Nervous problems are more common than all other illnesses combined. They affect people of every age and race, and there seems to be no end to the number of those who are sick because of anxiety, nervous tension, or emotional stress. Nor are the so-called nervous people the only ones affected. Many others with heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, and other types of illness are also under great stress and strain because of their physical condition. Need we wonder why sleeping pills are so widely used today?

The information provided in this series ‘Your Guide to Health’ are based, in part, on the book “Your Guide to Health” written by Dr. Clifford Russell Anderson. The following is meant as public enlightenment rather than as an alternative to engaging the services of a qualified medical professional. ‘Your Guide To Health’ is available on Amazon.

Neurotic means you’re afflicted by neurosis, a word that has been in use since the 1700s to describe mental, emotional, or physical reactions that are drastic and irrational. At its root, a neurotic behaviour is an automatic, unconscious effort to manage deep anxiety. – webmd.com

Psychosis is a condition that affects the way your brain processes information. It causes you to lose touch with reality. You might see, hear, or believe things that aren’t real. Psychosis is a symptom, not an illness. A mental or physical illness, substance abuse, or extreme stress or trauma can cause it. – webmd.com

Nervous disorders can be roughly divided into two main classes or groups—those arising from neurotic problems, and those related to psychotic or disturbed personalities. People with neurotic problems are more or less normal in their reactions. They may be over-anxious, or perhaps saddened or depressed, but in their darkest moments they are always in touch with reality. In other words, they are not so different from the rest of us, except that under the pressures of living they tend to go to extremes. As we think of them we might even begin to recognize some of our own peculiarities and those of our friends!

Neurotic Personalities

Among these neurotic personalities are chain smokers, alcoholics, drug addicts, people contemplating suicide, and all those anxious, fussy people who are never quite satisfied with life. They also include almost all ulcer patients, as well as the majority of those suffering from high blood pressure. People who are abnormally fat or thin may also belong to the neurotic group. Because of their nervous tensions they either eat too much or too little. Sleep-walkers, insomniacs, obsessive-compulsive people, cynics, chronic scoffers, nagging wives, and most of those unfortunate people who are “always sick”—all of these are emotionally unhealthy in one way or another. Their frustrations and complaints are almost endless.

Psychotic Personalities

That other great group of mental patients, the psychotic personalities, are very different, for these are decidedly abnormal. They are completely out of touch with the world around them. Some of them claim to hear “voices,” while others hold conversations with people who may be non-existent or tong since dead. Their peculiar behaviour arises either from a distorted view of life, or perhaps from some derangement of the brain. Some of these queer people believe they are a reincarnation of famous personalities of the past, such as Buddha, Confucius, Cleopatra, or Napoleon. They may even try to assume the mannerisms and dress of the individual they are impersonating.

Unlike the neurotic group mentioned above, many of these psychotic people are perfectly happy in their peculiar little world, and most of them are more or less harmless. But a few are decidedly dangerous. Some of the most dreadful crimes are committed by paranoid people who may outwardly appear quite sane and sensible. Their thinking is so disordered that they actually believe the whole world is against them. They carry deep grudges and will stop at nothing in their destination to “get even” with their “enemies”.

Considering that some mental illnesses such as those which fall within the neurotic class are based on mostly external factors. It is therefore possible to alleviate and if possible eliminate the trouble of these kinds of minds. Some basic solutions which can be further explored are:

1. Prescription from a qualified medical professional
2. Wholesome diet and avoidance of foods which are known to cause impulsive behavior
3. Maintaining of a healthy sleep routine
4. Reprogramming the mind. This can be achieved through meditation and periodic repetition of the right kind of thinking.