neurosis

neu·ro·sis

N0072600 (no͝o-rō′sĭs, nyo͝o-)n. pl. neu·ro·ses (-sēz) A mild mental disorder characterized by excessive anxiety, insecurity, or obsession, usually compensated for by various defense mechanisms.Usage Note: The word neurosis has been used since the 1700s, when it referred broadly to a "nervous disease." With the advent of Freud's theory of psychoanalysis in the late 1800s, neurosis evolved to refer to mental disorders resulting from internal psychological conflicts rather than from neurological diseases or conditions. Today, the words neurosis and neurotic are no longer used in formal psychiatric diagnosis. The conditions formerly referred to as neurotic are now described with many other terms, such as anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Neurosis and neurotic are still frequently used in informal conversation and writing to denote recurrent worry and anxiety.

neurosis

(njʊˈrəʊsɪs) n, pl -ses (-siːz) (Psychiatry) a relatively mild mental disorder, characterized by symptoms such as hysteria, anxiety, depression, or obsessive behaviour. Also called: psychoneurosis

neu•ro•sis

(nʊˈroʊ sɪs, nyʊ-)

n., pl. -ses (-siz) Also called psychoneurosis. a functional disorder in which feelings of anxiety, obsessional thoughts, compulsive acts, and physical complaints without objective evidence of disease, occurring in various degrees and patterns, dominate the personality. [1770–1780]

neurosis

a functional disorder of the nervous system. See also psychology. — neurotic, n., adj.See also: Nerves

any of a large variety of mental or psychic disorders, exhibiting a range of mental or physical symptoms, as anxiety, phobias, compulsions, and tics. — neurotic, n., adj.See also: Psychology

Thesaurus

Noun

neurosis - a mental or personality disturbance not attributable to any known neurological or organic dysfunctionneuroticism, psychoneurosisfolie, mental disorder, mental disturbance, psychological disorder, disturbance - (psychiatry) a psychological disorder of thought or emotion; a more neutral term than mental illnesshysterical neurosis, hysteria - neurotic disorder characterized by violent emotional outbreaks and disturbances of sensory and motor functionsanxiety neurosis - characterized by diffuse anxiety and often somatic manifestations of fear

neurosis

noun obsession, instability, mental illness, abnormality, phobia, derangement, mental disturbance, psychological or emotional disorder Her mother was over-protective to the point of neurosis.

Translations

Neurosenévrosenevrosineurosineurose

neurosis

[noo͡-ro´sis] (pl. neuro´ses) former name for a category of mental disorders characterized by anxiety and avoidance behavior. In general, the term has been used to refer to disorders in which the symptoms are distressing to the person, testing" >reality testing does not yield unusual results, behavior does not violate gross social norms, and there is no apparent organic etiology. Such disorders are currently classified as anxiety disorders, dissociative disorders, mood disorders, sexual disorders, and somatoform disorders.anxiety neurosis an obsolete term (Freud) for conditions now reclassified as panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.hysterical neurosis a former classification of mental disorders, now divided into conversion disorder and dissociative disorders.obsessive-compulsive neurosis former name for obsessive-compulsive disorder" >obsessive-compulsive disorder.prison neurosis chronophobia" >chronophobia occurring in prisoners having trouble adjusting to a long prison sentence, characterized by feelings of restlessness, panic, anxiety, and claustrophobia" >claustrophobia.transference neurosis a phenomenon occurring in most psychoanalyses" >psychoanalyses, in which the patient undergoes, with the analyst as the object, an intense repetition of childhood conflicts, reexperiencing impulses, feelings, and fantasies that originally developed in relation to the parent.

neu·ro·sis

, pl.

neu·ro·ses

(nū-rō'sis, -sēz), 1. A psychological or behavioral disorder in which anxiety is the primary characteristic; defense mechanisms or any phobias are the adjustive techniques that a person learns to cope with this underlying anxiety. In contrast to the psychoses, people with a neurosis do not exhibit gross distortion of reality or gross disorganization of personality but in severe cases, those affected may be as disabled as those with a psychosis. 2. A functional nervous disease, or one in which there is no evident lesion. 3. A peculiar state of tension or irritability of the nervous system; any form of nervousness. Synonym(s): neurotic disorder [neuro- + G. -osis, condition]

neurosis

(no͝o-rō′sĭs, nyo͝o-)n. pl. neuro·ses (-sēz) A mild mental disorder characterized by excessive anxiety, insecurity, or obsession, usually compensated for by various defense mechanisms.

neurosis

Psychology An older term for a disorder characterized by excess anxiety and avoidance behaviors Neuroses Anxiety disorder, dissociative disorder, mood disorder, personality disorder, bipolar I disorder, depression, histrionic personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive behavior, phobias. See Neurotic disorder, Semi-starvation neurosis, Sunday neurosis.

neu·ro·sis

, pl. neuroses (nūr-ō'sis, -sēz) 1. A psychological or behavioral disorder in which anxiety is the primary characteristic; defense mechanisms or any of the phobias are the adjustive techniques that a person learns to cope with this underlying anxiety. In contrast to the psychoses, people with a neurosis do not exhibit gross distortion of reality or disorganization of personality. 2. A functional nervous disease, or one for which there is no evident lesion. 3. A peculiar state of tension or irritability of the nervous system; any form of nervousness.
Synonym(s): neurotic disorder, psychoneurosis. [neuro- + G. -osis, condition]

neurosis

Any long-term mental or behavioural disorder, in which contact with reality is retained and the condition is recognized by the sufferer as abnormal. Attempts have been made to prohibit the term as pejorative and insulting but these have failed mainly because of a more complete and humane understanding of the subject and of the plight of neurotic sufferers. A neurosis essentially features anxiety or behaviour exaggeratedly designed to avoid anxiety. Defence mechanisms against anxiety take various forms and may appear as PHOBIAS, OBSESSIONS, COMPULSIONS or as sexual dysfunctions. In recent attempts at classification, the disorders formerly included under the neuroses have, possibly for reasons of political correctness, been given new names. The general term, neurosis, is now called anxiety disorder; hysteria has become a somatoform or conversion disorder; amnesia, fugue, multiple personality and depersonalization have become dissociative disorders; and neurotic depression has become a dysthymic disorder. These changes are helpful and explanatory but ignore the futility of euphemism. Psychoanalysis has proved of little value in curing these conditions and Freud's speculations as to their origins are not now widely accepted outside Freudian schools of thought. Neurotic disorders are probably best regarded as being the result of inappropriate early programming. Cognitive behaviour therapy seems effective in some cases.

neu·ro·sis

, pl. neuroses (nūr-ō'sis, -sēz) 1. Psychological or behavioral disorder with anxiety as primary characteristic; affected patients may be as disabled as those with a psychosis. 2. A functional nervous disease, or one in which there is no evident lesion. 3. A peculiar state of tension or irritability of the nervous system.

neurosis

neu·ro·sis

neurosis

neu•ro•sis

neurosis

neurosis

neurosis

neurosis

neu·ro·sis

neu·ro·ses

neurosis

neurosis

neu·ro·sis

neurosis

neu·ro·sis

neurosis

Synonyms for neurosis

noun obsession

Synonyms

Synonyms for neurosis

noun a mental or personality disturbance not attributable to any known neurological or organic dysfunction

Synonyms

Related Words