Thought Blocking
Thought blocking is a thought condition usually caused by a mental health condition such as schizophrenia. During thought blocking, a person stops speaking suddenly and without explanation in the middle of a sentence. People who experience this symptom report that they feel like the thought has been removed from their brains.
Examples of Thought Blocking
Thought blocking can occur at any time during speech, but is particularly common when a person is discussing a psychologically sensitive topic. For example, a person might begin discussing childhood abuse with her therapist and then stop speaking midway through the sentence. When the therapist asks the person to continue, the person may respond that she completely forgot what she was going to say.
Thought blocking is different from the occasional lapses in memory most people experience. Brief lapses in memory can usually be triggered by thoughtful questions or by refocusing on the topic, but people experiencing thought blocking truly cannot recall what they were going to say. While it is similar to the deliberate process of avoiding thoughts or speaking about certain topics, it is not a conscious choice and people who experience thought blocking feel as if their thoughts have vanished.
Causes and Treatment
The most common cause of thought blocking is schizophrenia, but trauma, brain injuries, and some drugs may also induce thought blocking. Treatment usually requires medication to manage the symptoms of the underlying conditions, but people may also learn coping skills to help them focus on and manage their thoughts.
References:
- Kring, A. M., Johnson, S. L., Davison, G. C., & Neale, J. M. (2010). Abnormal psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
- Schizophrenia. (n.d.). National Institutes of Mental Health. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/schizophrenia/complete-index.shtml
Last Updated: 08-28-2015
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Kalnir
December 18th, 2015 at 7:42 AM:(
I thought block all the time. I’ll be talking about something and suddenly what it was all about, I’ll ask the person and I’ll just go like, “What? I said that?”.. This happens all the time to the point I feel like my brain is empty. All my thoughts get removed at some point I can’t help but feel sad and wish to forget I exist.. okay that was too deep lol -
andrea
September 7th, 2016 at 4:32 PMOmgosh I feel the same way. I’m so happy you post this because I thought block all the time to. Unfortunately my brain is also very empty as well. We have this in common. I been wondering how to treat it but once again unfortunately with my schizophrenia there isn’t much that can be treated besides this illness itself. Your so NOT alone out there.
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driss
February 5th, 2017 at 10:29 PMactually me to i feel like my brain is empthy i can’t remember what i said before 4 or 6 seconds! it happen to me all the time , 2 weeks ago i was discussing particualr topic with my teacher, suddenly my toughts stoped! i couldn’t remember what i was talking about! the teacher said to me repeat what you said but i couldn’t… can you give me your facbook to talk with you thanks
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Kalnir
November 22nd, 2017 at 1:20 PMSorry. Only saw your comment now. I wouldn’t say I had schizophrenia but because of how terrified I was of offending schizophrenics, I never dared call myself them. But back then, it was pretty freaking severe. I’d hallucinate all the time and had this one guy in my head order me around in life, listened to whatever he ordered me to do like cut off all my friendships or not to smile for a day, and when I wouldn’t, I’d get punished. Something awful had to happen to me that day.
That’s not schizophrenia though if I just got better. That all was during the time I was 11-13 ish time, now I just turned 15 2 hours ago (lol) but it’s not POSSIBLE to have an illness for 2 years. So was that just 11 year old me desperate for attention about a fake illness? But I was genuinely in the worst time of my life and genuinely felt awful every freaking day. So how am I supposed to draw the line between okay and not okay. sorry. I’m just really confused. :( I still change topics incredibly quickly to make up for me forgetting topics, to the point where it’s very noticeable in conversation how easily derailed I am off any topic. I don’t even know what I’m trying to say. I’m just.. sad I guess. I wish I went for help back when I was 11, but I don’t think my parents would take me seriously. My mom just laughed this one time I came out from my room having sobbed in my room for hours. Isn’t that insensitive? It happened two years ago and I’m still offended. -
Kalnir
November 22nd, 2017 at 1:24 PMand, question guys. is it normal to feel sad at the same time every week. for eg. I always get depressed exactly at Friday. I guess because I have to hold up a happy fake persona throughout the weekdays and I kind of break down? I stop.. being the ‘me’ everyone knows?? I just glare at walls and too tired to talk with anyone, I just want to be left alone. I used to get excited for weekends because that meant time for me to sob in my room.
