APD Symptoms: Racing Thoughts, Pressure of Speech and Flight of Ideas?
Thomas writes…
"I was diagnosed with APD around 8 years old. I've done exceptionally well in school though. I guess my question is, I've read Wikipedia articles about "Racing Thoughts", "Pressure of speech", and "Flight of Ideas" and they were linked to APD. Two out of the three is linked also with mania or hypomania. Are there any links, as I often had thoughts go through my head like Daytona 500."
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Hi Thomas!
Yes, I have experienced all three.
Yes, I am aware of their possible association to Auditory Processing Disorder.
First, let's define all three for everyone and then I will give more detail on my experience with all three.
Wikipedia definitions:
Pressure of speech is a tendency to speak rapidly and frenziedly, as if motivated by an urgency not apparent to the listener.
Flight of ideas is where the information going through the person's head is so fast that it is difficult to follow their train of thought.
Racing thoughts may be experienced as background or take over a person's consciousness. Thoughts, music, and voices might be zooming through one's mind. Racing thoughts, also referred to as "racing mind", may prevent a person from falling asleep.
My general experience with flight of ideas.
I can be talking about website programming and shift in an instant to talking about the New York Yankees. It's uncanny. I can shift topics and leave the other person confused. In my mind though, there is a relation to both topics that only I can comprehend, I guess.
My general experience with pressure of speech.
Most of the time I speak normally (and even slowly and methodically), however, there are occasions where my mouth will move 1,000 miles per minute without stop. When I have a great idea or thought, I speak so fast you'd think my mouth was on fire. I'll go from topic to topic as well. Not easy for anyone but me to follow my train of thought.
My general experience with racing thoughts.
I've had racing thoughts most of my life, mostly when I was younger. My mind would always be thinking and trying to process something. As I've gotten older and more in-tuned with my APD, it has subsided considerably. I actually have gaps in thinking now! In my youth, I also had a VERY difficult time falling asleep at night because my mind was replaying the events of the entire day. It was racing though every situation and interaction to make sure I heard and understood everything correctly. Needless to say, I'd wake the next morning very tired.
I hope this answers your question and helped others reading this.
