Topic 8:

Neurotic Behavior

Duration:

7 hours and 30 minutes

Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:

1. identify the types and signs of neurotic behaviors.

Instructional materials:

Neurotic Behaviors.ppt

Teaching-Learning Activity/Lesson Proper:

Neurotic Behaviors
The group of mild functional personality disorders in which there is
no gross personality disorganization and the individual is not required
for hospitalization.
It interferes with personal and professional lives and they tend to be
one’s default response to even minor problems.
Basic to this neurotic lifestyle are:
a. Neurotic Nucleus – the faulty evaluation of reality and the
tendency to avoid rather than to cope with stress. It is
characterized by anxiety, avoidance instead of coping, and blocked
personal growth.
b. Neurotic Paradox – the tendency to maintain the lifestyle despite
its maladaptive nature. It is characterized by unhappiness and
dissatisfactions.

Neurotic Behaviors are composed of the following disorders:

A. Anxiety disorders
These are commonly known as “neurotic fear”.
When it is occasional but intense, it is called “panic”.
When it is mild but continuous, it is called “worry”.
They are characterized by mild depressions, fear and tensions, and
mild stresses.

1. Obsessive-compulsive disorders
A common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person
has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts and/or behaviors that
he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over.
2. Asthenic Disorders (Neurasthenia)
An anxiety disorder characterized by chronic mental and
physical fatigue and various aches and pains.
Symptoms includes:
a. Spending too much sleep to avoid fatigue but to no avail,
even feels worsen upon awake.
b. Headaches, indigestion
c. Back pains and dizziness
3. Phobic Disorders – intense, persistent, and recurrent fears of
certain objects. These things may trigger a panic attack. 

B. Somatoform Disorders
Complains of bodily symptoms that suggest the presence of
physical problem but no organic basis can be found.
The individual is pre-occupied with his state of health or diseases.
Somatoform disorders are grouped as:
1. Hypochondriasis
Otherwise termed as illness anxiety disorder.
Worrying excessively about one’s state of health.
Normal sensations are believed to be symptoms of serious
ailments.
2. Psychogenic Pain Disorder
Characterized by the report of severe and lasting pain.
Reaction is greatly in excess of what would be expected
form the physical abnormality.

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 3. Conversion Disorders (Hysteria)
Neurotic pattern in which symptoms of some physical
malfunction or loss of control without any underlying
organic abnormality.

Sensory Symptoms of Hysteria:

a. Anasthesia – loss of sensitivity
b. Hyperesthesia – excessive sensitivity
c. Hypesthesia – partial loss of sensitivity
d. Analgesia – loss of sensitivity to pain
e. Paresthesia - exceptional sensations

Motor Symptoms of Hysteria

a. Paralysis – selective loss of function
b. Astasia-abasia – inability to control leg when standing
c. Aphonia – partial inability to speak
d. Mutism – total inability to speak

Visceral Symptoms of Hysteria

a. Choking sensation
b. Coughing spells
c. Difficulty in breathing
d. Cold and clammy extremities
e. Nausea

C. Dissociative Disorders - A response to obvious stress characterized

by:
1. Amnesia – partial or total inability to recall or identify past
experiences.
a. brain pathology amnesia – total loss of memory and it cannot
be retrieved by simple means. It requires long period of
medication.
b. psychogenic amnesia – failure to recall stored information and
still they are beneath the level of consciousness but “forgotten

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 material”.
2. Multiple Personality – also called “dual personalities”. The
person manifests two or more symptoms of personality usually
dramatically different.
3. Depersonalization – loss of sense of self or the so called out of
body experience.

D. Affective Disorders - The affective disorders are “mood disorders”,

in which extreme or inappropriate levels of mood – extreme elation
or extreme depression.

Forms of affective disorders:

1. Milder forms of affective disturbances
Sadness
Discouragement
Sense of hopelessness
Grief and the grieving process
a. death of loved one
b. financial loss
c. break up of a romantic affair
d. separation/divorce
e. separation from an important friend, job, etc.
f. disappearance of anything very important
2. Neurotic affective – also called “neurotic mania”, characterized
by overactive, dominating, and deficient in self-criticism.
3. Neurotic depression – sadness and dejection (grave sadness).
The individual often fails to return to normal after a reasonable
period of time resulted to high level of anxiety and lowers self-
confidence and loss of initiative.
4. Major depressive disorders – also called “severe affective
disorders” with the following classifications:
a. Sub-acute major depressive disorders – symptoms of this
depressive disorder includes loss of enthusiasm, feeling of
dejection, feeling of failure and unworthiness, fatigue and loss
of appetite.
b. Acute major depressive disorder – symptoms includes mild

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 hallucinations, feeling of guilt, want to be alone, and
increasingly inactive.
c. Depressive stupor – a severe degree of psychomotor
retardation, almost unresponsive, refuse to speak, and
confusions or hallucinations.

Enhancement Activity/Outcome:

Assessment:

References:

MFMER (1998-2020). Illness anxiety disorder. Retrieved online on June

8m 2020 at https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/illness-
anxiety-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20373782

NIMH (n.d.). Obsessive-compulsive disorder. Retrieved online on June 8,

2020 at http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive-
compulsive-disorder-ocd/index.shtml

WebMD LLC (2005-2020). What is neurotic behavior? Retrieved on June

8, 2020 at http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/neurotic-behavior-
overview#1