Measurement of flow of thought in 68 patients monitored in post-emergency outpatient consultations: Role of ideational turmoil in the anxiety depressive symptomatology

The results suggest that the phenomena of cognitive saturation and the sensation of mental restlessness play a major role in the etiopathogensis of depression. The analyses show that the cognitive dysregulation is situated more precisely at the level of the flow of thought rather than the level of the number of thoughts. A deterioration in the flow of thought increases the mental pain and the depressive symptoms, and reduces well-being. The sample is nevertheless small, and some bias appears in the filling of the aquarium boxes.