Disorders of the form of thought

There are three important disorders of the form of thought:

• preoccupations:
  • these are thoughts or patterns of thinking which occur frequently but can be terminated if desired
  • one should always enquire about suicidal preoccupations in the depressed patient
  • preoccupations are a perpetuating factor in anxiety disorders e.g. thoughts about health in panic disorder
    
    
• obsessive thoughts:
  • these are intrusive thoughts which are resisted by the patient
  • often the content of the thought is thought unacceptable
    
    
• delusions:
  • in brief, a delusion is a false belief which is both culturally unconventional and held on inadequate grounds
  • delusions may be difficult to elicit as the patient either does not view them as unusual or is suspicious of the interviewer