Warning
This is an unofficial archive of PsychonautWiki as of 2025-08-11T15:14:44Z. Content on this page may be outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate. Please refer to the original page for the most up-to-date information.

Thought acceleration

From PsychonautWiki Archive
Revision as of 03:49, 15 July 2018 by >Graham (APA formatting)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Thought acceleration (also known as racing thoughts)[1] is the experience of thought processes being sped up significantly in comparison to that of everyday sobriety.[2][3] When experiencing this effect, it will often feel as if one rapid-fire thought after the other is being generated in incredibly quick succession. Thoughts while undergoing this effect are not necessarily qualitatively different, but greater in their volume and speed. However, they are commonly associated with a change in mood that can be either positive or negative.[4][5]

Thought acceleration is often accompanied by other coinciding effects such as stimulation, anxiety, and analysis enhancement in a manner which not only increases the speed of thought, but also signifigantly enhances the sharpness of a person's mental clarity. It is most commonly induced under the influence of moderate dosages of stimulant and nootropic compounds, such as amphetamine, methylphenidate, modafinil, and MDMA. However, it can also occur under the influence of certain stimulating psychedelics such as LSD, 2C-E, DOC, AMT.

Psychoactive substances

Compounds within our psychoactive substance index which may cause this effect include:

... further results

Experience reports

Anecdotal reports which describe this effect within our experience index include:

See also

References

  1. Racing Thoughts (yourdictionary) | http://www.yourdictionary.com/racing-thoughts
  2. Pronin, E., Jacobs, E., & Wegner, D. M. (2008). Psychological effects of thought acceleration. Emotion, 8(5), 597. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013268
  3. Yang, K., Friedman-Wheeler, D. G., & Pronin, E. (2014). Thought acceleration boosts positive mood among individuals with minimal to moderate depressive symptoms. Cognitive therapy and research, 38(3), 261-269. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-014-9597-9
  4. Pronin, E., & Jacobs, E. (2008). Thought speed, mood, and the experience of mental motion. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(6), 461-485. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00091.x
  5. How to Stop Racing Thoughts From Anxiety (calm clinic) | https://www.calmclinic.com/anxiety/symptoms/racing-thoughts