Psychosis: Unrecognized Mental Difficulties
A person with a psychosis has a mental difficulty of which he is not aware. People with delusions of grandeur, who may think they are someone else, or who have hallucinations, do not realize that their difficulties are unreal. And while it may be an elderly person who thinks he has many millions of dollars, or that he is Napoleon, these ideas were probably present at a much younger age, for age alone is rarely responsible for this development.
The treatment for psychoses, which can occur at any age, is long and difficult; it must be handled by a psychiatrist of great experience.
Neuroses: Recognized Mental Problems
A person with a neurosis has a mental difficulty of which he is aware. He knows that his worries, extreme anxiety and other mental sufferings are not normal, and this person frequently takes it upon himself to seek proper medical care.
All of us have known worriers, or people who fear innumerable things, or friends who have displayed odd behavior from childhood age on up through adulthood. One does not have to be fifty, sixty or seventy years of age to be neurotic. In fact, it would seem true that most people with neuroses are either in middle age or younger.
Treatment of neurosis again demands the services of an experienced psychiatrist, who ably and skillfully points out the source of difficulty to the person, and usually helps him to obtain relief of his difficulty.