but now? I’m 15 and I just spend majority of my time studying. I hate to just unwind and think ’cause it makes me cry. I’m scared. I.. I’m so talkative. I’ll just stop here, sorry. -
Kalnir
November 22nd, 2017 at 1:30 PMI’m sorry if I offended anyone, by the way. I would have long ago gone to a psychologist and found out rather than this long ago, but in my family and culture, I don’t know a single person who goes to the psychologist and just imagining asking my parents sounds awful. So I’m sorry if you have schizophrenia and are sick of people using the illness as a way for.. I don’t know, attention. I’m really sorry. If I truly were seeking attention I’d be telling everyone about my thoughts but I’m kind of ashamed by it anyways. I don’t like it because it makes me feel.. not okay. I’m really sorry. I don’t know why I’m even crying about this because I can be such an apathetic person and here I am crying and apologizing.
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Rgeee
September 19th, 2019 at 1:27 AMsounds like schizophrenia
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Adrian
January 21st, 2017 at 4:29 PMI have been thought blocking past 3 years. I happens suddenly and I know it’s happening however I cannot express speech or recognise text. I try to bluff it out and usually it lasts 30 seconds. But it’s really depressing because it limits you socially.
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Ida
February 15th, 2017 at 12:26 PMI feel like this too. When I Talk with people my brain suddently feels like its complettly empty. When I try to think a new thought I can’t.
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jane
February 19th, 2017 at 2:56 PMIda, this has happened to me since childhood…..your whole body justs stops along wiith your brain.
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areesha
August 2nd, 2017 at 8:32 AMthank god u posted this it started happening to me three years before and it has slowed down but still happens i get stuck like three to four times in a day and i really feel bad
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Johnny P.
August 11th, 2017 at 7:35 AMI was just gonna say that…. darn..I forgot. What was I gonna say? I feel like my thought was blocked
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m
August 30th, 2017 at 5:54 PMThere are reasons we thought block. Sometimes we think we were not being truthful and we question the veracity of the thought, and as a defense, we block it out. Only problem is that just like we realize we might be disclosing something “shameful”, we block it and to make sure it doesn’t come back, we are non discriminating of whatever other thoughts are there at the same time and erase everything. We may be thinking, high functioning reasoning, that any other thought related to that one might lead to the ONE! Sadly, if we could confront that one, we might be able to move along toward happiness, but may think we don’t deserve it.
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Chris
August 31st, 2017 at 8:59 PMYour comment makes sense to me. I have not thought I was schizophrenic but I have been frustrated by this thing that happens so unexpectedly. No one believes when I tell them the thought is gone. Sometimes I am even about to explain an idea and it is humerous that I would say “Listen to this idea” and then everything is gone. It has been humiliating and made me self conscious. I don’t think I am a dumb person but I haven’t been able to explain what was happening until I stumbled upon an article about schizophrenia and thought blocking. I don’t think I am schizo but the thought blocking part is dead on.
Your comment feels like it is hitting at the core concern because there is some sort of fear that almost cancels out the thought. My brain instantly challenges the information and gets sidetracked. I want to be able to manage this and improve my ability to respond to it or work through it.
I would love to hear more of your thoughts or be directed to where you learned about thought-blocking. Is there anything you can direct me to that might help?
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Gwen
September 21st, 2018 at 6:47 AMI would love to learn about your thought blocking.
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Danny F.
September 11th, 2017 at 12:08 AMWow, you guys just got me wondering if I’m like you too. I just started out looking up whether or not you could have 2 thoughts at the same time. That came from wondering if my wife could really not be able to think about her breathing when she tries to sleep.
I thought block all the time. I also have a consistent train of thought that seems to override most of the others. -
April
April 1st, 2018 at 10:20 AMI’ve been thought blocking with speech for so long my family is used to how I speak. However now I am starting to forget how to do things while in the middle of doing them. Does anyone else experience this
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Liza
July 10th, 2018 at 11:47 AMI’d like to know what other differential diagnosis there is for Thought Blocking. I know one person with PTSD who was told they had Repressed Memory Syndrome which has been dismissed. Aside from Schizophrenia & PTSD, there’s Aphasia, Psuedo Dementia from medications or Depression. Anything else?
