Disorganized Thinking

Disorganized thinking, also called formal thought disorder: Disorganized thinking is a cognitive disturbance where we struggle to form coherent, logical thoughts and express them clearly, often leading to fragmented, illogical, or hard-to-follow communication. It is a symptom of severe mental health conditions, particularly schizophrenia. But it can also show up in other conditions that cause psychosis, such as bipolar mania, major depressive disorder, delirium, and brain injuries. Disorganized thinking shows up in several ways, affecting speech, the ability to maintain focus, hold a job, and understand social cues and emotions. It can include: 

• Scattered thoughts, fragmented and disconnected, making it hard to concentrate on a topic 
• Illogical connections, linking ideas in ways that don’t make sense to others. 
• Sudden topic changes without a logical transition. 
• Tangentiality, going off on tangents and failing to reach the intended point. 
• Word salad of random words, making sentences incoherent. 
• Difficulty focusing to complete tasks or follow through on plans.