A person faced with a neurotic disorder usually thinks that it all happened to him suddenly. And he’s even tormented by questions about how this could happen to him. After all, everything was fine. In fact, neuroses don’t just form that way. It all starts with destructive thoughts, beliefs, views and beliefs, which are laid brick by brick in the consciousness, and a huge wall gradually grows out of them. Through this wall it is no longer possible to discern objective reality and a person begins to live in his own little world, full of fears, anxieties and negativism.
Neurosis doesn't just happen
For some, neurotic thinking has been established since childhood (thanks to parents). Of course, this is not always the merit of the parents. Sometimes - situations that a child encounters during the first steps of socialization.
In other cases, neurosis appears after traumatic events. For example, a man lived a completely happy life. Nothing terrible ever happened to him, fate spoiled him, and the world seemed welcoming and safe. And suddenly he suddenly got into a car accident, so much so that he barely survived.
He suddenly realized that not everything in this world can be controlled and bad things happen unexpectedly. His old world has collapsed, and the new reality no longer seems so safe - so, increased anxiety gradually begins to form. If it is not dealt with at the stage of its inception, it risks developing into a full-fledged neurosis.
But what is the root of the problem in an accident situation? Psychotrauma itself is not equal to neurosis. It is precisely the thinking that the victim begins to support within himself that leads to it.
Working with patients suffering from neurotic disorders of varying severity, psychologists and psychotherapists have identified 8 main thinking errors that lead to mental dysfunction. To one degree or another, they are observed in almost everyone who seeks help. The deeper these forms of perception are rooted in the subconscious, the more pronounced the neurosis and the more extensive its symptoms.
So, let's look at the main thinking errors that are relevant for the formation of hypochondria, increased anxiety, self-intimidation, and for strengthening the soil of neurosis.
Personalization
Everything that happens around you is personal. All events are assessed as relating directly to themselves. Everything a person hears or sees, he begins to “try on” for himself. This is a fairly common form of thinking among neurotics.
If a couple of colleagues in a team suddenly start whispering, the neurotic feels that they are definitely talking about him. Having learned that a layoff is planned at work, a person with a neurotic type of thinking immediately begins to draw vivid pictures of how he is fired and he “goes around the world.” And if he hears from the news about a new epidemic of some kind of “horse flu”, he will only think about it and will certainly imagine himself falling ill.
A neurotic with personalized thinking takes everything that happens around him personally and makes himself the center of fantasized events. But the peculiarity of such personalization is that it is extremely negative. The sufferer practically does not think about good things and does not put himself at the center of wonderful events. All pictures on the inner screen are negative.
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Dichotomism
Everything is divided into good and bad, black and white, without other options, halftones do not exist.
Not every person prone to neurosis divides the world into two parts. But such subjects are not uncommon. The habit of dividing everything into good and bad does not leave a chance for things and situations to exist as they are. It also does not allow us to see deeply in order to find an understanding of many events and forms of behavior of other people.
So a person saw that in the crowd a guy pulled out a woman’s wallet. The criminal is immediately labeled “bad”, without any compromise. An individual with such a mindset will not think about what could make a guy a pickpocket. After all, he was not born this way.
Perhaps he grew up in a very dysfunctional family and was forced to do such things simply so as not to die of hunger. Of course, this does not justify theft. But it allows you to learn to understand what sometimes drives people’s bad actions. And then those who act “badly” also experience very bad things. Also, having a broader view, one can replace that everything that seems good is so. But dichotomists don’t notice this; I can’t look beyond what I see.
Thinking in a way that is full of different shades produces flexibility. And the more flexible a person is, the easier it is for him to get around life’s obstacles. People who divide the world into black and white often break their foreheads over their own categorical ideas.
Selective abstraction
Of all the facts and events, only those that correspond to one’s own beliefs are selected. Another common feature of erroneous thinking leading to neurosis.
It is difficult for such a person to accept that there are many more acts, opinions, beliefs and correct answers in the world besides his own. He is not able to enter into the position of another in order to understand what motives guided a person when committing certain actions. Can't see the whole picture. Everything that does not correspond to his own beliefs is automatically equated to delusions and mistakes.
For example, a person is convinced that there are no mental disorders, and all diseases are exclusively organic in nature. He will in every possible way deny the psychotherapist’s attempts to explain to him the nature of his unhealthy condition. Will it be easy for such a person to get out of neurosis? Hardly.
At least until there is a reassessment of beliefs and an inclination towards other possible options for the cause that caused the problem.
Symptoms and diagnosis
Since this thought disorder is a symptom of various diseases of a neurological and psychiatric nature, it is first necessary to determine the original disease, each of which has its own characteristic signs.
Mentism of any nature is characterized by the following common features:
- the patient’s confidence that the thoughts arising in his head do not appear according to his will;
- often patients believe that others can easily read their thoughts;
- sometimes a symptom of echo occurs, in which the patient believes that his thoughts are being spoken by others;
- the ability to talk mentally with people who, according to the patient, are persecuting him.
