Psychoses and neuroses are two very similar concepts that are confused not only by ordinary people, but also by some doctors with experience in the neurological and psychiatric fields. In fact, these are different pathological human conditions that require an individual approach and treatment.

Psychosis is a human mental disorder consisting of strange and unusual behavior for society, a disorder in the perception of the real world around us, as well as an inadequate reaction to external stimuli.

It is classified depending on the etiology into the following groups:

1. Endogenous psychoses - can develop against the background of disorders of neurohumoral regulation;
2. Exogenous - appears under the influence of severe stress, drug or alcohol addiction, inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system of infectious etiology;
3. Organic psychoses are associated with a direct violation of the structure of the brain, its traumatization, and impaired blood supply.

Neurosis is a pathological state of the nervous system, its depletion, formed as a result of stress and psychological childhood trauma.

Divided into several forms:

• neurasthenia;
• hysteria;
• fear;
• obsessive state.

The causes of neurosis are biological and social factors such as toxic poisoning, heredity, traumatic brain injury, unfavorable social or living conditions, constant strong experiences at home, at work, and during pregnancy.

Differences and symptoms

The main difference between neurosis and psychosis is the fact that the first condition appears against the background of complete physical well-being, that is, the person does not complain of any other health problems. In the second case, the process is formed unnoticed and is a consequence of dysfunction of the endocrine and nervous system.

Neurosis is a somatic, autonomic disorder of the nervous system; psychosis largely affects the psyche and consciousness of the patient.

With neurosis, the patient is critical of himself and those around him, he does not lose touch with the real world and gives a full account of his actions. The patient is able to analyze his condition and admit to himself that he really needs medical help. Psychosis gives an absolutely opposite picture; a person speaks loudly about his own well-being and refuses a medical examination.

Neurosis preserves personality and is a reversible condition that can be treated. Psychosis suppresses one’s own “I” and is less treatable.

The clinical picture is also different. Symptoms of neurosis are psychological discomfort, irritability to the point of embitterment and rage, sudden mood swings, a large number of fears and worries without any good reason, tearfulness, chronic fatigue, accompanied by migraines, insomnia, fatigue under normal loads.

Psychoses are characterized by delusions, auditory or visual hallucinations, slurred speech and inexplicable behavior, and a fixation on certain incidents. The patient limits himself from society, lives in his own separate imaginary world.

As for the question: “Can neurosis turn into psychosis?”, opinions differ here. Some experts argue that these are two unrelated conditions that are not intertwined and give their own special complications. The latter say that neurosis, without proper diagnosis and therapy, exhausts the nervous system so much that in addition to it, the patient’s psyche is involved, as a result of which psychosis can develop.

Diagnosis and treatment

A neurologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist must listen carefully to the patient, check his tendon reflexes, and observe his behavior and manner of speech. It is important to collect a complete anamnesis of the disease, life, to clarify the presence of concomitant pathologies, household and social living conditions.

Treatment is prescribed individually and consists of two components: taking medications and normalizing the psycho-emotional state.

The most preferred medications are antidepressants (Azafen, Imizin), psychostimulants (Provigil, Sidnocarp), tranquilizers (Tofisopam, Diazepam) and anti-anxiety drugs (Adaptol, Deprim). They improve sleep, eliminate anxiety and depression, reduce negative mood, and reduce tension in the nervous system. Prescribed exclusively by a specialist with the selection of the required dose and duration of medication.

The following social factors must be eliminated or minimized:

• hard work;
• informational and emotional stress;
• violation of routine, sleep, lack of sleep;
• problems with friends and close relatives;
• absence of a loved one, personal life;
• material and everyday problems;
• failure to realize past dreams and goals.

If a person is not able to solve the listed issues on his own, psychologists and psychotherapists will come to his aid; they will model behavior and correct their view of a particular situation.

Additional methods for restoring moral and physical well-being are water procedures, bathing with essential oils, physical therapy, relaxing massage, physiotherapy with sedatives, acupuncture, darsonvalization.

Psychosis and neurosis are the terms most often used by medical psychologists, but such conditions also require the help of a neurologist and psychiatrist.

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Terminology

Psychoses are a number of diseases accompanied by changes in human consciousness. Usually in such a state there is no critical attitude towards oneself and the people around him. In this case, the person is treated as an inpatient, because he is potentially dangerous both to himself and to others. The most effective treatment for psychosis is medication.

