Racing thoughts occur rapidly and can be confusing and distressing. However, racing thoughts tend to follow a logical path and are connected. Racing thoughts are often a symptom of anxiety, and while they are common with mood and thought disorders, they also may occur in people who have no disorder but are in a stressed state. Typically, racing thoughts focus on a particular topic, often related to a stress-inducing event; for example: "My big test is tomorrow, but I don't know the information. I could know the information if I studied more but studying also makes me feel more stressed. If I'm more stressed I'll likely do poorly on the test but if I don't study I'll also do poorly and either way, I'm in trouble because this test is half my grade and if I fail I'll fail the class which means summer school and ..."