Reader’s Question

I don’t get it. I feel as if people are saying something different from what I hear and I see things different from what they are. Also people say I talk very slowly when think I’m talking fast. Thought broadcasting and in my opinion alogia… Also sometimes I feel as if I’m looking at myself from the outside watching…not controlling, like me body is just a drone and I’m watching it. Also I will often drop my thought mid-sentence to talk of something else that popped into my mind or I will let my words get jumbled up and spit out something that makes no sense. I also feel sometimes that someone is talking to me telling me things when I am deep in thought.

Our Clinical Psychologist’s Reply

For our readers, the term “alogia” is defined as the absence or poverty of speech, often caused by mental confusion or impairment. It’s often used to describe a complete lack of speech or the presence of minimal conversation.

You are describing the symptoms of a thought disorder. Mood disorders such as depression and anxiety focus on the mood as the primary symptoms — sadness, fear, apprehension, despair, etc. In a thought disorder, the major symptom involves the thinking process and can include not only the symptoms you describe but paranoia, suspiciousness, ideas of reference (feeling that almost everything in the environment is directly related to you), and mental confusion.

Many of your symptoms and experiences are related to disorders of thought. You are experiencing both “thought broadcasting” and “thought insertion” — the sense that someone is placing thoughts in your head as well as feelings of unreality. The direct link between our thoughts and our speech produce your symptoms; including the alogia, speech derailment (speech falls of track or becomes confusing/incoherent), and misperception of your conversation with others.

You are showing significant signs of “mental interference” — a brain running so fast and in such a confused manner that normal conversation would be difficult for you. Socially, from your perspective, your brain is thinking very fast but to others, your speech production is minimal (the alogia). It’s like having 100 thoughts yet being only able to express one — and it isn’t related to the topic of conversation.

These are very serious symptoms and require psychiatric consultation and treatment. These symptoms reflect a dysregulation of brain neurotransmitters as discussed in my article on Chemical Imbalance on my website at www.drjoecarver.com. Untreated, they will become worse. These symptoms typically surface between the ages of 18 and 25, gradually becoming more socially incapacitating with time.

I would recommend consultation with a psychiatrist immediately. While your symptoms may be confusing to you, they are commonly seen in psychiatric practice.