Terms like neurotic get tossed around a lot in ways they shouldn’t. When someone is acting a little frazzled or concerned someone might ask them why they’re being neurotic, or accuse them of it. The thing is, neurosis is a mental illness.
What is Neurosis?
Neurosis, or the plural neuroses, is a group of mental illnesses. Neuroses can include many mental issues, including hypochondria, anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a form of neuroticism.
The neuroticism definition on Dictionary.com is simply having symptoms of neurosis. They are abnormal psychological processes; abnormal because you aren’t supposed always to be depressed or anxious.
A Look at Various Neuroses
The main types of neurosis include:
- Dissociative disorder– DD is a mental disorder that involves a disconnect between thoughts. It’s like amnesia. The patient suffers memory loss, may not remember their surroundings or people that they should know. It often happens because of a trauma.
- Anxiety– Anxiety disorders used to be called neuroses. While not all disorders will fall into the column of neuroticism, many still do. People who have hallucinations or feel out of control because of their anxiety (panic attacks, social anxiety, agoraphobia) have neuroses.
- Mild Depression– Depression isn’t always a neurotic disorder, but mild depression often is.
- PTSD– PTSD is something that happens to people that have suffered a huge trauma, or witnessed something frightening. It can cause nightmares, make the person relive the event over and over, and more.
- OCD– OCD causes people to do things repetitively and compulsively. They may have to turn the light switch on and off a certain amount of times before they can get on with their day. They can also have obsessive thoughts. Some people will have only one, the obsession or the compulsion, while some have both.
Diagnosing Neuroses
Diagnosis varies since each of these disorders varies. Each of these illnesses also falls into different categories of mental illness. Diagnosis starts with knowing and tracking your symptoms.
Like all mental disorders, you need to be experiencing these symptoms for months on end for a diagnosis to happen. Some are easier to diagnose than others. Some share symptoms with other illnesses and may be more difficult to pinpoint.
Memory loss that seems associated with DD could be dementia caused by Alzheimer’s Disease, or a head trauma could cause it. The fact that you’re continuously ruminating on one thought doesn’t mean you have OCD.
Treatment for Neuroses
The same as with diagnosis, treatments will vary as well, although each of them has therapy types and medications that can assist you in treating the disorder effectively. Often therapy and medication together is the best fix, and sometimes you’ll have to trial and error with your medications to find the right dosage and pills for you. Everyone reacts differently to therapy and medications too.
Some of the most common non-medicinal treatments for neuroses of any kind include the following:
1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT works with the patient in a way that helps them change any negative thought patterns and behaviors. Once they recognize these negative reactions, they can learn coping strategies that can help them turn those thoughts around.
2. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
EMDR is used to help with traumatic memories. You learn to change your thought patterns through exercises that use visual stimulation. You access the traumatic event memories and the negative thoughts that come with them and then replace those negative thoughts with positive ones. EMDR is especially helpful for people with DD and PTSD.
3. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
DBT is a behavioral treatment that helps you get rid of destructive urges. It helps regulate emotions as well. This therapy promotes mindfulness techniques, so it uses a lot of breathing exercises and meditation.
There are many more treatments than this, and your doctor or therapist will be the one to help you figure out what treatment works best for you.
Talking About Neuroses
You might not know you have one of these neuroses, or you may realize someone you love has one or more of these disorders. Getting help starts with talking about it. If your life is being interrupted by your inability to get out the door on time because you have to turn your lights on and off a certain number of times or locking your doors, in the same way, you can get back on track by talking to your doctor.
Talking to your doctor, to your family, or anyone that might be able to help you understand your neuroses is the first step to getting help and treatment. You don’t have to live with your neuroses; they are not meant to be a permanent part of your life.
