Disintegration of thinking

Disintegration of thinking: The flow of thinking is disturbed during delirium. The intrusive thinking that breaks into the patient's consciousness prevents the patient from rationalizing various symbols, performing ordered activities and organizing goal-oriented behaviors. Vague consciousness refers to such a flow of thinking that cannot be maintained with habit, clarity, coherence and speed. The patient's speech reflects this chaotic thinking activity. Speech shifts from one theme to another, manifesting as loose, digressive, cumbersome, hesitant, repetitive, and persistent speech. Decisiveness in speech content and impaired reading comprehension are hallmarks of delirium. Unconscious speech is characterized by abnormal rates, dysphonia, and non-aphasia naming errors, especially words related to disease and stress, such as the number of hospital stays and bed numbers. Disintegration of thinking is one of the differential diagnoses of deterioration of psychomotor activity.