I think with schizophrenia (and schizoaffective dis.?) there is the sense of ones mind being emptied. But, with some other disorders, there’s a sense of being stuck and struggling, more congested than empty. That’s like the brain suddenly pooping out.
There ought to be a helpful coping mechanism for helping people blend it or explain it. For example, some with Tourettes’ are able to disguise their tics, change them to something more acceptable or have a scripted answer when needing to explain themselves. I think the same is needed for thought losses. -
Elle
September 18th, 2019 at 5:16 AMDrug induced psychosis can also cause thought blocking. I know from experience. I used marijuana, and crystal meth and Valium daily for a year, and got to the point where I was psychotic and pretty much whenever I spoke to anyone, I would forget what I was saying. I also found it very embarrassing, and would try to casually end the sentence – looking back, It probably sounded really bizarre.
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Adam
July 10th, 2018 at 3:35 PMThe thought blocking turns out to be Epilepsy, the medical name for “thought block” is focal or partial seizures where one side of the brain is affected.
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Blank
October 3rd, 2018 at 4:43 PMThis is so weird… I’m in a psychology class for college and we were talking about trauma and repressed memories. I was abused growing up and I’ve never been to therapy and I never ever talk about it. I was alone in my room and I decided to pretend that I was talking to someone about my memories that I re-experience a lot. I didn’t think it would be hard. I’ve never said any of this stuff out loud and I was alone. As I tried to talk and explain what I went through, my throat closed up and my talking became very slow (like one word at a time). I was getting frustrated. Then I got to a very awful memory… and this happened. This thought blocking thing. I was talking and remembered everything clearly and then suddenly stopped mid sentence and couldn’t remember anything. This is a memory that I remember so clearly and in that moment I couldn’t and sort of freaked out. Which is how I found this page because I had to look it up. I guess I need therapy…
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Dan Johnson
October 4th, 2018 at 10:12 AMDear Blank,
If you would like to consult with a mental health professional, you can start finding therapists in your area by entering your city or ZIP code into the search field on this page: https://www.goodtherapy.org/find-therapist.html.
Once you enter your information, you’ll be directed to a list of therapists and counselors who meet your criteria. You may click to view our members’ full profiles and contact the therapists themselves for more information. If you need help finding a therapist, you are welcome to call us. We are in the office Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time, and our phone number is 888-563-2112.
Kind regards,
The GoodTherapy Team -
Manish
February 7th, 2019 at 7:14 AMI have no thoughts and just an empty mind. i cant carry any communication forward and difficulty in remembering things .i have no past and no present
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Ronny
July 20th, 2019 at 9:47 AMI’m 16, I took shrooms last night and completely got way more than I bargained for. I had drug induced psychosis and when I woke up this morning all that was left was thought blocking. I just don’t know what to think about, nothing really seems that interesting but it’s sucks because if I’m not thinking about ANYTHING I’m just existing there in the moment which is a pretty sh**** feeling and I don’t know what to do. It’s not a complete block, but it’s definitely there.
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SUVANSH
September 17th, 2019 at 10:24 AMI am need of a good psychiatristbas my thought is suddenly blocked… There is a high speed data traveling in mind which sometimes become beyond control and it doesn’t make any sense and suddenly thought gets blocked . I feel stuck for sometimes where anty thing before me or any book or writing or visual doesn’t make any sense. Which depresses me and isolate me from real time antivities around me.. work and routine is Severely affected.. No productivity . Is it scizoaffective disorder? I have a very superior IQ and always excelled in academics but now even short time reading and writing is difficult. What is the treatment of this problem ..Is it a noncurable disease? How much time it will take to bring me on normal track so that I can involve socially and professionally?
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Laney
October 4th, 2019 at 1:14 AMI used to do this quite regularly in high school. I would be having a conversation and suddenly it was like I disappeared. I wouldn’t speak, but I didn’t even realize I had stopped speaking, and I lost connection with all reality for a brief moment while my speech stopped. I had a good friend who would notice and kind of bring me back to reality, he’d go “Laney, you’re doing it again.” He’d remind of what I was saying and help me get to the point. He died a few years ago, I’m an adult with a family of my own. I don’t talk much anymore either.
