The flight of ideas is a formal disorder of thought characterized by increased speed and the presence of an incessant flow of associations. This fact causes the thought to constantly change from one topic to another and it is impossible to elaborate an understandable speech.
People who suffer from brain drain speak permanently and quickly. Likewise, ideas appear in his mind extremely quickly, a fact that prevents him from paying attention to a specific topic.
The appearance of a thought is preceded by another of a different nature that arises almost immediately from the previous one. In this way, ideas constantly appear and are overlapped by new thoughts.
The flight of ideas is an especially prevalent symptom in bipolar disorders. Specifically, it is usually experienced by subjects who are in a manic phase.
Description of the brain drain
The flight of ideas is a disorder of the speed of thought that is characterized by increasing the flow of ideas that appear in the mind. In this sense, the flight of ideas is the maximum degree of tachypsychia, a thought disorder characterized by increasing its speed.
For its part, the flight of ideas is also a disorder that increases the speed of thought, but differs from tachypsychia by being more intense and aggressive.
Thus, at present the establishment of the flight of ideas has been agreed as the alteration that increases the speed of thought to a greater extent. In no other normal or pathological circumstance is cognition so accelerated as in the flight of ideas.
On the other hand, the flight of ideas is also characterized by the lack of fixed direction. That is to say, in this alteration the thought is triggered and is constantly jumping from one idea to another.
Consequences
The flight of ideas is a serious disorder that has a very negative impact on the subject who suffers from it. In this sense, increasing the speed of thought is not an advantage for the person, but rather the opposite.
Thinking about the flight of ideas is so accelerated that it completely loses its functionality. In this way, the person with this alteration experiences a massive brainstorming inside her mind, but these are overlapping and she cannot pay attention to any.
The nomenclature "flight of ideas" is based on this aspect of the disorder. The person with this alteration elaborates a great number of thoughts and ideas, but none of them is productive.
The thoughts disappear with the same speed with which they appear, since they are overlapped by the generation of the later idea. The individual with a flight of ideas jumps from one topic to another without any type of order or congruence.
Thus, the end result of the flight of ideas lies in the elaboration of a totally incongruous speech and in the inability to focus the thought on any specific aspect, however simple it may be.
Tasks that require a minimum degree of concentration such as making a fried egg, watching a movie or communicating with someone are very difficult activities for a person with a brain drain, since the acceleration of their thinking prevents them from focusing on specific aspects.
characteristics
The flight of ideas has two main elements. The first is a massive increase in the speed of thought. The second refers to the appearance of a systemic difficulty in reaching a conclusion due to the instantaneous overlap of the ideas developed in thought.
Moving from one idea to the next happens very quickly and usually before the first business has finished. In general, the common characteristics of all cases of brain drain are:
-Disorder and lack of purpose of intellectual processes. Even when the different ideas that appear in the mind of the subject have a certain relationship, the whole of cognition lacks sense and meaning.
-Predominance of crazy associations that do not keep any type of relationship between them. The ideas generated can be very different from each other although they appear continuously in the person's thinking.
-The person with a flight of ideas is usually easily distracted and deviates from the topics of thought under the influence of external stimuli. Many of the ideas appear immediately due to the visualization of some element that captures the subject's attention.
-The flight of ideas is usually highly visible through the verbal expression of the subject. Massive brainstorming tends to express itself verbally immediately and generate incongruous speeches.
Causes
The flight of ideas is usually caused by mood disturbances. Specifically, pathologically euphoric states such as mania or hypomania are the main cause of brain drain.
In this sense, the flight of ideas is a typical symptom among people who suffer from both type II bipolar disorder and, especially, those with type I bipolar disorder.
On the other hand, it is important to differentiate the flight of ideas from psychotic alterations, a fact that is not always easy.
The flight of ideas can appear in conjunction with delusions but is a different alteration. The content of the thought of the flight of ideas is preserved (there is no delusion) and the only thing that is altered is its presentation (faster than usual).
Treatment
The flight of ideas is a typical symptom of bipolar disorder, so it should be intervened by treating the pathology.
Thus, the main treatment is pharmacological, through the administration of mood stabilizing drugs and, in some cases, the incorporation of antipsychotics or anxiolytics.
References
- Barlow D. and Nathan, P. (2010) The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Psychology. Oxford University Press.
- Obiols, J. (Ed.) (2008). Manual of General Psychopathology. Madrid: New Library.
- Spitzer, RL, Gibbon, M., Skodol, AE, Williams, JBW, First, MB (1996). DSM-IV Casebook. Barcelona: Masson.
- Vallejo, J. (2011). Introduction to psychopathology and psychiatry. (7th Ed.) Barcelona: Masson.