Tangentiality - GoodTherapy.org Therapy Blog (2023)

FAQs

What is the difference between loose associations and tangentiality? ›

Tangentiality: continuous diversion from the topic of focus with no return to it. Looseness of associations: continuing change of topic with only loose associations between topics.

Examples of Tangentiality

For example, when a therapist poses the question, “How was your week?” a person may respond with, “When I was five, my cat was killed.” When the therapist asks about the cat the person may then begin to discuss something completely different such as religious beliefs or previous illnesses.

Andreasen provided a contrast to tangentiality as well: 'Flight of ideas is a derailment that occurs rapidly in the context of pressured speech. Tangentiality has been defined herein as a different phenomenon in that it occurs as the immediate response to a question'.

Tangential Thinking

For example: "I really got mad as I was waiting in line at the grocery store. I cannot stand lines. Waiting and waiting. I waited for a long time to get my driver's license.

n. a thought disturbance that is marked by oblique speech in which the person constantly digresses to irrelevant topics and fails to arrive at the main point. In extreme form, it is a manifestation of loosening of associations, a symptom frequently seen in schizophrenia or delirium.

It tends to occur in situations where a person is experiencing high anxiety, as a manifestation of the psychosis known as schizophrenia, in dementia or in states of delirium. It is less severe than logorrhea and may be associated with the middle stage in dementia.

Issues of Concern

[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.

Tangential speech: Also known as tangentiality, this describes the phenomenon in which a person constantly digresses to random, irrelevant ideas and topics. A person might start telling a story but loads the story down with so much irrelevant detail that they never get to the point or the conclusion.

Tangential describes something that's not part of the whole. If you make a comment that is tangential to the story you're telling, it's a digression. The story could still be understood without it.

Tangentiality: Replies to questions are off-point or totally irrelevant. Derailment (loosening of associations): spontaneous speech with marked impairments in topic maintenance.

What is a Alogia? ›

Some people are naturally quiet and don't say much. But if you have a serious mental illness, brain injury, or dementia, talking might be hard. This lack of conversation is called alogia, or “poverty of speech.” Alogia can affect your quality of life.

Circumstantial speech is more direct than tangential speech in which the speaker wanders and drifts and usually never returns to the original topic, and is far less severe than logorrhea.

Tangential speech is a communication disorder in which the train of thought of the speaker wanders and shows a lack of focus, never returning to the initial topic of the conversation. It is less severe than Logorrhea and may be associated with the middle stage in dementia.

A formal thought disorder (FTD) is a disruption of the form or structure of thought. Formal thought disorder, also known as disorganized thinking, results in disorganized speech and is recognized as a major feature of schizophrenia and other psychoses.

Disorganized speech typically arises from abnormal thought processes. A person engaging in disorganized speech might quickly jump from one unrelated topic to another, engage in incoherent “word salad,” repeat things another person says back to them, or appear to be speaking with nonexistent entities.

Thought blocking occurs when someone is talking and suddenly stops for no clear reason. Losing one's train of thought now and then is common and not usually anything to worry about. However, it can also be a symptom of a mental health condition such as psychosis.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by repetitive, unwanted, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and irrational, excessive urges to do certain actions (compulsions). Although people with OCD may know that their thoughts and behavior don't make sense, they are often unable to stop them.

Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a complex psychotic disorder characterised by disruptions to thinking and emotions, and a distorted perception of reality.

Logorrhea (psychology) - Wikipedia.

Definition of tangential stress. : a force acting in a generally horizontal direction. simply it is acting in parallel to surface .

What is a tangential argument? ›

​(formal) having only a slight or indirect connection with something. a tangential argument.

The tangent is a straight line which just touches the curve at a given point. The normal is a straight line which is perpendicular to the tangent. We also make use of the fact that if two lines with gradients m1 and m2 respectively are perpen- dicular, then m1m2 = −1.

They may also use homophones. They might change “piece” to “peace.” Or “bury” to “berry.” Here are a few examples of word salad: Bags stain purple vacuum.

Overinclusive Thinking, Schizotypy, and Creativity

For example, when answering the questions in categorization tasks, such as “Are feet vehicles?”, people with OT tend to think of feet as vehicles based on the fact that feet transport people and items from one place to another just like vehicles.

This can manifest in speech as an individual moving quickly from one idea to an unrelated one in the same sentence, expressing a random jumble of words and phrases. An example of loose association would be: “I like to dance; my feet are wet.”

