Neurosis and Psychosis: An Experimental Analysis

Abstract

The problem we are concerned with is the relationship between neurosis and psychosis. It is well known psychiatrically that many patients tend to be what are called “mixed” states, meaning that the diagnostic classification is doubtful. Patients complaining of physical symptoms, such as sleeplessness, heart palpitations, and other signs of autonomic imbalance, accompanied by anxiety or phobias, and who seem well reality-oriented, are not hallucinated or deluded and do not show any cognitive deterioration, are classed as neurotics. Psychotics, on the other hand, are generally deluded and hallucinated, are poorly reality-oriented, tend to show signs of cognitive deterioration, but have an absence of the physical symptoms so characteristic of neurotic disorders.