Neurosis is an integral feature of our time. After all, a modern person living in comfort and mastering technology is gradually becoming unable to love. There are quite a lot of neurotic personalities among such people. The origin of neurosis is also rather sad. Their source is the traumatic treatment that a person had to experience in childhood, usually by parents.
The very neurotic personality can be compared with a sick athlete. Indeed, even if he is a strongman and a leader, but has atrophied limbs, he simply will not be able to achieve any success in his field. The same thing can happen to a person. And even if he has depth of mind and kindness, then his energy potential and will, suppressed by parental criticism, prohibitions and coercion, will not allow him to fully use his own capabilities.
In medicine, the term "neurosis" means pathology in the form of inhibition of personality development. It is caused by childhood psychological trauma. The neurotic personality is characterized by strange phobias and fears in connection with her illogical thinking. Such an individual in most cases is dependent on loved ones, is afraid of change and everything new and has a weak emotional and volitional activity.
The severity and prevalence of the disorder
A fairly wide range of disorders are referred to neurosis. All of them are expressed in psychopathic reactions to a certain traumatic situation, which the patient does not manage to survive on his own.
Neurotic diseases do not cause serious mental disorders. All of them have a reversible character, but with untimely treatment of a person for help they can have a long course.
Neuroses have a negative effect on the overall standard of living of the patient. They negatively affect his psychological and emotional mood, and also hinder the construction of normal family relationships and climbing the career ladder.
The extent to which neuroses are prevalent in modern society is not completely clear. The fact is that many people do not seek the help of a specialist. Some of them consider a trip to a psychologist a sign of weakness, while others attribute the problems to their own, far from easy nature. There are also such patients who do not want to be registered in state dispensaries, undergoing treatment in private clinics.
Based on the registered cases, from this violation today affects from 0.3% to 0.5% of the inhabitants of our planet.
Causes of pathology
Neurotic personality disorder occurs due to any stressful situation that can neither be changed nor experienced on your own. There are numerous factors contributing to the development of such a pathology. This is an extensive list that can begin with insolvency and setbacks in a professional career and end with a difficult and painful break in family relationships. In some situations, the disorder manifests itself almost immediately and is pronounced. In others, it arises from the daily accumulation of stressful stimuli, when the person’s internal tension gradually increases and this is sometimes not even noticeable to others. But then some time passes, and apparently a self-sufficient and prosperous person manifests himself as a neurotic personality.
Psychoanalysts believe that the cause of neurosis in any case is a psychological underlying conflict. Its occurrence is promoted by the inability to meet vital needs or the presence of a clear threat to peace of mind, as well as the future of the patient.
Quite deep and extensive research in this area was carried out by the American psychologist Karen Horney. The neurotic personality, in her opinion, gives rise to a reaction of the body to the emerging contradiction between protective mechanisms designed to protect a person from continuous control, neglect, aggression, as well as other influences that violate his natural rights.
Who is more often affected by an ailment?
A predisposition to the development of neurosis is people who have encountered special situations in their lives, as well as having certain character traits. What is the difference between a person at risk for the occurrence of such a disorder? He has:
- excessive sensitivity and sensitivity;
- unstable emotional state;
- developed imagination and rich imaginative thinking;
- psychological rigidity, that is, insufficient understanding of their own emotions;
- too deep feeling of experience due to any life changes.
A predisposition to the emergence of a neurotic personality arises in childhood. Directly or indirectly, a child can be affected by a lack of attention on the part of parents, their neglect of their child, the rejection of the desires and needs of the baby, or, conversely, excessive custody and perception of their son or daughter as an idol.
Another factor in the predisposition to the emergence of a neurotic personality is the biological characteristics of a person. So, the patient is at risk in those cases when the level of neurotransmitters in his brain is at the border with the anomaly. Neurotic personality development begins to occur when there is a push in the form of stress or some kind of internal conflict. At the same time, a process that violates the integration of the brain begins to develop, which leads to the progression of the patient's neurotic state.
Classification
When a patient identifies a neurosis, doctors use a special grouping of forms of the disease to make a diagnosis, which is based on the causes of its development and the severity of symptoms. Let us consider this classification in more detail. It includes:
- Anxious-phobic disorders. What are their main symptoms? Such a patient has an increased level of anxiety bordering on a phobia. These are states of fear of a closed, as well as vast, with a large crowd of people space, anxiety disorder of a generalized type and panic attacks.
- Impulsively impulsive disorders. With such disorders, obsessive actions and thoughts are in the foreground of the clinical picture.
