Introduction

Neurosis and psychosis are two distinct types of mental disorders. Neurosis is a
minor disorder that is characterized by physical and mental disturbances. Psychosis
is a major disorder related to personality characterized by emotional and
psychological disruptions.

Definition for Neurosis

Neurotic disorder (neurosis) is a mild mental illness that is not caused by organic
disease of brain and not involve hallucinations and delusions, and not loss of touch
with reality.

Types of Neurosis
The types of Neurosis include −
 Anxiety − Response of body out of the thoughts of fear and/or
apprehension.
 Depression − Chronic sadness or persistent feeling of loss of interest.
 Hysteria − Conversion of psychological stress into physical symptoms
due to trauma.
 Obsessive-compulsive Disorder − Occurrence of unwanted thoughts
repetitively and compulsion of doing some actions such as cleaning
owns hands, surfaces, objects, even they are clean, etc.
 Phobia − Irrational and intolerable fear about an object, a living
creature, a person, or a situation.


Causes of Neurosis
There is no single cause of neurosis, but rather a variety of factors that can
contribute to its development. Some of the most common causes of
neurosis include:

 Experiencing a traumatic event or series of events

 a history of abuse or neglect
 Having a history of being in a dysfunctional or also having unstable family
environment
 a history of mental illness in your family
 Having low self-esteem
esteem or feeling insecure or inadequate
 Feeling overwhelmed d or stressed out
 Using drugs or alcohol excessively

Fig: Some common causes of neurosis

Symptoms of Neurosis

An individual affected with neurosis can display multiple symptoms from

the following –
  Behavioral symptoms − Experience of extreme fatigue, anxiety,
doubtfulness, or fear, or all at the same time, inability to handle
everyday stresses appropriately (for example, trivial arguments or
misunderstandings, delays in transportation, an unintended push from
a person, etc.). Inability to control own emotions, oscillating between
two opposite emotions quickly. Demanding perfectionism. Low self-
esteem, overly self-consciousness about appearance, timeliness,
cleanliness, Reluctance to make new acquaintances, flying off when
one opens a serious conversation with them, eating too much or too
less, etc.
 Cognition − Temporary impairment of memory or learning ability
 Mood − Irritation, anger, hastiness to get rid of unwanted event,
skeptical, dullness
 Psychology − Constant need of reassurance from others on the things
already validated by others, instead removing the stimulus, fixing
attention on the stimulus on and on.
 Physical − Sleep deficit, changes in sleep patterns, stomach upset,
Asthma bouts, irritable bowel syndrome.


Diagnosis
An interview with the person suspected to have neurosis is set up by the
psychologist or psychiatrist and his or her mental status is clinically
assessed wit
Treatment
Psychologists and psychiatrists treat neuroses in a variety of manners.
Some of them are −
 Exposing the patient to the models of appropriate emotion handling so
that patients learn by observing and understanding.
 Making the patient understand their suppressed emotions, feelings,
impulses, or painful memories and replacing them with the realistic
event interpretations.
 Advocating antidepressant, antianxiety drugs.
Definition for Psychosis
Psychosis (psychotic disorders)are severe mental disorders that cause abnormal
thinking and perceptions. People with psychoses lose touch with reality. Two of
the main symptoms are delusions and hallucinations

Types of Psychosis

All psychosis disorders come under Schizophrenia range of disorders −

 Delusional disorder − Inability to tell an imaginary belief from reality.
 Bipolar disorder − Oscillations between two extreme moods.
 Post-traumatic Disorder − Developed on experiencing or witnessing a
shocking or scary event.
 Mood disorder − Misaligned and inconsistent moods with
circumstances.
  Schizoaffective disorder − Combination of hallucinations/dilution,
anxiety, and
d depression.

Fig: Hallucinations and delusions in psychosis

Apart from hallucinations and delusions, psychosis also manifests
other symptoms such as depression, insomnia or hypersomnia,
impaired speech, anxiety, inability to express emotions and suicidal
thoughts and actions. If these symptoms last for more than six
months then a person’s normal life is entirely disrupted. However, the
duration of this disorder is not constant and ca
c

Symptoms of Psychosis

An individual affected with psychosis ccan

an display varied symptoms such as
−
 Behavioral symptoms − Speaking nonsense words and moving
repetitively, incoherent thoughts, language, and actions, excessive
 speaking, aggression, irritation, hostility, withdrawal from society,
harming themselves, decdecline
line in hygiene, loneliness, irregular sleep
patterns, eating too much or skipping meals, messy eating, etc.
 Cognition − Racing disordered thoughts with no specific orientation,
disowning thoughts, perceiving an ordinary event as special, difficulty in
understanding and thinking.
 Moods − Anger, tantrums, detachment to own self, nervousness, lack
of motivation.
 Psychology − Experience of hallucinations (false perception by
sensory organs like hearing voices when nothing is around/getting
tastes when nothingng is eaten/feeling touch when not touched/seeing
something which is not present around.) and delusion (false belief).
These are the most prominent indications appearing in the individual
affected with Psychosis.
 Physical − Overall physical weakness, untidiness, skin diseases.

