Some people have mental disorders that affect their ability to think rationally or live a normal life. Others have slight mental imbalances that cause distress and shape their development but that don’t consume them completely—call them annoying quirks or nervous habits. Though they’re not as severe as psychoses (which often involve delusions and hallucinations), these quirks may still prevent people from adapting to a new environment or bettering their own lives. In the field of psychoanalysis, these tendencies are called neuroses.

In general, a neurosis is one of a group of psychological problems involving persistent negative emotions, such as anxiety, depression, anger, confusion, or low sense of self-worth. Symptoms of neurosis may include impulsive acts, lethargy, defensiveness, disturbing thoughts, habitual fantasizing, and negativity and cynicism. The personal relationships of a neurotic person are often overly dependent, aggressive, or socially or culturally inappropriate.

Scientists believe that there are hereditary conditions, including traits such as emotional instability and extremely high or low conscientiousness, that make a person more likely to develop neuroses. How well a person’s upbringing and education prepares him or her for the stresses of life also plays a role. If an individual doesn’t have an adequate support system, such as parents who show love and provide security, feelings of anxiety and incompleteness may begin to develop. Finally, one or more events will trigger the apprehension, anger, and defensive thinking associated with neurosis. Often the event is a situation involving personal relationships that overwhelms the person’s ability to cope—an overweight teenager being repeatedly made fun of in school, for example. These situations can form lasting impressions that determine how a person views the world for the rest of his or her life.

While childhood and adolescence are the most common times to develop neuroses, people may be vulnerable into adulthood and even later in life. Anxiety about finding a partner and a successful job in order to have children and financial security or dealing with the illness and death of a loved one may trigger a neurosis at any time if a person has not been ingrained with proper coping mechanisms and support.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

  1. Neuroses seem to run in families—perhaps because of genetic predisposition and also because of similar child-raising styles passed down to new generations. But not all people with neuroses will raise neurotic children, and not all neurotic people have parents with neuroses.
  2. The term neurosis was most influentially defined by Carl Jung (1875–1961) and Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), but is no longer used in psychiatric diagnosis.
  3. Neuroses can sometimes be treated or improved with talk therapy, behavioral therapy, or antidepressant or antianxiety medications.