- Asthenic disorders. They are a neurological disorder characterized by asthenic syndrome.
- Somatoform disorders. The manifestation of pathology in this type of disorder is similar to somatic diseases, but there is no physical confirmation of such symptoms. The patient feels sick, but his body is completely healthy.
- Dissociative disorders. A similar type of ailment is expressed in disorders of motor functions and the emergence of sensations that are hysterical in nature.
The above classification is used by psychotherapists and psychologists in order to make a more accurate diagnosis.
In the group contained in the official source (ICD-10), neurotic disorders are divided into the syndrome of obsessive states, as well as asthenic and hysterical neurosis.
Symptoms
Any of the existing types of neurotic disorders has a negative effect on the autonomic, emotional, and psychological state of a person. What are the manifestations of these ailments?
In the presence of autonomic disorders, the patient has the following symptoms: dizziness and loss of balance, tremor of the extremities and fainting state, palpitations and muscle tremors, sometimes ending in cramps, sudden jumps in blood pressure in one direction or another and pain behind the sternum, sweating and sensation of suffocation, frequent urination, as well as soreness in the perineum. Such manifestations are polysystemic and arise only periodically.
The development of a personality according to the neurotic type occurs with a clear disturbance of sleep. Such a patient begins to suffer from falling asleep for a long time and often waking up. He often has a weak dream, accompanied by vivid and realistic nightmares. Such violations lead to the fact that in the morning a person feels in a broken state. During the day he is relentlessly drawn to bed, and at night insomnia comes again.
Another of the symptoms of neurosis is asthenia. An astheno-neurotic personality type is characterized by a frequent change in mood, irritability, and exhaustion of the body, as a result of which a person's working capacity decreases. Such people, due to the general weakness of the body, cease to experience sexual attraction. Occurring sexual acts become short-lived and do not bring them any pleasure. Men with an astheno-neurotic personality type have problems with potency. They also have premature ejaculation.
Symptoms of neurotic disorders caused by affective disorders are expressed in a person's sense of hopelessness, in his passivity, in the appearance of feelings of longing and anxiety. The patient ceases to enjoy ordinary things and events. He is constantly waiting for something unpleasant and terrible. Such a person has a significantly narrowed range of interests and communication. Depression easily comes to the patient, and he sees his future only in the most negative light.
Symptoms of the obessively-phobic type of pathological conditions include three types of fears, among which:
- Simple. They are an isolated fear of heights and clowns, snakes, flights, spiders, etc.
- Agoraphobia. A similar phenomenon is expressed in the fear of being in an open area in the absence of an opportunity to take refuge somewhere, as well as in the fear of situations in which no one can help.
- Sociophobia. It is an experience of those situations in which the attention of all surrounding people is concentrated on the patient.
Opessia (obsessive thoughts) and phobias do not occur in all individuals suffering from neurotic disorders. Nevertheless, these two concepts are inextricably linked. Typically, only one of these two symptoms can be observed in a patient. If the sign of the disorder is obsession, then the patient, in order to eliminate it, is able to perform some impulsive actions that resemble rituals from the side.
Research Karen Horney
Neurosis is a rather confusing concept. The fact is that currently there are a variety of views on the causes, nature and further development of this pathology. Karen Horney stated her point of view on this problem in the book “Neurotic personality of our time”. This American psychologist conducted the most ambitious and in-depth studies of the disease.
In her book The Neurotic Person of Our Time, Karen Horney paid special attention not to past conflicts, but to those from which the patient suffers at the given time and is trying to solve with all his might. In addition, the psychologist analyzed the urgent anxieties of a person and the defenses created in opposition to them. The author points out that childhood experiences and later conflicts have a very complex relationship, much more confusing and ornate than many psychoanalysts suggest. The book "Neurotic personality of our time" Horney gives a general idea of those problems that are directly related to neurosis.
The author emphasizes the dependence of a person suffering from such a disorder on the culture of the society in which he is located. Such features of the neurotic personality of Horney were noted by the phrase “our time”. And really. The cultural aspect is always taken into account in psychiatric diagnosis. After all, it is extremely wide in the modern world. Moreover, many of the existing traditions have a direct and very significant impact on the processes of personality formation.
According to Karen Horney, a neurotic personality can avoid anxiety using one of four methods. Among them, rationalization and denial, the use of drugs, as well as the avoidance of feelings, thoughts or situations that provoke its occurrence.
