Thought and Speech
Disorganized thought and speech
A disturbance in the thought process, either voluntary or involuntary, in which one provides unnecessarily detailed answers (circumstances) that deviate from the topic of conversation but remain vaguely related. The answer is long and winded but eventually return to the original subject.
Circumstantiality can be a sign of anxiety disorders or hypomania. Additionally, it can be observed in schizophrenia and in obsessional disorders.
A pattern of speech characterized by oblique, digressive, or irrelevant replies to questions
Abrupt, permanent deviation from the current subject. The new thought process is minimally relevant at best and never returns to the original subject.
If the patient is asked about how he or she feels, then he/she began to talk about feelings, gave the answer and connected this to something else then began talking about this. For example, if she talked about feelings and how she feels sad, then sadness, then how she feels sad about animal testing for cosmetic products.
When the patient is asked about feeling, would start talking about feelings, then sadness then saying how sad the current pandemic situation is, and then talking about viruses.
Loose associations
can be regarded as more severe form of tangentiality;
no association; no logical connection
Knight's move thinking is a severe type of loosening of associations, where there are unexpected and illogical leaps from one idea to another. It is a feature of schizophrenia.
Incoherence
incoherent would be replying with nonsensical statements such as 'feelings like this different colour and rat poison'.
Flight of ideas
rapidly move from topic to topic
Perseveration