NEUROSIS: SYMPTOMS, CAUSES, TYPES, TREATMENT - ECONOMÍA - 2025

The neurosis is a type of mental disorder that causes the sufferer feel it a great subjective distress and have trouble leading a normal life. It began to be used in the mid-nineteenth century in the context of psychoanalysis, and fell into disuse in 1980 with the publication of the third version of the diagnostic manual for mental disorders.

When it was still in use, neurosis was used as a term that encompassed several different kinds of psychological problems. For example, anyone with anxiety, depression, or any other type of mood alteration that could not be directly explained by their life circumstances was considered to suffer from this disorder.

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Because it encompassed so many different problems, the term neurosis was not particularly useful for diagnosis. For this reason, it fell into disuse and was replaced by other more specific descriptors. However, in some currents of psychology this word is still used. This is the case, for example, of psychoanalysis.

Today, it is confused with the term "neuroticism", but the two have nothing to do with it. In this article we will study the most important points about what is neurosis; In addition, we will also see how it can affect those who suffer from it.

Symptoms

At first, the word neurosis was used to refer to diseases caused by failures in the nervous system. However, its meaning has evolved over the centuries. For this reason, today different professionals can refer to different phenomena when using the same term.

Thus, to understand the symptoms associated with neurosis, one must understand in what context this word is being used.

In the physical realm

Originally, the term neurosis arose in the context of medicine. Scholars of the 18th century believed that the nervous system could suffer from infections; and that these caused all kinds of physical problems. Thus, for example, they spoke of "cardiac neurosis" or "digestive neurosis" to try to explain different types of diseases.

Later, the word came to encompass functional problems of the nervous system; that is to say, they no longer spoke of true infections, but of alterations in the way the organs functioned. However, it was still used to refer to different types of physical disorders.

Freud's works

The use of the word totally changed thanks to the work of Sigmund Freud. The father of psychoanalysis, among many other contributions, discovered that many mental illnesses do not have their origin in the body; on the contrary, they are caused by problems in the mind or in the personality of those who suffer them.

From this moment on, the term neurosis began to be used to refer to certain types of mental disorders. Even so, its use at this time (at the beginning of the 19th century) is not the same as we give it today.

Freud devoted himself to studying certain apparently physical disorders that had their cause in the mind. The most important of these was "hysteria": it was a typically female problem that caused a series of symptoms in the body for which doctors had no explanation.

Thus, for example, a woman with hysteria could lose the mobility of her arm or the vision of one eye; But when she went to see the doctor, she could not find any explanation for what happened. For Freud, these symptoms of hysteria had to do with neurosis, a mental disturbance caused by trauma in the past.

The study of this type of problem was fundamental for the development of Freud's psychoanalytic theory. However, as the years passed, hysteria lost its importance in society; and the use of the word neurosis continued to evolve.

Nowadays

Today, the use of the term has changed a lot compared to its origins. It is mainly used in psychoanalysis; But the phenomena that this discipline studies are not the same as those that worried its creators.

Today, modern psychoanalysts have described different types of hysteria. All his symptoms would be part of what is known as neurosis. Thus, among other things, problems such as anxiety, obsessions, or a depressed mood are often associated with these diseases.

However, outside the realm of psychoanalysis, neurosis is no longer considered to be a real disease. For several decades, other descriptors have been used to classify diseases that were previously included under this term.

Types

As we have already seen, the concept of neurosis has evolved widely in the time that it has been used. Today, the only people who continue to use it are people who practice psychoanalysis.

In an attempt to make the concept more useful, these professionals have classified hysterical symptoms into different types of neuroses.

The best known are the "psychoneuroses", or neuroses characterized by psychological symptoms. In general, they are related to the personality of an individual and the experiences of her past. It is generally considered that there are three types: conversion hysteria, anxious hysteria, and obsessive neurosis.

However, these are not the only neuroses that exist. We can also find those that have to do with something that happens in the present moment, rather than with trauma from the past. The most common are traumatic neurosis and conversion neurosis.

We will study each of them below.

Conversion hysteria

Conversion hysteria is characterized because the symptoms present in it are physical. However, they are caused by tensions in the mind of the individual. It was the first type of neurosis discovered, and the one studied mainly by Freud.

Thus, for example, a person who suffers great emotional pain may lose mobility in some part of his body, feel very strong pain or lose sensitivity in some area. In modern psychology, the concept of conversion hysteria has been replaced by that of psychosomatic disorders.

Anxious hysteria

The main symptom of anxious hysteria is a high level of anxiety, stress, or worry in certain situations. Depending on when this feeling occurs, it will be the equivalent of a phobia, a social anxiety disorder, or a generalized anxiety disorder.