It is impossible to make a diagnosis on your own; only a specialist can do this. In this case, the study relates to the manifestation of the disease, which also needs to be established. Accordingly, treatment is prescribed according to the underlying disease.
The diagnostic system consists of several stages:
- pathopsychological examination;
- selection of a comprehensive methodology with the possibility of using studies that help more accurately establish a diagnosis;
- establishing a “working diagnosis” taken as a basis;
- establishing a final diagnosis over a period of observation;
- The doctor monitors the patient’s condition during treatment and corrects the technique depending on the patient’s condition.
Overgeneralization
Based on individual facts, conclusions are drawn about the whole.
Someone stepped on your foot in the subway, and you immediately realized that you were having an extremely bad day today. And the horoscope is to blame for this, with all the stars that have stacked up against you.
Wages were not paid on time - these are all machinations of the management, who waste the workers’ money and are in collusion with the authorities.
Your loved one said that he was not in the mood and asked not to disturb him for a while - he definitely stopped loving you and is planning to break up. It’s all his friends’ fault, who are constantly trying to persuade him. Another example is when a woman, after a disappointing date, comes to the following conclusion: “All men are the same. I will always be rejected. No one will ever love me."
This is precisely the way people who tend to overgeneralize think. Their own conclusions lead to a picture of the world where everything is stacked against them.
Interesting facts about thought:
Fact 1
The more you know, the less likely you are to develop brain disease. Intellectual activity leads to the production of additional tissues that compensate for the disease.
Fact 2
Most of our thoughts actually lead nowhere. Many people think: our mind is capable of amazing things. But most thoughts do not lead to any solution or understanding that is applicable in the real world. We're just raising swirls of dust. One thought always leads to another, but following their progress is like picking randomly growing flowers, rather than following a trail of deliberately scattered bread crumbs.
Fact 3
Prayer has a beneficial effect on brain activity. During prayer, a person’s perception of information goes without thinking processes and analysis, i.e. a person escapes reality. In this state (as with meditation), delta waves appear in the brain, which are usually recorded in infants in the first six months of his life.
Diagnostics
For differential diagnosis of schizophrenia, neurasthenia, and depression, you should consult a psychiatrist. It is necessary to take a Neurotest, which includes an analysis for antibodies to brain proteins and leukocyte enzymes that damage neurons.
Delusional states, hallucinations, sperrungs, obsessions, and images can accompany not only mental but also somatic diseases, for example, pancreatitis, hepatitis, neuroinfections (viral encephalitis, Lyme borreliosis). Impaired thinking can be caused by lack of sleep and nutrients due to starvation and exhaustion.
It is necessary to exclude somatic pathologies by passing the following tests:
- Blood amylase for the diagnosis of pancreatitis.
- Level of liver enzymes, bilirubin.
- Complete blood test to detect leukocytosis in inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system.
Ought
Faulty “I should” and “they should” thinking creates false beliefs and high expectations about one’s own behavior and the behavior of others.
It seems to such a person that he knows exactly how other people should behave, what they should do. He is also confident in his responsibilities.
If his expectations of himself are not met, he perceives this as a failure. And when the actions of others do not meet his expectations, disappointment comes.
Beliefs about what and who should are usually instilled in a person in childhood. strict parents. The child is constantly taught his responsibilities and acceptable forms of behavior. If he does not fulfill them or does not comply with them, he is punished.
Prisoners of obligation are especially prone to neuroses, since their demands on the world are too high and they cannot accept people as they are.
What causes schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a serious disorder that affects the way a person thinks, feels and acts. Someone with schizophrenia may have difficulty distinguishing between reality and illusion and may have difficulty expressing normal emotions in social situations. Sperrung is a symptom that is not caused by childhood experiences, poor upbringing, or lack of willpower. It is also not identical for every person.
The cause of schizophrenia is still unclear. Some theories about the cause of this disease include: genetics (heredity), biology (abnormalities in brain chemistry or structure), and possible viral infections and immune disorders. Like some other genetically linked diseases, schizophrenia can occur when the body undergoes hormonal and physical changes, or after a person has been exposed to highly stressful situations.
Catastrophization
Tendency to exaggerate facts. Any more or less negative or frightening event always reaches the proportions of a universal catastrophe. For example, if a neurotic person has a panic attack, he begins to think that he will die soon.
Each new attack is accompanied by thoughts of an inevitable heart attack. If you made a mistake at work, it will definitely lead to dismissal. If you were late for a meeting, you lost your reputation and respect forever.
The habit of making mountains out of molehills distorts the picture of reality. This is absolutely neurotic thinking, which forms the habit of predicting future events exclusively from a negative perspective, without taking into account more likely outcomes.
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Other symptoms
Mentism and sperrung are the main symptoms of schizophrenia, but there are many signs of this disorder. Here are some of them:
