The rush of thoughts (racing thoughts) is a disorder of the way of thinking. The conviction that at some point thoughts revolve around an excessive number of topics may occur in every person - the basis for such a phenomenon may be, for example, overwork. However, too many thoughts can be a medical condition - the racing of thoughts can appear both in the course of mental illnesses and in the use of psychoactive substances, it can also be caused by somatic diseases.
The rush of thoughtsis one of the problems of psychopathology's interest. The symptom is classified as a disorder of the way of thinking, which is the way in which thought processes are carried out.
Crowd of thoughts - causes
Excessive thoughts are most often associated with mental illnesses. One of the typical entities where this symptom occurs is bipolar disorder spectrum problems: mania, hypomania, and mixed states.
Other psychiatric problems in which thoughts may be crowded are:
- obsessive-compulsive disorder,
- anxiety disorders (including panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder),
- schizophrenia.
The rush of thoughts can appear both in adults and in children. In the group of pediatric patients, the problem may be caused by hyperkinetic disorder with the attention deficit (ADHD).
Somatic diseases also have an influence on the occurrence of the excessive amount of thoughts - the symptoms may be experienced by patients with hyperthyroidism. Another possible cause of mental clutter is the use of psychoactive substances such as amphetamines.
Important! In the event of a crowd of thoughts, it is recommended to visit a specialist - the symptom may be caused by a serious disease that requires appropriate treatment.
Crowd of thoughts - symptoms
In the case of crowds of thoughts, the patient may experience significant difficulties in everyday functioning. They are caused by the fact that thoughts appear in the patient's head involuntarily, which makes the possibility of focusing on a specific problem not only difficult, and sometimes even impossible. Thinking uoverwhelmingly ill people can be completely disorganized. Patients' thoughts tend to be completely unrelated - one moment they may concern aspects of the relationship, and the next - they may focus on the recently read book. Changes in the topics that are thought about, of course, also occur in he althy people, but a symptom of overwhelming thinking is that in patients these changes occur very quickly. Therefore, it happens that contact (conversation) with a person suffering from the described problem is not easy - due to the multitude of thoughts, such a person may jump from one topic to another.
The thoughts that torment patients may concern ordinary events, but also concentrate on a terrible event, e.g. a catastrophe - people suffering from panic attacks may suffer from this kind of overwhelming thought.
The symptoms of crowded thoughts are also associated with sleep - the occurrence of an excessive amount of thought at night may make it much more difficult for the patient to fall asleep.
When analyzing the causes of the multitude of thoughts, you should also take into account whether the patient has any other symptoms. If the excessive amount of thoughts is accompanied by symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, increased sweating, weight loss and irritability, it would be advisable to perform tests to assess hormone levels - the combination of the crowds of thoughts with these symptoms may indicate an overactive thyroid gland.
Crowd of thoughts - treatment
The crowd of thoughts is not a disease in itself - it is a symptom of a he alth problem. For this reason, the therapy is based on the treatment of the underlying disease - in the case of bipolar disorder and its related conditions, mood stabilizers are used, and in the case of hyperthyroidism, the treatment is based on the normalization of hormone levels in this gland.
And if panic attacks are associated with the congestion of thoughts, psychotherapy can play a helpful role in combating the problem. Treatment of overload of thoughts is based not only on the actions of a doctor or psychotherapist. Patients are also advised to try various ways to try to distract themselves from troubling thoughts. It is possible to take up physical activity, try to focus on one busy activity (e.g. painting or cooking), as well as using relaxation techniques (e.g. breathing exercises).