According to IBC-10, the term “neurosis” is not used in relation to mental disorders. Psychiatrists distinguish neurological disorders and many forms of their manifestation. This also includes disorders caused by stress and somatoform disorders. Neurosis is treated with medications - antidepressants, vitamins, drugs that affect the brain - and psychotherapy. Treatment is determined by severity. With a mild form of neurosis, recovery is possible even when the life situation has simply improved, you have had a good rest, the traumatic factor has disappeared, and you have had a productive conversation with a psychotherapist. For neurotic disorders, outpatient treatment is more often used.

Both conditions - neurosis and psychosis - require an individual treatment regimen.

Neurosis

Neurosis is the result of psychological trauma or a long-term stressful situation, including a serious and prolonged illness. It depletes the nervous system. Against this background, autonomic disorders are observed - increased sweating, gastrointestinal problems, rapid heartbeat. The patient experiences constant fatigue, anxiety, irritation, increased sensitivity and tearfulness, feelings of despair, aggression, and sleep disorders.

With neurosis, the patient can be aware of his actions and maintain clarity of thinking. Sometimes, realizing his condition, a person tries to cope with the disease on his own.

Neurosis can take the form:

1. chronic fatigue accompanied by nervous exhaustion, which leads to irritability, headaches, sleep disturbances, and overwork;
2. motor function disorders (before convulsive seizures), speech disorders, sensory disorders, specific manifestations of emotions (unreasonable tears or laughter, screaming);
3. phobias, constant anxiety;
4. obsessive disorder, when the patient is constantly haunted by thoughts and memories, there is a need to perform some unreasonable actions.

Psychosis

Psychosis develops as a response to unexpected negative situations. In this state, a mental disorder and loss of sense of reality are obvious. During the period of illness, changes are observed in both the patient’s habitual behavior pattern and his appearance, possibly a disturbance in facial expressions. The patient's depressed state and indifference to the world and people around him are noted. It is during psychosis that delusions and hallucinations occur.

Hallucinations

Hallucinations are sensations that occur without stimuli; they are imaginary perceptions.

There are different types of hallucinations:

1. olfactory, causing a persistent sensation of the presence of a certain odor in its actual absence. Gustatory and olfactory hallucinations sometimes occur together;
2. visual, when the patient sees non-existent in a given part of space, or unreal images;
3. gustatory, when a taste is felt in the mouth that is not there. With such a hallucination, a person may refuse to eat;
4. auditory, when the patient hears non-existent sounds - words, voices;
5. tactile, when a person can feel a missing object. Sometimes they are combined with visual and auditory ones;
6. bodily, causing unpleasant sensations in the body - the passage of an electric discharge, touching, grasping.

Hallucinations are also classified as:

• true, when the images seem real and accurately projected in the surrounding space, and false, not projected in the external environment, a person feels them inside his head, the images are not perceived by the senses;
• simple, which are a reflection of only one sense organ, and complex, when the image is perceived by two or more sense organs.

The attitude towards a hallucination can be critical when the patient realizes the unreality of the perceived image, and uncritical when what is happening is accepted as reality.

Classification of psychoses

There are three types of psychoses depending on the root cause of their occurrence:

1. endogenous, manifested against the background of neuroendocrine factors. This is manic-depressive psychosis, schizophrenia;
2. exogenous, arising as a reaction to external factors - mental trauma, infectious diseases, alcohol and drug addictions;
3. organic, are the result of brain disorders - congenital pathologies, traumatic brain injuries, tumors, etc.

Differences

The fundamental difference between psychosis and neurosis is the severity of the condition. The first is considered heavy, and the second is considered light.

Another fundamental difference between these disorders is that the patient feels the signs of neurosis, he is able to adequately assess them and seek medical help. In psychosis, a person does not notice the changes taking place; he is deprived of the opportunity to independently assess his condition.

Neurosis is not capable of turning into psychosis, but in the absence of treatment it leads to a change in the patient’s personality and forms psychopathic traits in him.

A person’s mental health is subject to various negative influences, which is why diseases such as psychosis and neurosis often develop. These two diseases have some common symptoms, but have different effects on the patient's character and behavior. It is much more difficult to rid a subject of psychosis than to overcome neurosis.