However, psychoanalysts generally do not distinguish between the various causes for anxiety; on the contrary, they include all these disorders within the umbrella term of anxious hysteria.

Obsessive neurosis

This disorder would be the equivalent of modern obsessive-compulsive disorder. People affected by obsessive neurosis would be constantly invaded by ideas that make them feel uncomfortable; and they would also present compulsions, that is, stereotyped behaviors that they cannot control.

Obsessive thoughts would appear to be alien to the individual. He feels that he has no control over them; For this reason, in general you will be very frustrated and resentful with what happens to you. Stereotypical behaviors, in most cases, would be used to try to control one's own mind.

Thus, for example, an individual with a cleaning obsession will not feel calm until he has washed his hands three times in a row. In this case, the behavior appears harmless; but obsessive neuroses can be highly disabling.

Traumatic neurosis

Traumatic neurosis is the first that psychoanalysts consider that it has nothing to do with childhood events. On the contrary, this form of neurosis would appear after a painful event that occurred in the individual's adult life.

For example, a person could suffer a traffic accident and survive it; but her mind would make her relive over and over what happened. Each time this occurs, the individual would feel great anxiety and fear, and could even suffer complete panic attacks.

In this sense, traumatic neurosis would be the equivalent of modern post-traumatic stress disorder.

Transfer neurosis

The last type of neurosis commonly described by psychoanalysts is a little different from the others. Unlike the rest, your symptoms do not have to be especially negative; and in addition, they could be useful for therapy.

The transference neurosis has to do with the ability of a person to project his feelings on a previous relationship on which he has with his therapist.

For example, a young girl who is secretly in love with her neighbor might end up believing that she is attracted to her therapist after telling the story.

Causes

For Freud, and consequently for all psychoanalysts who follow his teachings, neuroses are formed by internal tensions of an individual's mind. These tensions could not be resolved on their own, so the energy they generate would have to be released in some way.

The problem is that, during most neuroses, mental stresses tend to worsen rather than resolve. Therefore, it would be necessary for the person to undergo treatment in order to release their stagnant mental energy.

Next we will look at the two main reasons why neuroses can occur: the struggle between the parts of the mind, and traumatic events.

Conflict between the parts of the mind

For psychoanalysts, our mind is made up of three layers that fight each other to dominate our behaviors. These three parts are the id, the self, and the superego.

The id is our most instinctive part. It is moved by the impulses of life (eros) and death (thanatos). It is responsible for producing sexual arousal, hunger, fear, pain, attraction… Its operations are unconscious, that is, we are not aware of them.

The self is our rational and conscious part. She is in charge of making decisions, choosing between the instructions that come to her from the other two, and putting order between them. It is what we normally identify with who we are.

Finally, the superego is the part of our mind in charge of our morality. In it, the social norms that we integrate throughout our lives are recorded. Therefore, he is in constant conflict with the id and tries to make us choose nothing but what is ethical for him.

The conflict between the id and the superego is usually adequately resolved by the ego; but when this part fails to control the other two, neuroses can appear.

Traumatic events

For psychoanalysts, the other possible cause for a neurosis is the presence of a traumatic event, either in the patient's past or present. However, most of the situations that trigger a neurosis occur in the individual's childhood.

When we are children, sometimes we live moments that mark us deeply; but because we are not yet developed, we are not able to interpret them. Therefore, our mind stores these memories and makes us completely suppress them.

However, its impact can be so great that it ends up manifesting itself in the form of a neurosis. Thus, for example, a child who witnessed a death in the first person may not remember the event, but later develop a neurosis related to what happened.

Treatment

According to psychoanalysis, the best way to treat a neurosis is to find the hidden cause that produces them and to shed light on it. To achieve this, it is necessary that the patient (with the help of a trained psychologist) inquires about his own and his beliefs and tries to unravel what is causing the symptoms.

Thus, if it was a traumatic event from the past, the psychoanalyst theory tells us that only by unlocking the memory most of the symptoms will disappear.

Therefore, this therapy is very focused on rebuilding the individual's childhood, and it takes a long time to be carried out effectively.

On the contrary, if the problem comes from a conflict between the parts of the mind, the psychoanalyst's job will consist of detecting it and designing, together with the patient, a way to discharge the energy produced by the same in a healthy way. You can also try to resolve the conflict; but on many occasions, this is very complicated.

From other branches of psychology, the problems associated with neurosis are solved in other ways. In general, the focus is on treating the symptoms, and not finding the underlying cause.

References

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3. "Neurosis" in: Britannica. Retrieved on: July 13, 2018 from Britannica: britannica.com.
4. "What Is a Neurosis and What Does it Mean to Be Neurotic?" in: Health Guidance. Retrieved on: July 13, 2018 from Health Guidance: healthguidance.org.
5. "Neurosis" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: July 13, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.