In Horney’s book, The Neurotic Person of Our Time, neurosis is described as a mental disorder. Moreover, the author believes that it is caused by fears, the protection of a person from them, as well as his attempts to find the most optimal compromise solution to overcome the conflict created by multidirectional trends. The psychologist believes that for practical reasons it is more appropriate to call such a disorder a neurosis if it deviates from a sample accepted in a particular culture.
The dynamics of the disease is provoked by anxiety. By this term, Karen Horney in her book “The Neurotic Person of Our Time” refers to the emotional reaction that arises to danger and is sometimes accompanied by a strong heartbeat, rapid breathing and trembling. Such sensations are so intense that a fear that suddenly comes to a person can lead him to death.
Psychoanalyst Horney put forward a fairly simple idea. In her work, she investigated the most diverse manifestations of personality traits that are inherent in people. This is rivalry and hostility, fear and the pursuit of prestige, as well as various needs. Sometimes such qualities are supplanted, and anxiety occupies the vacated niche. It leads to the appearance of neurosis.
According to Horney, neurosis and neurotic personality develop from the contradictions that exist in the relationship between people. Indeed, they often give rise to a sense of fear, insecurity and anxiety in the individual.
The most important role in the process of neurasthenic personality development, according to the author of the book, belongs to the relationships that developed in a person in childhood with his parents. The fact is that the child is helpless, and therefore almost everything depends on adults. With improper upbringing, when there is a lack of love or intimidation, persistent traits of a neurotic personality are formed. In the character of a person, self-doubt, as well as a fearful attitude to everything around him, become noticeable. No wonder the topic of parent-child relationships in psychology has always been relevant.
In addition, the author of the book “Neurotic personality of our time” expressed the conviction that anxiety in people is also caused by the culture that a certain society adheres to. The contradictions existing in it, the neurotic is also constantly trying to reconcile in his soul.
The book by Karen Horney, despite being written more than a decade ago, remains popular today. It is used in their work by professionals and is read with interest by people who have nothing to do with the psychotherapeutic sphere.
In her work, Karen Horney described the characteristics of neurotic personalities, highlighting three types of such patients. Among them:
- "Movement towards people" - subordinate;
- “Movement against people” - aggressive;
- “Movement from people” is isolated.
Each such type of neurotic personality has its own characteristics and attitudes. Let's get acquainted with them in more detail.
Slave
The neurotic features of this type of personality are that such people in their lives simply need a loving person next to them. It can be a wife or husband, a patron or friend who will take charge of him, responsibility for him, will protect him, protect and solve all problems that arise. If necessary, such a person will be blamed for the failure. The neurotic level of personality organization in this case involves the unconscious manipulation of a loved one, as well as its exploitation.
The relationship of such a patient is neurotic, needs are compulsive and unconscious. If a person’s desires do not correspond to his abilities, then he is too upset that does not depend on his actual attitude towards people.
This type of personality believes that everyone around him is stronger and more aggressive, which is why he has such a great need for their love. He wants people to support, value, protect and help him.
At first glance, it may seem that such needs are natural for any person. And indeed it is. Nevertheless, in a neurotic such desires are caused by a need not at all for approval and love, but in obtaining protection and creating a safe environment. This forms the nature of this type. A person becomes "comfortable", obedient, compliant, and also constantly tries to listen to the wishes and needs of others. He is soft and compliant and does not show selfishness.Sometimes he has to sacrifice himself, but he does this only to be loved. In fact, such a person hides even from himself that the people around him, by and large, are indifferent to him. At heart, he considers all his loved ones hypocrites and egoists. He gives his things to others only in order to get what he needs in return. Such tactics often lead to disappointment. After all, other people do not always live up to the expectations of a neurotic subordinate type.
Such a person constantly suppresses the aggressive impulses that arise in him. That is why in his soul there are many internal prohibitions. He does not allow himself to be critical and demanding, imperious, ambitious and apply pressure. Because of his focus on others, the patient cannot violate the prohibitions created by himself and do something for himself.
Nor can he enjoy life all alone. Nature, music, cinema and food give him pleasure only when he is in company with other people. Because of this addiction, the life of such a person is greatly impoverished.
Neurotic personality development of this type is caused by a conflict between completely opposite needs. On the one hand, the patient has a desire to be loved, and on the other hand, to rule, to show strength and revenge. Most often refer to this type of neurotic personality of a woman.
Aggressive
This type of neurotic, in contrast to the subordinate, performing the "movement to people", has the belief that "man to man is a wolf." Such an attitude is sometimes immediately visible, and sometimes hidden behind a mask of camaraderie, friendliness and politeness.
