Anxiety neurosis - Symptoms, Kinds, Causes, Cure

Neurotic disorders are considered to be of five kinds.

1.     Neurasthenia

2.     Anxiety neurosis

3.     Anxiety hysteria

4.     Obsessive - compulsive neurosis

5.     Hysteria

Anxiety neurosis:

Nature: Anxiety neurosis is a neurotic disturbance in which the patient is constantly anxious, the anxiety being different from a normal worry, because the patient is not aware of the reason for his anxiety. It can even be said to be objectless.

Characteristics of anxiety neurosis:

Physical symptoms:

The main ones are changes in heart beat, respiration, blood pressure, in the process of digestion and glandular secretion, tension in stripped muscles lack of vitality, insomnia fatigue etc.

Mental symptoms:

Irrational fear and suspicion do always prevail. Doubts related to some future or imagined accident or death in the family, but both anxiety and fear rob the patient of his sleep. With the result that he appears exhausted and restless. He tends to become introvert, selfish, irritable, unhappy and depressed and he has no enthusiasm, inherent attachment for any object or work.

Kinds of anxiety neurosis:

Acute anxiety:

The above symptoms appear in the most intense form and condition.

Chronic anxiety:

In this the symptoms are natural and to the condition neither momentary nor intense but more permanent and continuing. It takes the following two forms:

Free floating anxiety: In this the patient is completely unaware of the causes of anxiety but he continues to be worried and restless.

Bound anxiety: In this the patient attaches his anxiety to some specific condition or circumstances.

Causes of anxiety neurosis:

Suppression of sexual desire: According to Freud, whenever the libido of a person becomes excited, but finds no satisfaction and is instead suppressed, it takes the form of anxiety but the cause is not known to the patient.

Further he says that when a man or woman is sexually excited but finds no creative outlet for the libido he becomes a prey to anxiety and in this way he traces anxiety for suppression of libido. But not all psychiatrists see eye to eye with Freud in this connection.

Emotional conflict: According to McDougall and Gordan, the anxiety neurosis can arise as a result of conflict between any two emotions.

Repression of self-assertive tendency: according to Adler, man' s most important and most intense impulse is to assert himself. If the person' s ego does not develop properly and he instead develops a sense of inferiority then his self-assertive tendency is repressed and this leads to development of anxiety neurosis.

Frustration and mental conflict: According to O. Kelly, the root causes of anxiety neurosis are mental conflict and frustration whatever the cause of them or whatever the form they take. Not one of the above mentioned causes of anxiety neurosis could be said to explain it fully in the case of any patient.

The truth is that in particular circumstances one or more or even all of these causes may be present at the root of the anxiety neurosis.

Cure of anxiety neurosis:

Suggestion, psychoanalysis and re-education can help the disease.