Definition of neurosis and its symptoms

A group of disorders that arise in a person due to destructive psychological attitudes and stress is called neurosis. Situations conducive to the development of neurosis:

• hereditary tendency to nervous disorders;
• periodic conflicts at home or at work. Often occur in children and adolescents who grow up in dysfunctional families;
• excessive suspiciousness of the subject. The habit of reacting painfully to minor troubles exhausts the nervous system - a person with low self-esteem and a pessimistic attitude towards life is much more likely to develop neurosis than a positive-minded person;
• physical overload;
• chronic diseases that cause constant discomfort or acute pain (psoriasis, arthritis);
• a strong shock that the subject experienced in the recent past (death of a relative, fire, bankruptcy);
• long stay in a place where he was in danger.

Forms of neurosis:

• neurasthenia;
• fear;
• obsessive states;
• hysteria.

Manifestation of pathology

How the disease manifests itself: the patient’s mood changes sharply, the level of sensitivity increases. You can cry for half a day over a broken plate and be offended for a month at a colleague who didn’t invite you to his wedding. Self-esteem changes: some patients are overly critical of themselves. Inflated self-esteem is also not uncommon in neurosis.

A person suffers from constant fatigue, although the amount of daily exercise remains the same. A neurotic person is tormented by strong unreasonable fear. The patient experiences increased sweating. Trembling appears in the arms and legs.

The symptoms of a neurotic disorder are noticeable not only to you, but also to your friends and relatives. Can neurosis turn into psychosis: the likelihood of such a development of events is negligible, but an advanced neurotic disorder can undermine the nervous system and lead to insomnia and fainting.

Causes and features of the manifestation of psychosis

Psychosis is a mental disorder that is expressed in the patient’s behavior that is strange and shocking to others. One of the differences between neurosis and psychosis: a neurotic disorder occurs due to traumatic situations, and psychosis develops unnoticed.

Causes of psychosis:

• congenital brain pathologies;
• alcoholism;
• taking narcotic drugs;
• traumatic brain damage;
• diseases of the endocrine system;
• infections affecting the nervous system;
• tumors in brain tissue;
• severe shock.

Psychosis has several varieties.

1. Endogenous. This form of the disease develops due to malfunctions of the endocrine and nervous systems.
2. Exogenous. The disease occurs due to external factors (inflammatory process, alcohol abuse).
3. Organic. This type of psychosis is characterized by impaired blood circulation in the brain.

It is difficult for a person far from medicine to understand whether neurosis or psychosis is debilitating his relative. The manifestation of psychosis differs from neurotic behavior; it has special signs.

1. Crazy ideas. The patient’s consciousness is taken over by a thought that is far from reality. A person may believe that his colleagues and neighbors are watching him. Some patients are obsessed with causeless jealousy. A psychotic person may imagine himself to be a prophet or an alien.
2. Auditory or visual hallucinations. The most common symptom is voices and sounds that a person allegedly hears. Some also experience olfactory and tactile hallucinations. The patient himself is sure that his visions are real.
3. Loss of appetite.
4. Incoherent speech. The subject may speak animatedly and then become silent or laugh. People whose mental health has been affected by psychosis often mimic their interlocutors.
5. Outbursts of aggression. The longer a person suffers from psychosis, the more often he becomes angry.
6. Loss of interest in work and household responsibilities. A psychotic has no desire to communicate with other people. The patient lacks the ability to empathize.
7. Forgetfulness.
8. Obsessive repetition of actions. For example, a psychotic may make and unroll his bed 5-10 times a day.
9. Suicidal thoughts.
10. Movement disorders. Psychotics are characterized by extremes in motor activity. The patient can sit in one position for a long time without reacting to stimuli (phone ringing, voices of relatives). Some patients experience excessive mobility and fussiness.

The main differences between pathologies

A subject suffering from a neurotic disorder goes to work and takes care of his appearance. It is difficult for a person with psychosis to concentrate on anything. He is irritable and intolerant. Many patients whose perception of the world has been changed by psychosis exhibit sloppiness and indifference to hygiene measures.

An important detail in which psychosis differs from neurosis: a neurotic understands that he has a loss of strength and a gloomy mood, while a psychotic does not see a problem in his changed perception of the world. People with neurosis often seek help from a psychologist or psychotherapist. A patient debilitated by psychosis can only be persuaded to seek treatment by those he trusts (spouse, children, close friends).

Treatment of neurosis and psychosis

Psychotherapy sessions can free a person from neurosis. Sometimes, to eliminate increased anxiety and depressive conditions, the patient is prescribed medications from one of the following groups:

• tranquilizers;
• antidepressants;
• neuroleptics.

