they express on the basis of their thoughts and ideas; therefore, it is necessary to look at what the beliefs and thoughts underlying their speech are about.

We will now look at some examples of disorders related to thought content.

2.1. Negative thoughts that recur

These are annoying thoughts, which appear frequently, are difficult to control and are of a negative nature.. In addition, this type of thoughts are not useful to solve problems, and can become exhausting because they consume much attention by the subject who suffers them, so they interfere negatively in their daily activities.

This type of thoughts can suffer them people without any psychopathology, but with a smaller frequency and also they are more controllable in these cases.

• Article related: "Rumination: the annoying vicious circle of the thought".

2.2. Overvalued ideas

In this case they are convictions that dominate the ordinary flow of the thought of the individual, being in agreement with his values and his personality.These ideas are considered to be a psychopathology of thinking because they dominate the individual's habitual flow of thoughts.

These ideas are considered as a psychopathology of thought because they dominate the individual's habitual flow of thoughts. However, it should be noted that they are not easy to detect because the content of these ideas is usually socially accurate and these people usually behave in accordance with their way of thinking, even though this generates discomfort for them because they are always concerned about meeting high expectations.

2.3. Automatic ideation

This psychopathology of thought consists of repetitive thoughts about how the subject could cause physical injury or harm, even to the point of suicidal ideation. These ideas are constantly changing because they are associated with negative states experienced by the subject at certain moments, such as sadness, anger, guilt, etc.such as sadness, anger, guilt, etc.

Special attention should be paid to this type of ideas, even if the subject has not attempted suicide or has not even thought about how to carry it out. If the subject has expressed the fact that he/she has ideas of this kind, it is necessary to evaluate this case spatially and immediately provide the subject with the necessary psychological help.

2.. Dysfunctional beliefs

The fact of having distorted or dysfunctional beliefs is a psychopathology of thought based on valuations or assumptions that is based on assessments or assumptions that the patient assumes to be totally true, thus causing biases in the patient's thinking.This causes biases in the patient when processing new information with a negative and unproductive character.