The term was however most
influentially defined by Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud over a century later. It
has continued to be used in contemporary theoretical writing in psychology and
philosophy.
There are many forms of neurosis:
obsessive–compulsive disorder, anxiety neurosis, hysteria (in which anxiety may
be discharged through a physical symptom), and a nearly endless variety of
phobias as well as obsessions such as pyromania.
According to C. George Boeree,
professor emeritus at Shippensburg University, effects of neurosis can involve:
...anxiety,
sadness or depression, anger, irritability, mental confusion, low sense of
self-worth, etc., behavioral symptoms such as phobic avoidance, vigilance,
impulsive and compulsive acts, lethargy, etc., cognitive problems such as
unpleasant or disturbing thoughts, repetition of thoughts and obsession,
habitual fantasizing, negativity and cynicism, etc. Interpersonally, neurosis
involves dependency, aggressiveness, perfectionism, schizoid isolation,
socio-culturally inappropriate behaviors, etc.
As an illness, neurosis represents a
variety of mental disorders in which emotional distress or unconscious conflict
is expressed through various physical, physiological, and mental disturbances,
which may include physical symptoms (e.g., hysteria).
The definitive symptom is anxieties.
Neurotic tendencies are common and may manifest themselves as depression, acute
or chronic anxiety, obsessive–compulsive tendencies, specific phobias, such as
social phobia, arachnophobia or any number of other phobias, and some
personality disorders: paranoid, schizotypal, borderline, histrionic, avoidant,
dependent and obsessive–compulsive.
It has perhaps been most simply
defined as a "poor ability to adapt to one's environment, an inability to
change one's life patterns, and the inability to develop a richer, more
complex, more satisfying personality." Neurosis should not be mistaken for
psychosis, which refers to loss of touch with reality, or neuroticism, a
fundamental personality trait according to psychological theory.
According to psychoanalytic theory,
neuroses may be rooted in ego defense mechanisms, but the two concepts are not
synonymous. Defense mechanisms are a normal way of developing and maintaining a
consistent sense of self (i.e., an ego), while only those thoughts and behavior
patterns that produce difficulties in living should be termed "neuroses".
Main article: Jung's theory of
neurosis
Carl Jung found his approach
particularly fitting for people who are successfully adjusted by normal social
standards, but who nevertheless have issues with the meaning of their life.
I have frequently seen people become
neurotic when they content themselves with inadequate or wrong answers to the
questions of life (Jung, [1961] 1989:140).
The majority of my patients consisted not of believers but of those who had lost their faith (Jung, [1961] 1989:140).
[Contemporary man] is blind to the
fact that, with all his rationality and efficiency, he is possessed by
"powers" that are beyond his control. His gods and demons have not
disappeared at all; they have merely got new names. They keep him on the run
with restlessness, vague apprehensions, psychological complications, an
insatiable need for pills, alcohol, tobacco, food – and, above all, a large
array of neuroses. (Jung, 1964:82).
Jung found that the unconscious finds
expression primarily through an individual's inferior psychological function,
whether it is thinking, feeling, sensing, or intuition. The characteristic
effects of a neurosis on the dominant and inferior functions are discussed in
Psychological Types.
Source: Wikipedia
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