Causes of neurosis

According to Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), a famous Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis, neurosis is a coping strategy caused by unsuccessfully repressed emotions from past experiences.

These emotions overwhelm or interfere with current experience. He gave the example of an overwhelming fear of dogs that may have resulted from a dog-attack earlier in life.

Causes of Neurosis

In modern science, two components are considered among the causes of the development of neurosis: psychogenic and biological.

The inability to adequately respond to external stimuli, which causes stress, is one of the psychogenic causes of neurotic disorders. The first reason for an inadequate reaction could be a low-stress tolerance, as well as high susceptibility to even those things that do not cause a pathological reaction from the psyche in stronger people. Dripping water from a faucet, for example, can cause severe irritability in some people, while others simply do not notice these sounds. As a result, the former has a much higher proclivity and risk of developing a neurosis. It is impossible to discuss the presence of such a person in psychopathology because it is a personality trait, a character caused by a hereditary, genetic or acquired (as a result of upbringing or social environment) factor.

The second cause of psychogenic neurosis is a strong external stimulus that even people with a "strong psyche" find difficult to cope with. Chronic stress at work (professional failures, interpersonal relationships, management bias), conflicts at home, domestic problems, health problems, loss of loved ones, financial problems, and so on are examples of such irritants. Overwork, a lack of adequate rest, and an inability to relax all increase the risk of neurosis.

The biological cause of neurotic disorders is a disruption in the metabolism of neurotransmitters, hormones, vitamins, and other biologically active substances that are essential for the normal functioning of the central nervous system and, in particular, higher nervous activity. This reason cannot be considered separately from psychogenic neurosis because, in the end, it all comes down to impaired brain neuron function; however, what is the primary factor in pathological changes in nerve cells is considered to be the primary cause of neurotic disorder.