"Neurotic, You Say?" What Can We Learn From Karen Horney

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Karen Horney is one of the most prominent psychoanalysts of the 20th century. It was she who introduced into psychoanalysis a deeper understanding of what a neurosis is and who a neurotic is. But how can all this be useful to a modern person? Very good. After all, the "neurotic" is overcome by the same conflicts as each of us. He's just mired in them and can't get out. Moreover, each of us can get into such a situation. Yes, yes, each of us can “become neurotic”. Of course, someone has prerequisites for this. Others just go through a difficult situation. In any case, the essence of neurosis is always the same. This means that the solution is also the same. Which? I will explain in this article, based on Horney's book The Neurotic Personality of Our Time.

I. "NEUROTIC" IS A CONCEPT

To begin with, let's define who a “neurotic” is. We are accustomed to counting it as a person who does not fit the accepted pattern of behavior. However, the samples vary depending on:

🌏 cultures of different countries;

🗺️ the culture of one country over time;

👷 views of different social classes;

♂️ gender roles.

Therefore Horney concludes that there is no "normal" psychology that is true for all people. Just as there is no definition of "neurotic" that is valid everywhere. However, the cultural environment can help in understanding the neuroses of a particular person. Therefore, both biology and sociology are needed to understand neurosis. If we speak in generalizations, then 5 things are characteristic of any neurotic:

1. He has few response strategies (ie, he is subject to a system of rules that deprives him of flexibility);

2. He does not use his full potential;

3. He experiences additional and unnecessary fears;

4. He uses ineffective defenses against these fears, forcing himself to suffer;

5. He is torn apart by conflicts of opposite tendencies, which he resolves in an ineffective way.

The foundation and root cause of all this is the feeling of anxiety that overcomes the neurotic. It is worth adding, however, that according to Horney, all this can be called neurosis only if it is the essence of a deviation from cultural norms in this particular society.

II. WHAT IS NEUROSIS?

First you need to clarify the definition. There is a situational neurosis, and there is what can be called a character neurosis (or, if you prefer, "permanent neurosis"). Situational neurosis is a temporary ineffective adaptation to a difficult situation. We've all had this. Something unpleasant happens in life, and we begin to behave like children or complete assholes, panic or snap at friends. This is fine. Therefore, if you find similar traits in yourself, do not rush to diagnose yourself: perhaps you have not yet adapted to a difficult situation. The neurosis of character presupposes a deformation of the personality and takes its roots in childhood. However, he does not always have external symptoms. Character neuroses concern:

💑 love and relationships (neurotics are not able to experience a stable feeling of love);

🤝 disposition to others (neurotics are dependent on approval);

🤳 self-esteem (neurotics are not confident in themselves and do not value themselves);

💪 self-affirmation (neurotics have internal prohibitions on the expression of desires, feelings, and decision-making);

😡 aggression (a neurotic can be aggressive and domineering and is hostile towards others);

🏩 sexuality (neurotics have an obsessive need for sexual activity, or a ban on it).

It would seem that there is a whole vinaigrette of problems of all sorts. But they are all links in the same chain, if you dig deeper. Let's dig it up.