neuroses

Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from the '' Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM) in 1980 with the publication of DSM III. However, it is still used in the ICD-10 Chapter V F40–48.

Neurosis should not be mistaken for ''psychosis'', which refers to a loss of touch with reality. Nor should it be mistaken for ''neuroticism'', a fundamental personality trait proposed in the Big Five personality traits theory.

Etymology

The term is derived from the Greek word ''neuron'' (νεῦρον, 'nerve') and the suffix ''-osis'' (-ωσις, 'diseased' or 'abnormal condition').

The term ''neurosis'' was coined by Scottish doctor William Cullen in 1769 to refer to "disorders of sense and motion" caused by a "general affection of the nervous system." Cullen used the term to describe various nervous disorders and symptoms that could not be explained physiologically. Physical features, however, were almost inevitably present, and physical diagnostic tests, such as exaggerated knee-jerks, loss of the gag reflex and dermatographia, were used into the 20th century. The meaning of the term was redefined by Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud over the early and middle 20th century, and has continued to be used in psychology and philosophy.

The '' Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM) eliminated the ''neurosis'' category in 1980, because of a decision by its editors to provide descriptions of behavior rather than descriptions of hidden psychological mechanisms. This change has been controversial.Wilson, Mitchell. 1993. "DSM-III and the Transformation of American Psychiatry: A History." ''The American Journal of Psychiatry'' 150(3):399–410. Likewise, according to the ''American Heritage Medical Dictionary'', ''neurosis'' is "no longer used in psychiatric diagnosis."

Symptoms and causes

''Neurosis'' may be defined simply 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." There are many different neuroses, including:

* obsessive–compulsive disorder
* obsessive–compulsive personality disorder
* impulse control disorder
* anxiety disorder
* histrionic personality disorder
*dissociative disorder
* a great variety of phobias

According to C. George Boeree, professor emeritus at Shippensburg University, the symptoms of neurosis may involve:

Jungian theory

Carl Jung found his approach particularly effective for patients who are well adjusted by social standards but are troubled by existential questions. Jung claims to have "frequently seen people become neurotic when they content themselves with inadequate or wrong answers to the questions of life".Jung, Carl G., and Aniela Jaffé. 9611989. ''Memories, Dreams, Reflections''. New York: Vantage Books. . Accordingly, the majority of his patients "consisted not of believers but of those who had lost their faith". A contemporary person, according to Jung,

…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, Carl G., et al. 1964. ''Man and His Symbols''. New York: Anchor Books: Doubleday. .

Jung found that the unconscious finds expression primarily through an individual's inferior psychological function, whether it is thinking, feeling, sensation, or intuition. The characteristic effects of a neurosis on the dominant and inferior functions are discussed in his '' Psychological Types''. Jung also found collective neuroses in politics: "Our world is, so to speak, dissociated like a neurotic."

Psychoanalytic theory

According to psychoanalytic theory, neuroses may be rooted in ego defense mechanisms, though the two