I do have a question for anyone who might be experiencing something similar, have any of you ever forgotten about your surroundings (people you’ve known a long time, where you are at the moment)? I’ve done that often and still do. I’ve never spoken to a psychologist or anything. I’m afraid they’ll medicate me for any little thing and I can function well enough. I’m just curious what this could be from. I don’t hallucinate or hear voices at all though if that helps.
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Brittany
August 25th, 2021 at 10:01 AMVery interesting stuff! I’m 37, and the last ten years I’ve suffered with “thought broadcasting”. At first, I thought I was in some massive, world-wide “reality show” and was soo intent on winning a mansion or at least a few million dollars for all the hell I was enduring. I think to myself all day long, I am my own very best friend, because I find myself very keen, intelligent, and humorous. Thats the only good part. When I get in public, I cant stop talking to myself in my head, out of being nervous because EVERYONE hears, sees, and feels my thoughts/etc. People around me admonish my opinions, they make accusatory faces, sometimes they agree, but usually I am in a constant state of panic, knowing I’m about to think a vulgur public insult – that’s imminent. Then I’ll hear everyone sigh and some will yell “Get out of hear” and “shut the door” or “just die”. I lived 26 years of being totally normal. I got hooked on drugs, and when I got sober, my life became almost a nightmare. But, I still credit all these people constant criticism of me as the reason I was ABLE to get sober, and even get extremely healthy, and now almost have my bachelors in accounting. So this “disease” is what I call painful medicine. I still cant tell if this is real and everyone is lying to me. Or its just a VERY amazingly conjured-up hallucination. Cuz, if these people are NOT saying/behaving what I’m interpretting as real? Then for all I know, my body is already in a box underground, and its just my imagination making up everything. Thwy tell me Im “sleeping” so all I do is pray to our heavenly creator, and savior, Jesus Christ, to please WAKE ME UP. I want nothing more than to be like everyone else. And if that means hearing other peoples thoughts, or not- I don’t know what “reality” is. Because my version of it is incredibly self-centered. But i cant seem to get my brain to shut off- ever. Which is why I almost wouldn’t mind thought-dropping, like explained here. At least I could sit and listen to others without chiming in constantly. Anyway. God bless us all. I know there are unseen forces at work in my life. Not just in my head. On multiple occasions physical objects have moved by themselves in front of me (for about 2 minutes one time, a halloween pumpkin moved by itself in circles; chairs, pencils, an M&M candy, shampoo bottles sliding across floor)/ I’ve also heard loud knocking in the middle of the night once, scratching on the doggy door when no one was here. I’ve been forcefully held down on my bed by unseen force, couldn’t scream. Saw a demon manifest in a womens face while in jail (here face had a greyish smoky face sort of appear over her face, her eyes got cloudy white, and she grinned an evil grin – while walking past me). Oh yea, also heard my name “Bbrrriittttaaannnyy” in a very demonic voice loudly whispered in my right ear in jail (all alone again). So don’t fault me for thinking this all has something to do with demonic spirits. And I believe I unintentionally invited them in though drug use and living in rebellion to God. The bible clearly tells us that, especially towards the end times, our lands will be so infested with impure and unclean spirits that it will be detestable. Well, hope this provides some insight to the opposite side of “thought-dropping” which is “never shutting up thought trains that everyone else can hear”. Oh yea, and if I ever actually talk in public, or to others, I feel like I am being redundant- like I already told them in my head, whats the need for actual speaking? It makes me fear I will never have any true friends- because I am too real- it takes way too much mental energy to be around people for long. Makes me dreadfully scared to think I get my accounting degree, but wont be able to use it because my thoughts will be on pleasing everyone in the room and not on my work. Thank GOODNESS for remote learning and remote workplace. God Bless, everyone.
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Riah
May 15th, 2022 at 3:31 AMMany of y’all’s cases sound like Dissociative Identity Disorder
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KKC
July 19th, 2022 at 3:32 AMI’m getting super worried. A few years back I had severe thought blocking. It seemed to get better, but now it’s back. I don’t have psychosis although I do have medium to severe anxiety. It happens all the time whether I feel stressed or not. I’m super afraid I’m getting some sort of dementia. What else could it be?
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Otto
April 4th, 2023 at 3:14 AMI have a lot of thought blocking. should I feel ashamed? I have schizoaffective disorder, manic type, and ADHD
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