A 28-year-old male is brought to the emergency department by his roommate, who states the patient has not slept in three days, has been pacing and talking to himself, and insists that the government has implanted a tracking device in his neck. During the nursing assessment, the patient suddenly stops mid-sentence, stares blankly for several seconds, then resumes speaking about a completely unrelated topic. Which of the following best describes the thought disturbance the nurse has just observed?
- Circumstantiality
- Loose associations
- Tangentiality
- Thought blocking