Fig: Other symptoms associated with psychosis

Causes

Psychosis can be caused due to a range of different factors. Some of the

common factors leading to psychotic hallucinations can be extreme stress,
sleep deprivation, grief over
ver the loss of loved ones, etc.
Organic psychosis is caused due to medical conditions that affect the
brain, which include neurodegenerative diseases (such as
Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, etc.), malignant brain
tumors,, delirium and dementia, neurodevelopment disorders due to

Fig: Neurodegenerative diseases which cause psychosis

It can also be triggered by abuse of alcohol and psychoactive drugs such

as cannabis, cocaine, psychedelic drugs (LSD), amphetamines, etc.
Withdrawal or administra
administration
tion of certain medicinal drugs can also lead to
psychosis.

Functional psychosis occurs due to psychiatric disorders such as

schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, psychotic
depression, delusional disorder, post traumatic stress disord
disorder,
er, obsessive
compulsive disorder, etc.
Symptoms of psychosis include:
 confused thinking
 delusions – false beliefs that are not shared by others
 hallucinations – hearing, seeing, smelling or tasting something that
isn't there
 changed behaviors and feelings.

Diagnosis
Studying the medical, behavioral as well as family history of the individual
along with clinical tests and physical exams can be helpful in diagnosing
psychosis in a patient. Observing the patient and enquiring the family about
behavioral changes can help in diagnosis. Early diagnosis can help in
alleviating symptoms and improving the mental condition of a patient. But,
the condition worsens with time and may result in acute psychosis if
diagnosed too late.
Treatment
Traditionallyy psychosis is treated with antipsychotic drugs and
psychotherapy. Love and support from near and dear ones goes a long
way in treating psychotic patients. The patients are required to stay in
mental health facilities for their own as well as their family’
family’ss safety. Rapid
tranquilization may be needed in case of an uncontrollable psychotic
episode. At other times, the person might just continue with therapy and
medications.
If the individual suffering from psychosis is in the phase of maintenance (a
period during which the affected person works towards consolidating the
progress made during therapy and preventing relapse), then friends and
family should ensure proper intervention in case of any abnormal behavior
or psychotic episode.
Differences between neurosis and psychosis
Let’s have a look at the differences between neurosis and psychosis.

Neurosis Psychosis

It is a mild functional
It is a severe mental illness.
neuropsychical disorder.

Does not result in complete loss

of contact with reality, however, Psychosis results in complete loss of
perception of reality might be touch with reality.
distorted to some extent.

The affected individual remains The affected individual is not aware of

aware of his/her surroundings. his/her surroundings.

Can be caused by organic factors such

The causes of the disease are as medical conditions or pathological
not organic and are purely changes in the morphology and
functional. function of the parts of our neural
system.

Affected person does not suffer Psychosis is always characterised by

from hallucinations or delusions. hallucinations and delusions.

Risk of harming one’s own self is Risks of self harm and suicidal
low. attempts is high.

Speech does not undergo

Speech is often distorted.
distortion.
 Affected individuals suffer from
Affected individuals undergo
emotional and psychological
mental and physical distress.
disruptions.

Symptoms include sadness,

Symptoms include faulty judgement,
anger, anxiety, irritability,
hallucinations, delusions.
depression, etc.

Can be caused due to stress, medical

Mainly caused due to chronic conditions affecting the brain,
stress. psychiatric disorders, medicinal drugs
and drug and alcohol abuse.

The patient should be kept in a mental

Hospitalisation of the patient is
health facility during the course of
not mandatory.
treatment.

Pedagogical, biological,
Genetic, environmental, and
psychological and socioeconomic
biochemical factors cause psychosis.
factors cause neurosis.

Few examples of neurotic Few examples of psychotic disorders

disorders are - Panic disorder are Schizophrenia
Post-traumatic stress disorder Bipolar disorder
Hysteria Psychotic depression
Obsessive-compulsive disorder Delusional disorder

Conclusion

Neurosis and psychosis are not similar types of mental disorders. Neurosis is less
significant and only a mental impact that can be cured by support from peers and
also discussions with experts. Psychosis is a severe ailment that is both emotional
and functional. The person with psychosis has a madness and can harm himself if
not cared for properly. Hospitalization is a must to some extent in neurosis and a
greater extent in psychosis.
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