Thought withdrawal
Encyclopedia
In psychiatry
, thought withdrawal (or thought extraction) is the delusion that thoughts have been 'taken out' of the patient's mind. It often accompanies thought blocking
. The patient may experience a break in the flow of their thoughts believing that the missing thoughts have been withdrawn from their mind by some outside agency. This delusion is one of Schneider's first rank symptoms for schizophrenia
. Because thought withdrawal is characterized as a delusion, this means that according to the DSM-IV TR it is a positive symptom of schizophrenia.
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
, thought withdrawal (or thought extraction) is the delusion that thoughts have been 'taken out' of the patient's mind. It often accompanies thought blocking
Thought blocking
Thought blocking, a phenomenon that occurs in people with psychiatric illnesses , occurs when a person's speech is suddenly interrupted by silences that may last a few seconds to a minute or longer. Blocking is often brought on by questioning or discussing something of particularly large personal...
. The patient may experience a break in the flow of their thoughts believing that the missing thoughts have been withdrawn from their mind by some outside agency. This delusion is one of Schneider's first rank symptoms for schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
. Because thought withdrawal is characterized as a delusion, this means that according to the DSM-IV TR it is a positive symptom of schizophrenia.