With the neurotic organization of an aggressive-type personality, a person looks at his interlocutor and mentally tries to understand how much stronger he is as an adversary or how he can be useful. The basic need for such patients is to have dominance over others. They consider the world around them an arena where the struggle for survival takes place, and the strongest wins in it. An aggressive neurotic personality calls such reasoning realism, and he will not listen to arguments proving the opposite. However, there is one caveat. The fact is that the neurotic belonging to the aggressive type is as one-sided as the one that refers to subordinates. The difference lies only in their polarity.
An aggressive neurotic has a need for approval, success, recognition and prestige. At the same time, he is very surprised by the fact that even when he reaches his goal, he still does not get a feeling of confidence and security. This is explained by the fact that the basis of the neurotic needs is basic anxiety, as well as fear. And if the subordinate type does not consider such feelings as flaws, then here it is the other way around. Aggressive neurotic does not want to acknowledge his fear. Moreover, he is ashamed of him. Such feelings lead to the crowding out of existing fear, which makes it impossible to recognize and detect it.
Aggressive neurotics always strive to show themselves in terms of dominance and strength. The forms of such manifestations are different and depend on the natural abilities of such a person. Sometimes they represent a direct use of force, and with a tendency to isolate such dominance, an aggressive neurotic will avoid.
The main direction of the life of such a person is the installation on survival, success, as well as on the submission of others. It is distinguished by the existing need to deceive, exploit and use. The main question that he constantly asks himself is: “What can I get from this?”
In a relationship, the presence of a friend or partner is very important for such a person, who can strengthen his social position with his success, connections, money, or beauty. Love for him always remains in the background. Other people care little about him.
If the subordinate type of neurotic personality does not tolerate gains, then the aggressive type of losses. After all, such a person does not stand behind the price to achieve victory. Considering himself a good fighter, he easily enters into battle, into competition and into argument. However, he is a good strategist. Aggressive neurotic is able to accurately calculate the weaknesses that his opponents have, as well as evaluate their own capabilities and avoid any traps. Due to the fact that it is very important for him to be the strongest, most successful and successful, he constantly develops such qualities as quick wit and hard work.
The mind and energy of this person often lead to success in business and at work. However, his activities are devoid of feelings. He does not feel pleasure from work. On the one hand, this allows it to be as functional as possible, and on the other hand, it becomes the cause of emotional infertility, introducing a lesser degree of creativity in matters.
A neurotic of an aggressive type displaces such human feelings as kindness, love and compassion. This is its main problem. After all, the main conflict that arises in it concerns the opposition to the attitude that everyone around us are potential enemies, as well as feelings of love and sympathy for others.
Isolated
What is characteristic of this type of neurotic personality? The main symptom of this condition is unbearable stress and anxiety from communicating with other people. A separate type of personality has a need for meaningful loneliness.
At the same time, they look at themselves as an object from a distance. With other people, such neurotics always establish an emotional distance and do not seek to love, collaborate, fight and compete. Such a person:
- able to reduce their needs in order to depend on others as little as possible;
- Does not like to share experiences;
- it is much easier to build partnerships with people like him as separate individuals;
- strives for complete independence.
A neurotic of a separate type is trying by all means to avoid situations in which he feels forced, constrained and obliged. He does not tolerate any long-term obligations, whether it be a marriage, contract, contract or schedule. Outwardly, he is ready to agree with the accepted rules, but internally he certainly rejects everything. But nevertheless, it is easier for him to avoid the demands that life makes on people than to make contact, which seems to such a patient a threat to his integrity.
With the progression of neurotic isolation, it becomes more and more difficult for a person to eliminate the problems of life that arise, which makes him helpless in front of the outside world.
Treatment
If symptoms of one of the neurotic personality types described above occur in a child or in an adult, it is necessary to consult a specialist to correct the violations that have occurred. Based on the existing symptoms and the overall clinical picture, the doctor may prescribe medications. Among the main groups of drugs are antipsychotics and tranquilizers, vitamin complexes and antidepressants.
Simultaneously with the course of drug treatment, the patient is shown to undergo physiotherapeutic procedures, exercise therapy and massage. For recovery, you need walks in the fresh air, a balanced diet and a complete rejection of tobacco and alcohol.
In the process of treating a neurotic personality, the main method for correcting pathological conditions is psychotherapy. After all, drug treatment is used only for severe symptoms that occur against various autonomic abnormalities.
To eliminate neurotic disorders, methods such as:
- Erickson hypnosis;
- transpersonal therapy;
- psychoanalysis;
- cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Carrying out such a correction allows you to save the patient from internal contradictions and insoluble personal conflict.