For the last number of years I have been experiencing what could only be described as a form of thought disorder which seems to be some kind of thought poverty. I experience difficulties in thinking which result in difficulties in communicating verbally and in writing. I have been experiencing this for quite some time but it has gotten worse, to the point where it is beginning to affect me socially and in my working life.
The symptoms usually come across as a severe difficulty in talking to people and trying to emphasize what I want to say. I usually find it extremely difficult to converse with people and to make conversation simply as a result of not being able to think of something to say or not being able to communicate something which Im thinking of without confusing words or stumbling with words. I might often mix up the order of words in a sentence or pronounce the beginning of one word while meaning to say another word. For instance, I might say: I like mood gusic instead of: I like good music.
I have done a good bit of research on the internet and the only condition which I could find which matched my symptoms was Alogia. This defined is: a disruption in thought process reflected in the person's speech. One form of alogia is poverty of speech. Impoverished speech is brief, limited, terse and generally emerges only in response to questions or prompts rather than flowing spontaneously. An impairment termed poverty of content occurs when the information or concepts that the individual is attempting to convey cannot be understood because of limitations in the method of communicating. The meaning behind the phrases is obscured or missing. Typically, in poverty of content, the person's speech, while comprehensible in terms of its orderliness of grammar and vocabulary, does not convey substantial meaning because the phrasing is overly concrete and literal or overly abstract and fanciful.
another symptom which i experience is affective flattening which can be descirbed as: "unchanging facial expressions, poor or no eye contact, reduced body language and decreased spontaneous movements. A person experiencing affective flattening may stare vacantly into space and speak in a flat, toneless voice. Flat affect refers to the outward expression of emotion and not the inner experience." Both the affective flattening and the thought poverty are symptoms of depression and schizophraenia.
I visited a neurologist and after performing only a simple neurological test she assured me that I didnt have any neurological condition and advised me to see a speech and language therapist although I dont think that this is simply a speech defect. It goes far deeper than speech as it is something which affects my thought processes. I strongly believe that this is not a result of a lack of confidence or being too shy. I have always regarded myself as a confident person and yet I experience these symptoms around people I have known for years, including my family and friends who have noticed changes in me. I felt as though that these symptoms were a result of something neurological as I have constantly felt just physically unable to communicate verbally with people no matter how hard I tried simply because the thoughts which are usually transmitted in the form of speech are not present. even when im on my own and thinking to myself i experience very few thoughts and of the ones i do experience they usually lack richness and depth.
On occasion, the symptoms of the condition seem to go away and I am able to think more clearly, although this is becoming less and less frequent. Strangely, I find that alcohol and caffeine sometimes helps. The influences of these sometimes improve my thought processes and increase the variety and richness of thoughts which I experience. This makes it far easier to converse with people as I find it much easier to make up conversation and to talk more clearly and understandably.
However, I am able to communicate effectively in written communication, although a lot of the time it comes which a great deal of thought and preparation. Like when compared to speech i dont have to think of something to write down off the top of my head immediately
I would consider myself a healthy individual. I have no major medical history. I have never experienced any other neurological or psychological disorders or any
head injuries. I have done well academically and would consider myself of good intelligence. I have completed a degree in college.
Could you please suggest any thoughts or recommendations you may have on this condition. Do you think a brain cat scan might show up something which may be causing this?
The symptoms usually come across as a severe difficulty in talking to people and trying to emphasize what I want to say. I usually find it extremely difficult to converse with people and to make conversation simply as a result of not being able to think of something to say or not being able to communicate something which Im thinking of without confusing words or stumbling with words. I might often mix up the order of words in a sentence or pronounce the beginning of one word while meaning to say another word. For instance, I might say: I like mood gusic instead of: I like good music.
I have done a good bit of research on the internet and the only condition which I could find which matched my symptoms was Alogia. This defined is: a disruption in thought process reflected in the person's speech. One form of alogia is poverty of speech. Impoverished speech is brief, limited, terse and generally emerges only in response to questions or prompts rather than flowing spontaneously. An impairment termed poverty of content occurs when the information or concepts that the individual is attempting to convey cannot be understood because of limitations in the method of communicating. The meaning behind the phrases is obscured or missing. Typically, in poverty of content, the person's speech, while comprehensible in terms of its orderliness of grammar and vocabulary, does not convey substantial meaning because the phrasing is overly concrete and literal or overly abstract and fanciful.
another symptom which i experience is affective flattening which can be descirbed as: "unchanging facial expressions, poor or no eye contact, reduced body language and decreased spontaneous movements. A person experiencing affective flattening may stare vacantly into space and speak in a flat, toneless voice. Flat affect refers to the outward expression of emotion and not the inner experience." Both the affective flattening and the thought poverty are symptoms of depression and schizophraenia.
I visited a neurologist and after performing only a simple neurological test she assured me that I didnt have any neurological condition and advised me to see a speech and language therapist although I dont think that this is simply a speech defect. It goes far deeper than speech as it is something which affects my thought processes. I strongly believe that this is not a result of a lack of confidence or being too shy. I have always regarded myself as a confident person and yet I experience these symptoms around people I have known for years, including my family and friends who have noticed changes in me. I felt as though that these symptoms were a result of something neurological as I have constantly felt just physically unable to communicate verbally with people no matter how hard I tried simply because the thoughts which are usually transmitted in the form of speech are not present. even when im on my own and thinking to myself i experience very few thoughts and of the ones i do experience they usually lack richness and depth.
On occasion, the symptoms of the condition seem to go away and I am able to think more clearly, although this is becoming less and less frequent. Strangely, I find that alcohol and caffeine sometimes helps. The influences of these sometimes improve my thought processes and increase the variety and richness of thoughts which I experience. This makes it far easier to converse with people as I find it much easier to make up conversation and to talk more clearly and understandably.
However, I am able to communicate effectively in written communication, although a lot of the time it comes which a great deal of thought and preparation. Like when compared to speech i dont have to think of something to write down off the top of my head immediately
I would consider myself a healthy individual. I have no major medical history. I have never experienced any other neurological or psychological disorders or any
head injuries. I have done well academically and would consider myself of good intelligence. I have completed a degree in college.
Could you please suggest any thoughts or recommendations you may have on this condition. Do you think a brain cat scan might show up something which may be causing this?
