NEUROSIS AND THE UNBEARABLENESS OF CHILDH OOD

According to child and youth psychiatry and developmental psychology, neuroses arise from an imbalance between the requirements of life and the ability of the individual to cope with life. The ability is a prod uct of idiosyncratic experiences which are not scientifically measurab le in quality and quantity. The development of neurosis does not merel y signify a failure in the individual's ability to cope with life, but in fact offers some protection and stabilisation. The oedipal phase, which is thought to be essential in the acquisition of a neurosis, occ urs in early childhood and depends on customs and social circumstances . However, neurosis do not usually become manifest until adolescence, when children begin to grow apart from their parents. These neurosis m ay become manifest as symptoms of anorexia nervosa or school phobia. T here are pathogenetic transitional states between neurosis, borderline syndrome, basic disorder and schizophrenia. All of them can be consid ered as the individual's more or less successfull attempts to avoid, o r at least to diminish the unbearable problems of childhood by regress ion.