Circumstantial speech, also referred to as circumstantiality, is the result of a so-called "non-linear thought pattern" and occurs when the focus of a conversation drifts, but often comes back to the point.
[''Problem-Based Psychiatry'' by Ben Green 2009 page 15] In circumstantiality, apparently unnecessary details and seemingly irrelevant remarks cause a delay in getting to the point.
If someone exhibits circumstantial speech during a conversation, they will often seem to "talk the long way around" to their point, which may be an attempt by the speaker to include pertinent details, that may contrast with the speech which is more direct, succinct, and to the point (the gist) even at the expense of more precise, accurate communication.
Circumstantial speech is more direct than
tangential speech in which the speaker wanders and drifts and usually never returns to the original topic, and is far less severe than
logorrhea.
Signs and symptoms
A person with circumstantiality has slowed thinking and invariably talks at length about irrelevant and trivial details (i.e., circumstances). Eliciting information from such a person can be difficult since circumstantiality makes it hard for the individual to stay on topic. In most instances however, the relevant details are eventually achieved.
Example
An example of circumstantial speech is that when asked about the age of a person's mother at death, the speaker responds by talking at length about accidents and how too many people die in accidents, then eventually says what the mother's age was at death.
Treatment
Treatment often involves the use of
behavioral modification
Behavior modification is an early approach that used respondent and operant conditioning to change behavior. Based on methodological behaviorism, overt behavior was modified with consequences, including positive and negative reinforcement contin ...
and
anticonvulsants,
antidepressants
Antidepressants are a class of medication used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain conditions, and to help manage addictions. Common side-effects of antidepressants include dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, hea ...
and
anxiolytics
An anxiolytic (; also antipanic or antianxiety agent) is a medication or other intervention that reduces anxiety. This effect is in contrast to anxiogenic agents which increase anxiety. Anxiolytic medications are used for the treatment of anxiet ...
.
[{{cite book , last1=Svobada , first1=William , title=Childhood Epilepsy: Language, Learning And Behavioural Complications , date=April 5, 2004 , publisher=Cambridge University Press , isbn=0-521-82338-2 , pag]
672
, url-access=registration , url=https://archive.org/details/childhoodepileps00svob_0/page/672
See also
*
Aphasia
Aphasia is an inability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine but aphasia due to stroke is estimated to be 0.1–0.4% in t ...
*
Agnosia
Agnosia is the inability to process sensory information. Often there is a loss of ability to recognize objects, persons, sounds, shapes, or smells while the specific sense is not defective nor is there any significant memory loss. It is usually ...
*
Auditory processing disorder
Auditory processing disorder (APD), rarely known as King-Kopetzky syndrome or auditory disability with normal hearing (ADN), is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting the way the brain processes auditory information. Individuals with APD usually ...
References
Communication disorders
Obsessive–compulsive disorder
Thought disorders