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Neurosis
Non-Biological Disturbances in the Mind
BY: T. Franklin Murphy | September 30, 2022 (modified January 10, 2023)
Non-Biological Disturbances in the Mind
BY: T. Franklin Murphy | September 30, 2022 (modified January 10, 2023)
Our minds powerfully process the vicissitudes of life, taking in data from the environment, emotions from the body, knowledge from the past, and then translate all the information into a meaningful whole. However, the data doesn’t always smoothly fit together. Stressful life demands, confusing facts, and conflicting beliefs strain cognitive resources, leading to malfunctions of behavior and thoughts. These malfunctions are referred to in psychology as neuroses.
A neurosis is not a diagnostic disorder, but a broad category that includes many behavioral and mental disorders that include many of the personality and emotional disorders. Neuroses are mental and behavioral reactions unconsciously implemented to protect the ego. These are often characterized as defense mechanisms, that soothe the conflict but fail to address underlying problems.
C. George Boeree wrote that a neurosis may be defined simply as a "poor ability to adapt to one's environment, an inability to change one's life patterns, and the inability to develop a richer, more complex, more satisfying personality" (2002).
A neurosis is not a diagnostic disorder, but a broad category that includes many behavioral and mental disorders that include many of the personality and emotional disorders. Neuroses are mental and behavioral reactions unconsciously implemented to protect the ego. These are often characterized as defense mechanisms, that soothe the conflict but fail to address underlying problems.
C. George Boeree wrote that a neurosis may be defined simply as a "poor ability to adapt to one's environment, an inability to change one's life patterns, and the inability to develop a richer, more complex, more satisfying personality" (2002).
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