Neurosis (neuroticism): causes, symptoms and features

What are neurotic people like and what traits characterize them?

The neurosis o neuroticism is a psychological tendency to maintain certain difficulties in emotional control and management.

People who suffer from high levels of neuroticism usually present low mood states, close to depression or dysthymia, and show negative feelings such as envy, anger, anxiety, guilt... Neurotic people present this symptomatology much more frequently and severely than people who do not suffer from this condition.

What is neurosis?

Neurosis is a concept that encompasses a series of psychological alterations related with problems to react to reality in an emotionally coherent way.. For example, in people with a tendency to neuroticism there may be cases of overly intense reaction to criticism from others, even if it is made jokingly or in a very indirect way.

In any case, unlike what happens in psychosis, in neurosis reality is technically perceived correctly (or at least, what happens objectively in it without analyzing intentions, desires or plans of those around us).

On the other hand, neurosis is a complex phenomenon whose causes have not yet been clearly established, which is why there are several explanatory theories about the factors that lead to its appearance in people.

Neurotic people: how to identify them

There are some signs and several symptoms with which we can identify a person with a propensity to neurosis. Neurotic people are especially vulnerable to changes in the environment, suffer more stress and are less able to cope with it.

On the other hand, neuroticism refers to emotional management problems in virtually all areas of a person's life, not just a few. Individuals who score high on tests measuring neuroticism are more likely to suffer from negative affectivity, i.e., anxiety and depressive-type symptoms. They tend to experience emotional swings more frequently than other people, as they are more sensitive to emotional fluctuations.They are more sensitive to potential sources of frustration or worry in their environment.

On the other hand, people suffering from neurosis (as a clinical entity and associated with a certain level of psychopathology) tend to be more fearful of situations that other people tolerate and handle effectively. They tend to perceive reality more negatively than it really is, and they easily despair in the face of small frustrations that, in the eyes of others, are of little importance.

The neurotic personality and its comorbidity

Individuals with neurosis usually also present other relevant characteristics, such as anxiety, a greater presence of depressive symptoms or a tendency to shyness. People who are prone to neurosis also tend to present phobias and panic disorders.

Neurosis is a psychological disorder that makes sufferers suffer, but it is a relatively manageable condition, since there is no presence of serious conditions that are usually associated with psychosis, such as delusions and hallucinations.

In neurosis the individual remains in contact with reality; there is no depersonalization.. Patients who score high on the neuroticism scale are emotionally unstable and are less able to manage their discomfort and stress than those who score low on neuroticism.

People who are not neurotic tend to be relaxed, are better able to cope with high levels of stress and are better able to cope with day-to-day challenges.

Signs and symptoms

The most common signs and symptoms among neurotic people are the following:

• Permanent feeling of sadness
• Apathy and lack of interest in pleasurable activities.
• Problems in their personal relationships due to their low tolerance towards others.
• High sensitivity and susceptibility
• They are irritable, aggressive and frustrated.
• Emotionally unstable

Neuroticism and difficulties in relating and communicating.

In addition to the symptoms and characteristics already described, neurotic people usually have problems in the workplace, as well as in all areas where there is coexistence with other people, to the point where, in severe cases, they can act as psychological abusers.In severe cases, they can even act as psychological abusers.

In addition, they tend to have in common a poorer ability to make good decisions. All these symptoms, if left untreated and entrenched in the neurotic's personal life, can lead to severe depression and isolation.

Neuroticism and its resemblance to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Another style of coping with neurosis is that of some people who develop, little by little, thoughts and develop, little by little, recurrent thoughts and worries about catastrophic events that could happen, even though there is no rational element to it.even when there is no rational element to justify them. That is, it is very easy for their attention to be focused on unrealistic concerns, without much empirical basis or simply based on something that objectively has a very limited power to affect their quality of life.

Faced with these negative thoughts, some neurotic individuals may try to counteract the chances of the catastrophe actually occurring by employing certain mental rituals or repeated behaviors that may be confused with those of people suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Social isolation: a problem associated with neurosis?

The set of symptoms and characteristics of individuals suffering from some degree of neurosis can cause people in their environment to distance themselves from them, as they are seen as odd and eccentric. This can lead to a certain reclusion and social isolation..

In other cases, anxiety and stress may increase over time, making the daily life of these patients very difficult, as they live in permanent tension. Usually, they are people who are easily hurt; they live in a state of constant anxiety and with the feeling that something bad could happen to them at any moment.

Neurosis, insomnia and somatization

There are other problems that, very frequently, neurotic people report. One of them is the difficulty in falling asleep, which makes them feel tired during the day.

Other patients also refer to somatization and similar problems: strange cardiac sensations, excessive sweating, feeling of suffocation or fear of dying at any moment... These are symptoms that coincide with the classic anxiety disorder.

Treatment

What we know as neurosis includes a series of symptoms and affectations that have a negative influence on the quality of life of the person who suffers from them.

Of course, psychological treatment is available to minimize the effect of neurosis, psychological treatment is available to minimize the effect of neurosis on the sufferer's mental health.. Psychotherapy helps to restore emotional balance and reduce the incidence of many of the symptoms described above, although by itself it does not usually make the symptoms disappear for life. Seeing a specialist in these cases can help the neurotic person to improve in many aspects, in addition to a personalized diagnosis and treatment.

On the other hand, the emotional alterations typical of what is classically known as neurosis can be so pronounced that it is necessary to combine psychological intervention with pharmacological treatments. This is especially relevant in cases in which mood-related symptoms appear together with others that are psychotic in nature.

In any case, drug-based treatment of neurosis only serves to mitigate some symptoms transiently, and does not allow progress towards improvement. This, coupled with the fact that psychotropic drugs always have side effects, makes it advisable to use medications of this type only when necessary.

Bibliographical references:

• Fenichel, O. (1945) The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis. New York: Norton.
• Flehmig, H.C.; Steinborn, M.; Langner, R. & Westhoff, K. (2007). "Neuroticism and the mental noise hypothesis: Relationships to lapses of attention and slips of action in everyday life". Psychology Science. 49 (4): pp. 343 - 360.
• Ladell, R.M. and T.H. Hargreaves (1947). "The Extent of Neurosis." Br Med J. 2(4526): pp. 548 - 549.
• Panksepp, J.A. (1992). A critical role for "Affective Neuroscience" in resolving what is basic about emotions. Psychological Review, 99(3): pp. 554 - 560.
• Russon, J. (2003). Human Experience: Philosophy, Neurosis, and the Elements of Everyday Life. State University of New York Press.
• Trnka, R.; Balcar, K.; Kuška, M.; Hnilica, K. (2012). Neuroticism and Valence of Negative Emotional Concepts. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal. 40(5): pp. 843 - 844.
• Vallès, A., y Vallès, C. (2000): Inteligencia emocional: Aplicaciones educativas. Madrid, Editorial EOS.