Neurotic disorders have two levels. Conscious and unconscious. Let's start with the first one. At a conscious level, everything is clear. If this is VSD, then there are clear vegetative symptoms. If this is hypochondria, then there is an obvious fear of getting sick and going to the doctors. If this is OCD, then compulsive behavior and obsessive thoughts are very difficult to miss. The symptoms are bright, noticeable, they clearly interfere with life, and are difficult to miss. Everything is obvious. It is with a perceived neurotic disorder that people run to psychologists and psychiatrists. The problem is difficult not to notice. The only thing that can be realized is the external facade. This is a consequence, not a cause. Symptoms can be eliminated. You can cope with panic attacks, compulsions, hypochondria. Only now the person will not get better. If earlier he calmly relieved stress through his symptoms and could more or less stay afloat, then after work difficulties may arise. If this is pharmacotherapy, in the best case, the cause of the neurosis will be resolved by itself and when the person stops taking pills , he will feel good. In the worst case, when the medication is finished, everything will come back. If this is symptom-centered psychotherapy, then there is a high probability that the tension will shift to another place. There were panic attacks, obsessions appeared. There were obsessions, hypochondria began. There was fear for the heart, which moved into fear for cancer. Etc. Or, in general, anxiety will worsen. What then is the unconscious level? Do you have the feeling that neurosis arose as if out of nowhere? As if nothing happened and then bam, panic attack? This is the unconscious level. When you cannot connect life events with your condition. You can perfectly explain to yourself what is causing your anxiety in the exam. This is the exam, it is significant for you. You don't want to fail him, so you strain and try to do everything in your power. The exam passes, you stop worrying. Well, or worry until you find out the assessment. But the panic attack that you had when you were preparing food for your child, where objectively there was nothing to worry about, is impossible to explain. So why does this happen? As I wrote about the conscious level, symptoms are a form of tension release. Where does this tension arise? Right! On an unconscious level. So what's going on there? You and I all face stress, but not all stress turns into neurosis. In most cases, a person finds a solution to the problem, overcomes the difficulty and moves on. In neurosis, this is not the case. There is a problem, but there is no solution to the problem. A person is in a contradiction, and the sides of the contradiction have equal weight. If at least one side prevailed, the person would have successfully solved this problem for himself. Another point is that the person does not see a way out of the current situation. He may not see it objectively, since he has no information on how to get out of such a situation, or maybe subjectively. When a person deprives himself of a way out, prohibiting himself from various options. For example, a girl who got married and after some time realized that her husband was no longer sexually attracted to her. On the one hand, she does not want to stay with him, but then she loses financial support. On the other hand, if she stays, it will be very bad for her. There is another option - to find a lover, but she forbids herself to do it because it will speak of her as a bad woman. Well, okay, you can go to work and leave. But that’s also not possible, because she doesn’t like any of the jobs. At work, she will suffer even more than with her husband. This is approximately how people put themselves in a dead end. Since the problem is not solved, it overloads the brain. And here the shift of the dominant comes to the rescue. If it is useless to think about a problem, it does not lead to anything; there is a defense mechanism. With the help of shifting the dominant, a person is distracted from the situation that worries him. How is it possible to divorce my husband when I’m so sick? I’ll solve my health problems and then I can deal with.