Thought blocking is a neuropsychological symptom expressing a sudden and involuntary silence within a speech, and eventually an abrupt switch to another topic. Persons undergoing thought blocking may utter incomprehensible speech; they may also repeat words involuntarily or make up new words.
A person should see a doctor if they experience racing thoughts without an apparent reason or have any other symptoms that last longer than 2 weeks. These symptoms may indicate an underlying mental health problem that needs medical attention.
The takeaway is that even though theres an intuitively appealing image of people with ADHD simply being distracted because they bounce from one idea to the next, its important to keep in mind that both mind wandering and blank thoughts are associated with ADHD.
ADHDers—people with ADHD—can also experience intrusive thoughts that are repetitive, distressing, or just flat-out strange. It's not uncommon to have intrusive thoughts, but frequently experiencing them may be a symptom of your ADHD (if you have ADHD) or possibly something else.
Mind-blanking—when our minds are seemingly “nowhere”—is defined by a lack of conscious awareness. During periods of blankness, the individual is not focally aware of any stimuli, either internal or external.
[1] Tangentiality refers to a disturbance in the thought process that causes the individual to relate excessive or irrelevant detail that never reaches the essential point of a conversation or the desired answer to a question.
Identifying Thought Disorder
The Rorschach inkblot test: The Rorschach inkblot test is a projective test in which people are shown a series of ambiguous inkblots. Mental health professionals can then use a scoring system when interpreting verbal responses to the inkblots to look for signs of disordered thinking.
Auditory hallucinations, “hearing voices,” are the most common in schizophrenia and related disorders. Disorganized thinking and speech refer to thoughts and speech that are jumbled and/or do not make sense. For example, the person may switch from one topic to another or respond with an unrelated topic in conversation.
Interrupting the train of thoughts creates space. It allows us to choose our focus and to give ourselves more fully to the problem, the person or the possibility that most needs our attention.
It's normal to feel out of control every once in a while. We all make mistakes and do things we regret. But if you find yourself losing control all the time, there's probably more going on.
Anxiety brain fog happens when a person feels anxious and has difficulty concentrating or thinking clearly. Many conditions may cause anxiety and brain fog, including mental health diagnoses and physical illnesses. It is normal to experience occasional brain fog and anxiety, especially during high stress.
Hebephrenia is characterized by disorganized behavior and speech as well as disturbance in emotional expression, known as mood incongruence. Hallucinations and delusions are less pronounced with disorganized schizophrenia, though there is evidence of these symptoms occurring.
The brain's prefrontal cortex is thought to be the seat of cognitive control, working as a kind of filter that keeps irrelevant thoughts, perceptions and memories from interfering with a task at hand.
Brain fog is characterized by confusion, forgetfulness, and a lack of focus and mental clarity. This can be caused by overworking, lack of sleep, stress, and spending too much time on the computer.
When you 'go blank', it's usually because you are talking too quickly – thoughts are coming out of your mouth as soon as they are produced. When this is happening, your pace is too fast for you and your audience.
The most common cause of thought blocking is schizophrenia, but trauma, brain injuries, and some drugs may also induce thought blocking. Treatment usually requires medication to manage the symptoms of the underlying conditions, but people may also learn coping skills to help them focus on and manage their thoughts.
It's when your thoughts get caught in a loop, and you go over and over the same thoughts without feeling better or finding a resolution. Your thinking might get stuck on day to day worries or on future events.
Overthinking can be an all-natural process, it can also be the result if the creative and overly active ADHD brain. While most believe overthinking to be a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder, it' actually relates more to ADHD.