In addition to the main therapy, the neurologist may prescribe you vitamins. To combat a neurotic disorder you will need a lot of time. In order for the disease to leave you forever, you need to distance yourself from the painful circumstances that caused the development of the disease. The patient needs to give up alcohol and tobacco at least until medications and conversations with a psychotherapist help improve his emotional balance.

Even if neurotics do not seek treatment, their behavior does not pose a threat to others. Sad thoughts and constant worries only harm him. Psychotics are completely different from healthy people.

A significant difference between neurosis and psychosis: emotional disorder progresses without treatment. The subject becomes dangerous to himself, as well as to the people around him.

There are known cases where patients, overcome by delusional ideas of persecution, attacked passers-by. The patient may set fire to the apartment or injure himself. Psychotic disorders are often irreversible, but with timely consultation with a specialist, the patient has a high chance of regaining an adequate perception of life.

To reduce or eliminate the manifestations of a neurotic disorder, you just need to visit a psychologist and follow his recommendations. Treatment of psychosis is carried out in a hospital setting. The doctor prescribes medications to the patient.

What medications help get rid of psychosis:

• antipsychotics - fight thought disorders;
• mood stabilizers - stabilize mood;
• benzodiazepines - reduce anxiety.

Therapy takes an average of one and a half months. The patient's stay in the hospital increases to 5-8 months.

Conclusion

To the common man, illnesses such as neurosis and psychosis seem very similar, but these pathologies have different essences. A neurotic disorder appears in a subject due to severe stress and a depressing family situation. Psychosis develops after severe infections or endocrine pathologies. The main difference between neurosis and psychosis is the influence of the second illness on a person’s personality. With a neurotic disorder, you remain yourself. The neurotic does not have delusional ideas or attacks of causeless anger. With psychosis, the character of the subject changes radically.

Today, the treatment of psychoses and neuroses is carried out in almost the same ways, since these ailments have similar symptoms.

Before starting the most effective treatment, you need to know that neurosis is the name of a certain group of mental disorders. They reduce a person’s mental and even physical performance, have an overly long course, and also have a not very pleasant effect, which is characterized by asthenic, obsessive, hysterical or nervous manifestations. But psychosis is the name of a group of mental disorders in which pseudohallucinations, depersonalization, derealization, illusions and even delusions most often appear.

Differences between psychosis and neurosis

It has long been known that neurosis is a so-called reversible disorder that can be quite successfully treated, even if the disease has been bothering the person for a long time. When this disease develops, the patient himself clearly understands that he needs help, and therefore can go to the clinic on his own. Any of the forms of neurosis that exist today, to which doctors include obsessive-compulsive disorder or neurasthenia, can be treated correctly and in a timely manner.

But psychosis is a form of more severe mental disorders. As the disease develops, a person is absolutely unable to adequately perceive reality. The patient may experience the most common symptoms that affect his general condition, behavior and thinking change, and memory disorders are common.

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How is psychosis treated promptly?

The most effective and popular method of treating psychosis is medication. It is based on an individual approach to each patient, when the gender and age of the person, as well as the presence of other ailments, are necessarily taken into account.

The main task in treating the disease is to establish the highest quality cooperation with the patient. The doctor must instill in the person faith in the possibility of gradual recovery. The specialist helps the patient overcome the long-held belief that there is harm from taking modern psychotropic drugs. The relationship between patient and physician must necessarily be built only on trust. The doctor guarantees the anonymity of treatment and non-disclosure of confidential information.

Whatever the symptoms of the disease, a person who seeks help from a qualified specialist should not hide certain information from the doctor. For example, the fact of regular use of alcoholic beverages or drugs. It is very important that psychosis is treated with properly selected medications, which should be most harmoniously combined with the social rehabilitation programs offered today.

At the same time, patients with mental disorders are taught methods of normal behavior in everyday life. Rehabilitation is an integral element of the treatment of prolonged psychosis. It is almost always aimed at teaching the patient the skills of mutual understanding and skills that are necessary in life, for example, using transport, calculating finances, cleaning the home, visiting large stores.

Psychotherapy is often used to treat psychosis, which helps the patient feel much better about himself and others. This is necessary for those people who, due to the development of the disease, begin to experience a feeling of uselessness and inferiority.

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How are neuroses treated?

After a person realizes that he has developed neurosis and is in an almost hopeless situation, the patient’s situation worsens significantly. The patient becomes indecisive, and this is the very first step towards losing control of the disease. A person who experiences all kinds of psychological torment begins to look for a way out of the situation. However, not many people turn to doctors for help, as they try to treat the disease on their own.

