View source for Circumstantial speech

{{Short description|Seemingly tangential discussion that returns to the point}}
'''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.<ref name=BG >''Problem-Based Psychiatry'' by Ben Green 2009 {{ISBN|1-84619-042-8}} page 15</ref> In circumstantiality, apparently unnecessary details and seemingly irrelevant remarks cause a delay in getting to the point.<ref name="Dorland's">{{cite book |title=Dorland's illustrated medical dictionary. |date=2 May 2011 |publisher=Saunders/Elsevier |isbn=9781416062578 |page=364 |edition=32nd}}</ref>

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.<ref>"Circumstantiality", Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; January 16, 2019, by Kripa Balaram; Raman Marwaha</ref><ref>"Signs and symptoms of acute mania: a factor analysis." BMC Psychiatry, Aug. 19, 2011, Hanwella R, de Silva VA</ref>
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 (psychology)|logorrhea]].<ref>''Crash Course: Psychiatry'' by Julius Bourke, Matthew Castle, Alasdair D. Cameron 2008 {{ISBN|0-7234-3476-X}} page 255</ref>

==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.<ref name=BG />

==Treatment==
Treatment often involves the use of [[behavioral modification]] and [[anticonvulsants]], [[antidepressants]] and [[anxiolytics]].<ref>{{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 |page=[https://archive.org/details/childhoodepileps00svob_0/page/672 672] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/childhoodepileps00svob_0/page/672 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Aphasia]]
*[[Agnosia]]
*[[Auditory processing disorder]]
*[[Verbosity]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Communication disorders]]
[[Category:Obsessive–compulsive disorder]]
[[Category:Thought disorders]]