Mental disorders characterized by symptoms such as phobias, obsessive thoughts, and compulsive actions, or by losses of specific bodily functions. A neurotic disorder, termed neurosis in the psychoanalytic literature, is distinguished from more severe mental disturbances by a continued ability to recognize reality, and from more diffuse character disorders by the relatively specific nature of the symptoms. Neurosis is quite common and treatable through a range of psychological and biological methods.
The three classic neuroses were identified by S. Freud. The first is phobia (anxiety hysteria in Freud's, terminology), which is characterized by unreasonable fear of common objects or situations. The second classic neurosis is conversion (conversion hysteria), in which there is loss of function in part of the body that generally does not correspond to an anatomic or physiologic disorder. The third of the original neuroses, obsessive-compulsive neurosis, is characterized by intrusive, repetitive thoughts of a disturbing nature, and a compelling need to perform ritualized, repetitive, and apparently senseless acts. See also Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Psychosomatic disorders.
Historically, neurosis was described and defined by Freud, and the dominant theories of its origin and treatment were psychoanalytic. There have been several generations of psychoanalytic theories, but one generally adopted by classical psychoanalysts holds that each neurotic symptom represents a conflict between an unacceptable impulse and the prohibition against that impulse. In the analytic theory, neurotic symptoms are formed when a frustration in current life prevents direct satisfaction of a wish. The recommended therapy is classical psychoanalysis, or psychoanalytic psychotherapy. This is aimed at making conscious to the patient the nature of the desire that is frustrated, as well as the prohibitions that prevent its direct satisfaction. See also Neurobiology; Psychoanalysis; Psychotherapy.
