Difference between Psychosis and Neurosis

We have many mental disorders, but the most famous are Psychosis and Neurosis. Neurosis is mild, while psychosis is severe. These mental disorders cause depression, anxiety, panic attacks, etc. These mental disorders have a severe negative effect in that it affects an individual emotionally, mentally, and physically which further causes irritation, hopelessness, and guilt.

Neurosis

Neurosis is a mild mental disorder. The main cause of this is chronic stress, depression, and anxiety. When a person suffers from this disorder, they might have irritability, anger, anxiety, etc. The life pattern becomes difficult to change for the individual who is suffering. It is embedded in ego defence strategies, which include thinking of own self. Emotional distress, along with unconscious conflict, comes in a neurosis patient.

Types of Neurosis

i) Anxiety Neurosis

Anxiety is overpowering emotions. When a person suffers from anxiety, he starts getting panic attacks, increased heartbeat, and sweating. It has so much impact that it distracts a person from daily activities.

ii) Phobia

A phobia is a fear that is caused by some bad experience that happened in the past. That particular object or situation generates fear which remains for a lifetime. When the person faces something similar again, he is stuck in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

The person who suffers from this disorder has repetitive thoughts, which lead to anxiety. It annoys that person. Like a person is washing her hands repeatedly to get rid of germs that might not be there, but it is her belief that causes him to think like that.

iii) Depression

Depression is very common nowadays, but it affects large masses of people. It is a mild mental health disorder it can arise due to some dissatisfied experiences. A person suffering from depression has sadness, hopelessness, guilt, and anxiety. When acute stress turns into chronic stress, it leads to anxiety, further leading to depression. This depression can be so powerful that it can even cause the person's death if he commits suicide.

4) Eating Disorder

It is an eating disorder in which, due to neurosis, a person has difficulty eating or has irregular bad eating habits.

5) War and Combat Neurosis

War and combat neurosis means a person's inability to meet daily activities after experiencing a traumatic event. The other name for this is Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The symptoms of this include detaching from surroundings, fatigue, and they face difficulty in prioritising things.

Causes of Neurosis

i) Biological

Biological factor plays an important role in causing it. When the metabolism of neurotransmitters, including hormones and vitamins, is disrupted, which are very important in the functioning of the Central Nervous System (CNS), the symptoms of neurosis are found.

ii) Psychogenic

It is called psychogenic when a person cannot respond to external stimuli. It may include some failure, professional work, etc.

Symptoms of Neurosis

1. Fatigue
2. Egoistic distress
3. Persistent emotional distress
4. Low self-esteem
5. Emotional stress
6. Self-Doubt

Treatment of Neurosis

1. It can be treated by different methods. Most psychiatrists and Psychologists do the therapy in which a patient is asked to remember their past experiences, trauma, and repressed memories. The person is helped in the course of his history.
2. Discussing your thoughts and experience with someone can also treat neurosis. It lowers the burden of an individual, and he feels relaxed after sharing. Replaying the thoughts while discussing can help the person escape the chaotic mess.
3. Other than this, medicines and drugs can be used to cure as medicine provides relief. There are different treatments for it.

2. Psychosis

Psychosis is a severe personality disorder in which mental along with emotional distress occurs. It is scarier than neurosis. In this, mental illness causes hallucinations, delusions, etc. This disorder occurs when a person loses hope and forgets the essence of life. This hopelessness and forgetting of the true meaning of life leads to suicidal thoughts in an individual. A person who suffers this lives in their world of imagination instead of living in reality.

Types of Psychosis

1. Functional Psychosis

It is a state in which no demonstration of physical and neurological pathology exists. The main example of this is Schizophrenia. It mostly happens in teenagers, and the main cause is a lack of energy and disorganised speech.

2. Organic Psychosis

Organic psychosis is when the brain functions abnormally, whose reason can be physical deformity.

Causes of Psychosis

i) Physical illness

Hallucinations or Psychosis can be seen when you have some physical injury and also when you have pyrexia.

ii) Abuse or trauma

The psychosis can also be caused by some bad experience which is very traumatic, and this trauma leads to the repetition of thoughts which causes psychosis.

iii) Alcohol and smoking

Excessive alcohol and smoking block treatment of symptoms for psychosis. If a person is highly addicted to alcohol. There are higher chances they would be prone to psychosis.

iv) Hunger

When a person is hungry, their blood pressure tends to be low, which cause hallucination.

v) Lack of sleep

This is the most important these days children and adults don't take care of their health in response to which they don't take proper 8 hours of sleep.

vi) Bereavement

Suppose somebody has lost his close and near & dear ones. Then it causes them to think that the other person close to him talks to them.

Symptoms of Psychosis

i) Hallucinations

It is a mental state condition in which the person does everything that doesn't exist, like taste, touch, hears, see, etc., as a person can listen to sounds that are not even there or see something. The loss of a dear one can cause hallucinations.

ii) Delusion

When a person has psychosis, he may have a false belief that is not even true. A person going through this disorder might believe that everyone thinks bad about him or wants bad. But it's not true. It is his wrong beliefs that make him feel isolated and alone.

iii) Confused and Disturbed

The thoughts of the person become messy when he goes through psychosis. He doesn't have that clarity. He is busy all the time all day. They continuously think. Immediate thoughts go into that person's mind, especially when overthinking.

iv) Behavioural

When we talk in terms of behaviour, then they have disorganised. There is always aggression and irritation in their behaviour.

v) Speech

In terms of speech, they speak too much, which means they are full of words, but when expressing their ideas, they remain silent.

vi) Mood

In terms of mood, they detach from themself. They are usually nervous and feel lonely. They have mood swings.

Treatment of Psychosis

1. Antipsychotic drugs

Psychosis can be treated with antipsychotic drugs. However, it is an old method of treatment. Antipsychotic drugs help to reduce symptoms.

2. Psychotherapy

This is the other method of curing. In this, the patient goes to a doctor. The doctor treats a patient psychologically.

3. Social support

Suppose a person gets support and care from family. Then, he can be cured. Society can help in building him. There should be safe social support. Offering emotional and mental support can only help a person get out of this Psychosis order.

4. Counselling

Counselling is very famous nowadays, and it has come even earlier. The suffering person can go to a counsellor who might further help him. Because if the patient is not cured, the situation could be so pathetic that he or she could commit suicide.