To avoid the various consequences that neuroses lead to, you need to promptly contact a professional psychotherapist. Treatment of this disease is carried out using a variety of techniques. The psychotherapy of different schools used helps a person understand the main reason that determines the origin of such a serious disorder. As a result of the therapy used, the patient will be able to understand the most correct relationships between life experience and the situation, which gradually led to significant contradictions.

09.03.2017

Who is prone to neuroses, psychoses, why do they go crazy?

Neurosis (anxiety disorder) can occur in any person, regardless of intelligence, willpower, external data, socio-financial status, experience and wisdom. True, some people develop neurotic disorders more easily than others under the same internal and external influences.

Personal characteristics, which, under unfavorable conditions, facilitate the appearance of neurosis:

• emotionality
• impressionability
• pedantry
• tendency to control everything
• anxiety
• suspiciousness
• tendency to bottle up emotions within oneself
• tendency to get stuck in situations
• high intelligence
• dependence on the opinions of others
• desire to be good
• do everything perfectly
• the best
• ambition
• habit of success
• inflexibility
• tendency to view everything through an all-or-nothing or black-or-white lens

In addition to the above-mentioned personality traits, external unfavorable factors can contribute to neuroses. This includes everything that contributes to the accumulation of stress:

• Long periods of uncertainty and novelty (for example: will a deal pass/fail, will it be approved/not approved, will it be promoted/not promoted, will it be fired/not fired, how will some test end, what is the child’s illness, why can’t you get pregnant, and so on). What is typical (and very often) is that neurosis begins when the troubles end.


• Long-term dissatisfaction with any needs (for example, chronic lack of sleep, routine, inability to realize one’s interests, potential or ambitions, dissatisfaction with personal life, non-recognition of achievements, inability to control everything... It is worth noting that people differ in the expression of different needs, therefore, for one will cause stress, for others - not. For example, a person with a high degree of need for communication, recognition, dynamics around what is happening will be uncomfortable working as a programmer or an ordinary accountant. And for introverts and pedants, that’s just the thing.


• Some external factor provoked strong feelings and anxiety. For example, someone died, went crazy; unexpectedly and very sharply increased blood pressure; the person was subjected to ridicule/bullying; a person was involved in a serious accident.

Conclusions:

• Anyone can develop neurosis (anxiety disorder).


• Having neurosis is not weakness. Rather, it was an unfortunate coincidence of circumstances, or rather, unfavorable circumstances that were layered on the personality traits. (We often hear from our patients something like: “I never thought that this could happen to me,” “even if I heard about neuroses and depression, I always thought it wasn’t about me,” “I thought it was some kind of -weakness, a fool, with nothing to do, a person invents everything and simply doesn’t want to work.”)


• Reducing the causes of neurosis to childhood complexes, to a lack of love in childhood, to intrapersonal conflicts and hidden motives in the unconscious is literally a thing of the past.


• The main type of treatment for neurosis is psychotherapy, and medications are only a help.


• It is very important for complete liberation from neurosis to understand the characteristics and personalities that contribute to the anxiety disorder. It is believed that character cannot be changed. This is true in many ways, especially regarding temperament. But such a task is not set; it is only necessary to help the psyche master additional models of perception and behavior in order to make a person more stress-resistant and adaptive. It is also important to optimize your lifestyle.


• You can get rid of neurosis and stop giving it the opportunity to influence your life.

If anyone can get neurosis, then not everyone, or rather a very small group of people, has the “luck” to go crazy. For example, schizophrenia affects about 1% of the world's population. People don’t just fall into psychosis (that is, a state with hallucinations, delusions, pronounced emotional shifts, etc.) from external circumstances or from strong experiences. By the way, neurosis never turns into psychosis, that is, people don’t go crazy because of it. For psychosis to occur, there must be changes in the brain at the cellular and biochemical level. Anticipating the question “what if I have something similar,” I would like to say that a person in psychosis (in the acute phase of madness) will never think that he has suddenly gone crazy. One of the most important criteria for psychosis is the lack of criticism of the condition or disease. Therefore, if you are puzzled, then you are sane, despite the symptoms that may seem abnormal to you. Among the factors that can increase the chances of going crazy is a family history, for example, one of the relatives ended up in a psychiatric hospital. Of course, you can describe the sores that cause or manifest themselves as psychoses. However, it is better for non-specialists not to delve into this topic, so as not to start fantasizing and deceiving themselves. If something confuses you, it is better to find a good specialist on the topic you are interested in and consult.