Power Up the Pause

The next time you're concerned about talking too much in a conversation or meeting, pause. Before you speak, take a breath, count to five, and gather your thoughts. Experts say a three to five second pause is enough to help you reframe, refocus, and dim the excitement that inspires you to over-talk.

Grossly disorganized behavior includes difficulty in goal-directed behavior (leading to difficulties in activities in daily living), unpredictable agitation or silliness, social disinhibition [loss of normal inhibitions], or behaviors that are bizarre to onlookers.

Flight of ideas occurs when someone talks quickly and erratically, jumping rapidly between ideas and thoughts. Flight of ideas is not a medical condition in itself. It is a symptom that may occur as part of mania, psychosis, and some neurodevelopmental conditions.

What is word salad symptom? ›

Word salad may describe a symptom of neurological or psychiatric conditions in which a person attempts to communicate an idea, but words and phrases that may appear to be random and unrelated come out in an incoherent sequence instead. Often, the person is unaware that he or she did not make sense.

Echopraxia (which might also be called echokinesis or echomotism) is an involuntary imitation or repetition of someone else's actions. While echolalia is the involuntary repetition of language and sounds, echopraxia is the same but with actions. The word itself comes from Ancient Greek.

Copyright © 2020 World Psychiatric Association. In Fava and Guidi's paper1, euthymia is defined by “lack of mood disturbances that can be subsumed under diagnostic rubrics” , “positive affects” and “psychological well‐being” . So, good mood is euthymic.

catatonic schizophrenia, rare severe mental disorder characterized by striking motor behaviour, typically involving either significant reductions in voluntary movement or hyperactivity and agitation. In some cases, the patient may remain in a state of almost complete immobility, often assuming statuesque positions.

Risk factors of thought process disorder

bipolar disorder. depression. traumatic brain injury. anxiety.

In a loose, disorganized thought process, there is no connection between the thoughts and no train of thought to follow.[5] Perseverations are a type of thought process where no matter the topic or question, the patient goes back to the same subject.

Thought blocking is defined as any experience where a person suddenly finds themselves unable to think, speak, or move in response to events that are happening around them. This may happen at any time. The average duration of episodes is between a few seconds to a minute or longer.

This can manifest in speech as an individual moving quickly from one idea to an unrelated one in the same sentence, expressing a random jumble of words and phrases. An example of loose association would be: “I like to dance; my feet are wet.”

[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.

Circumstantiality differs from tangentiality in that the main point is never lost but rather accompanied by a large amount of nonessential information.

What is another term for loose associations? ›

Loose associations are often called out by other names such as derailment, Knight's move thinking, asyndesis, entgleisen.

Nihilistic delusions, also known as délires de négation, are specific psychopathological entities characterized by the delusional belief of being dead, decomposed or annihilated, having lost one's own internal organs or even not existing entirely as a human being.

Delusions, or false beliefs, comes in several types. Delusions of grandeur are one of the more common ones. It's when you believe that you have more power, wealth, smarts, or other grand traits than is true. Some people mistakenly call it “illusions” of grandeur.

Somatic delusions, in which the individual believes something is wrong with part or all of their body, may occur in variety of mental illnesses, including psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and schizophreniform disorder,1 and mood disorders, such as major depression and bipolar disorder.

Unlike in flight of ideas, circumstantiality contains tighter and more coherent associations that may be easier to follow or understand. Unlike tangential speakers, i.e., those who are circumstantial eventually arrive back at the main point of speech or the answer to a question.

Circumstantial speech is more direct than tangential speech in which the speaker wanders and drifts and usually never returns to the original topic, and is far less severe than logorrhea.

Perseveration: excessive repetition of words, ideas, or subjects. Echolalia: speech repeats words or phrases of interviewer. Blocking: interruption of speech while ostensibly in pursuit of a goal. Stilted speech: odd language use that may be excessively formal, pompous, outdated, or quaint.

n. a symptom of thought disorder, often occurring in individuals with schizophrenia, marked by frequent interruptions in thought and jumping from one idea to another unrelated or indirectly related idea.

A word salad, or schizophasia, is a "confused or unintelligible mixture of seemingly random words and phrases", most often used to describe a symptom of a neurological or mental disorder. The term schizophasia is used in particular to describe the confused language that may be evident in schizophrenia.

disconnected thought processes, as manifested by a tendency to shift from one topic to another that is indirectly related or completely unrelated to the first. Thought derailment is a symptom of schizophrenia; the term is essentially equivalent to cognitive derailment.