Every day, the number of patients who suffer from a particular neurosis is growing. Situational neurosis is quite common. This is a neurotic syndrome that occurs from stress, while a person experiences strong feelings of anxiety. If a neurosis is not treated in a timely manner, then it can develop into damage to the body systems and its individual organs.
Situational neurosis is a type of neurotic disorder. It develops under the influence of an unresolved internal or external conflict and is reversible if the situation that caused it is eliminated.
Description
The ICD code is not assigned to situational neurosis. Pathology is in the classification range from F34 to F68.
This type of neurosis is also called neurasthenia. It occurs when a person experiences a traumatic event. It differs in that the patient is well aware that he is scrolling through the same difficult situation in his head, but he himself cannot cope with it. He is more and more immersed in his experiences, his condition is getting worse and worse.
Situational neurosis is a disorder that occurs in response to a specific situation. He has many manifestations, as well as other neuroses. Its reason is exactly the same as that of other neuroses - this is an unresolved conflict. For example, the conflict between opportunities and desires, reality and expectations, internal, interpersonal, etc. A feature of this type of neurotic disorder is that the situation that provoked it is usually quite specifically indicated in the human mind.
The causes of neurosis
Being a part of society, a person interacts with the environment that surrounds him, all the while encountering the interests of others. Moreover, in the human psyche itself, too, there can be directly opposite aspirations, desires and attitudes. If it is impossible to come to a compromise in a conflict of interests, then the situation, as they say, “hangs in the air” and creates internal tension.
Such stress may not be recognized at all or it is a certain background, which exacerbates upon contact with the irritation factor. Long-term stress takes away a person’s strength. As a result of the depletion of reserves inside, failures in the functioning of the nervous system begin.
The human nervous system, when in a state of tension, loses stability and is depleted. In response to a minimum of provocative factors or even without them, a not quite normal mental reaction or a painful symptom may appear, creating a clinical picture of a certain type of neurosis.
What is the reason for the reaction?
The specificity of the reaction is due to:
- features of the state of health and the nervous system;
- which aspects of existence are affected by unresolved conflict;
- degree of stress;
- the duration of the existence of various factors and situations.
With prolonged stress, but not too strong, or when a person does not fully understand the causes of the conflict and does not act in any way to resolve it, a neurotic reaction is delayed. As a result, certain steady changes occur in the psyche. They initially have the character of adaptation, but at the same time they can contribute to painful manifestations, creating a “vicious circle”. In a person, under the influence of a neurotic disorder, character deteriorates, because of which his interaction with surrounding people becomes more conflicted.
Specificity
With a clear designation of a conflict situation (a person is aware of what exactly upsets his balance), if it affects him quite strongly, situational neurosis can occur. Its prerequisite is the absence of a visible possibility of overcoming the problem for a person. This does not mean that in fact the issue cannot be resolved. It's just that a person is in the system of his ideas and simply does not see such an exit.
A specific feature of situational neurosis is a clear link to certain circumstances, its limited time. People say what caused the deterioration of their condition. Sometimes painful fixation of attention is noted on any factors related to the situation. The patient exaggerates the significance of various facts. Sometimes there is also a biased attitude towards all those involved in the protracted conflict or negative expectations.
Such factors as features of the human psyche predispose to the appearance of a neurosis: rigidity, conflict, thoroughness, suspiciousness, general social distress, pathological circumstance. Moreover, the value of external influence on a person is not absolute. The main role in the development of such a neurosis is played not by the circumstances of life, but by the human reaction to them. However, conflict resolution most often eliminates the symptoms of situational neurosis.
How is this pathology manifested?
A number of symptoms of this condition are given above. Any possible manifestations are divided into two large groups: physical and mental. Mental manifestations include:
- anxiety;
- memory impairment;
- tension
- negative expectations and fears;
- inflatedness;
- pathological focus on a traumatic situation;
- decreased attention span.
Mental symptoms reflect the fact that a person’s mental supply is distracted by maintaining equilibrium, it may not be enough to ensure mental everyday activities. Also one of the main manifestations of such a neurosis is mental fatigue. During progression, depression may appear, in some cases alternating with exacerbations in the form of outbursts of anger.
The physical manifestations of situational neurosis (in ICD F34-F68) are quite diverse. They appear due to defects in the autonomic regulation of the activity of internal organs, which may affect the work of the gastrointestinal tract, the activity of the heart and the sexual sphere.
Patients often turn to a specialist precisely with such complaints and do not admit that the cause is actually a situational neurosis. Here are some of these symptoms: intermittent palpitations, sweating, a feeling of a lump in the throat, a feeling of lack of air, dizziness, tremors and headaches.
Diagnosis of the disease
Diagnosing a neurosis is quite difficult: it is impossible to do this only as a result of clinical tests and a personal examination. We need conversations with the patient, familiarity with the situation that has developed around him in society, familiarity with working conditions, family, ways of leisure and relaxation.
Treatment of situational neurosis
The main thing to do when getting rid of the disease is to try to eliminate the negative situation that caused the disease. A visit to a psychotherapist is shown to change the attitude to this problem and find a way out of traumatic situations.
There are two types of psychotherapy:
- Casual, when the patient must be aware of why such a disease occurs, and also find ways to solve this problem.
- Rational - a method of strengthening and developing the patient's intelligence. This is a way of re-educating a person. The cause of the neurosis is often a very sensitive attitude to various situations. When teaching a patient the correct reaction to certain vital moments, the specialist teaches him to control himself and find a causal relationship - how and why the disease appeared and how to get rid of it, to prevent the occurrence in the future. Such psychotherapy is effective in situational neurosis.
In the treatment of pathology, drug therapy is also used. It is designed to normalize the main processes of the nervous system - excitation and inhibition. Such drugs as Elenium, Napoton, Seduxen, Tazepam are used, however, only a qualified doctor can prescribe them after examination and determining the degree of manifestation of the disease.
Physiotherapeutic measures, such as coniferous salt baths, wet wraps and massage, will also be useful in the treatment of neurosis. Light gymnastics and sports will also help reduce the degree of nervous tension.
Situational neurosis (according to ICD 10 F34-F68) must be treated immediately, since when the disease develops into the fourth stage it is almost impossible to cure it.
Prevention of ailment
It should be noted that the main prevention of neurosis is the ability not to worry once again when the situation cannot be changed, and to act when the situation can be affected. Everyone experiences stress, but with self-confidence and the ability to overcome difficult situations, you can prevent them. It depends only on a person whether such a pathology arises in him. If symptoms of such a neurosis have been detected, be sure to contact a qualified specialist for help.
Reviews of situational neurosis
Patients say that the most important thing is not procedures and pills, but a good psychotherapist who has experience in solving such situations. Drugs are a secondary measure, you need to deal with the attitude to the situation, its causes and change your perception. Only in this case can you successfully cope with the disease.
We examined the symptoms and treatment of situational neurosis.