Pressure of speech is a tendency to speak rapidly and frenziedly. Pressured speech is motivated by an urgency that may not be apparent to the listener. The speech produced is difficult to interrupt. Such speech may be too fast, erratic, irrelevant, or too tangential for the listener to understand. It is an example of cluttered speech, and is often associated with certain mental disorders particularly mania and schizophrenia. It can be unrelenting, loud and without pauses.
Causes
The pace of the speech indicates an underlyingthought disorder known as “Flight of ideas” wherein the flowing of ideas and information through one's mind is so fast that it is difficult to follow their train of thought. This is also tied to an inability to focus on one topic or task. People with schizophrenia, as well as anyone experiencing extreme anxiety, may also exhibit pressure of speech. Pressure of speech usually refers to the improperly verbalized speech which is a feature of hypomanic and manic illness. Pressure of speech has commonly been observed in people diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Stimulants
such as cocaine or amphetamines may cause speech resembling pressured speech in individuals with pre-existing psychopathology and produce hypomanic or manic symptoms in general, owing both to the substance's own qualities and the underlying nature of an individual's psyche. In many psychotic disorders, use of certain drugs amplifies certain expressions of symptoms, and stimulant-induced pressured speech is among them.
Related conditions
Cluttering is a speech disorder that is related to pressure of speech in that the speech of a clutterer sounds improperly verbalized. However, cluttering is a distinct language disorder. Even though cluttering sounds almost identical to pressure of speech, it differs in that pressure of speech is rooted in anxiety, where cluttering is not.
Pressured speech may also lead to the development of a stutter. The person's need or pressure to speak causes him or her to involuntarily stutter. Therefore, the person's need to express themselves is greater than their ability to vocalise their thoughts.
