<unk>  or formal<unk>  is a term used to describe a pattern of<unk> ed language use that is presumed to reflect<unk> ed thinking. It is usually considered a symptom of psychotic mental illness, although it occasionally appears in other conditions.
It describes a persistent underlying disturbance to conscious<unk>  and is classified largely by its effects on speech and writing. Affected persons may show pressure of speech (speaking incessantly and quickly), derailment or flight of ideas (switching topic mid-sentence or inappropriately),<unk>  blocking, rhyming, punning, or 'word salad' when individual words may be intact but speech is incoherent.
Eugen Bleuler, who named schizophrenia, held that its defining characteristic was a<unk>  of the thinking process. It is important to note however that the delusions and hallucinations of psychosis could also be considered as<unk> s of<unk> , but that the term formal<unk>  applies specifically to the presumed disruption in the flow of conscious verbal<unk>  that is inferred from spoken language. This is typically what is referred to when the strictly less accurate, more commonly used but abbreviated term,<unk> ', is used.
Thought disorder
Emotional dysregulation
Automatic behavior
Anxiety and Stress
Gratification disorder
Phobia
Psychopathy
Sexual obsessions