Neurosis is a complex of psychogenic diseases characterized by both mental and physical symptoms.
Statistics from studies on neuroses are quite varied and the results change every year, but the trend towards an increase in the number of people suffering from neuroses continues from year to year. According to the latest WHO research, the number of people suffering from neurosis has increased 25 times over the past 70 years. And all this despite the fact that only patients who sought help from medical institutions are included in the statistics. Experts say that since the beginning of the 20th century, the number of patients with neurosis has increased at least 30 times. Today, neurosis is the most common mental illness.
Signs of neurosis can be both mental and physical , manifesting themselves in the form of inadequate reactions, behavioral disorders, various pain sensations, etc. Health disorders occur that impede a person’s interaction with society. All reality is perceived distorted by a patient with neurosis, performance decreases, life goals and values disappear, and at the same time constant painful sensations bother him. Pain in the heart, stomach, muscle and joint pain, and others are often observed with neurosis. And although neurosis is a disease with many faces, so to speak, there are still its typical signs. Let's take a closer look at them.
The main difference between neurosis and other mental illnesses is the fact that the patient realizes that he is not healthy and his consciousness is not impaired . The condition of a person suffering from neurosis is not burdened by delusions or hallucinations, and reality is perceived adequately by him.
Neurosis affects various systems of the body, primarily its psyche, which can be reflected in the form of psycho-emotional disorders.
Neurosis and its mental symptoms:
The physical symptoms of neurosis are very diverse and are in turn divided into vegetative and physical. Disorders that arise in parts of the body associated with the autonomic system are functional and do not have an organic origin. That is, the patient complains of pain and feels certain disorders in a part of the body, but no specific pathological abnormalities are found in him.
Neurosis and its vegetative symptoms:
Neurosis is often combined with a disease such as vegetative-vascular dystonia or VSD. In addition to headaches and heart pain, muscle and joint pain are considered quite common with VSD.
Pain and other various unpleasant sensations in certain parts of the body are also a sign of neurosis. Moreover, if with an organic disease of the nervous system the pain has a clear localization, then with neurosis the pain can move from one part of the body to another, and its severity will directly depend on the psycho-emotional state of the person.
Most often, people suffering from neurosis experience a headache. According to statistics, in more than 50% of cases, neurosis is accompanied by a headache. And this is not surprising, because neurosis is a disease of the nervous system and it is the brain that suffers. But in the modern world, neurosis has increasingly begun to cause pain in those parts of the body that, at first glance, are not directly related to the activity of the brain. Let's consider several variants of the manifestation of neurosis that are not so common.
Pain due to neurosis is noted in the back and legs, which in turn at first glance is very similar to lumbosacral radiculitis. However, a distinctive feature of pain in neurosis will be the lack of clear localization. If the local painful point is in the leg, then in addition to pain, some tingling, numbness or a pins and needles sensation may be felt. There is a decrease or, conversely, a clear increase in sensitivity.
Back pain due to neurosis can appear with the slightest injury to the spine and last for quite a long time. In addition, due to strong suggestibility, a person suffering from neurosis may experience pain in the back and legs even without any external influences. For example, after talking with a patient with radiculitis, he “discovers” exactly the same signs of the disease.
Muscle pain can be psychogenic in nature. Such pains do not have a clear localization and obvious causes. They are characterized by obvious exacerbations during stress, anxiety, muscle pain increases and during depression. As soon as the stressful effect ends and a period of rest begins, the pain subsides, but with the slightest overload of the nervous system, it returns again, manifesting itself with even greater force.
Very often, neurosis also manifests itself in muscle pain, occurring with severe physical fatigue, as well as with the monotony of work performed. This type of neurosis can also be provoked by a sedentary lifestyle and severe emotional overload.
For neurosis manifested by muscle pain, complex treatment is used - this includes medications, psychotherapy and therapeutic exercises, it is possible to use individual diets and adjustments to the daily routine, and sometimes physiotherapy is included.
It should be remembered that with neurosis, as with any other disease, timely diagnosis and prescription of an individual course of treatment are very important. But as everyone knows, it is easier to prevent the occurrence of a particular disease than to cure it. To do this, let us consider in more detail the causes of neuroses.
The main cause of neurosis is a psychotraumatic factor or a psychotraumatic situation. In the first case, the negative impact is short-term, for example, the loss of a loved one. In the second - long-term, for example, family conflict. The main role in the occurrence of neurosis is played by traumatic situations, most often intra-family conflicts.
The inability to productively resolve a conflict to one degree or another can lead to personality disorganization, which in turn manifests itself in mental and physical symptoms.
Psychotraumatic factors and situations include:
They can occur between family members or be non-family (for example, at work). In interpersonal conflict, the needs of two people contradict, disorganizing mental activity and leading to constant tension. It is these conflicts that in 35% of cases lead to the obvious development of neurosis.
In this conflict, a person’s desires, his own needs and emotions contradict. With this conflict, when desires do not coincide with possibilities, psycho-emotional distress is generated, which underlies neurosis. Intrapersonal conflicts lead to the development of neuroses in men, namely in 45% of cases.
A variety of unfavorable factors at work can be a source of development of serious neurosis. Conflicts with colleagues and management, lack of career advancement, low pay - all of this can be attributed to derived factors.
The loss of a dear, close person is a powerful psycho-traumatic factor. However, this factor does not lead a person to a neurotic state, but only aggravates hidden conflicts.
Every person at least occasionally complains that his legs are buzzing. What is the reason for such a subjective sign and what diseases can “humming” be a symptom of? In medicine, this condition is called heavy leg syndrome. The cause may be either overwork or vascular pathology in the legs.
The basics of human anatomy will help answer the question of why your legs buzz. Your legs experience perhaps the heaviest load during the day. A person walks, stands, climbs stairs, and at the same time his own, sometimes excess, weight and gravity act on his legs. The anatomical structure of the venous system of the lower extremities has changed slightly since the time when a person assumed a vertical posture. So we still pay for upright walking with varicose veins, atherosclerosis, flat feet or scoliosis. In addition to banal muscle fatigue, we will consider the main pathologies that can cause buzzing in the legs.
The condition of blood vessels is influenced by many factors, but scientists consider genetic failure to be the main cause of pathology of the circulatory system of the lower extremities. As a result, the body produces less than necessary fibers responsible for the elasticity of tissues, including the structure of the walls:
And if the arteries have a little easier time, since they direct blood flow from top to bottom and their walls are equipped with muscles, then the veins suffer first. The walls of the veins do not have a muscle layer, and in order to raise the blood against the direction of gravity, the body needs to put in a lot of effort. With inelastic lower veins and insufficiency of the valve system, this is very difficult to do. Therefore, the most common pathology, the symptom of which is “humming” of the legs, is varicose veins of the lower veins.
Another reason why a person feels like his legs are buzzing after a slight load is atherosclerosis of the lower vessels. As a result of cholesterol deposition, the formation of “protrusion” of the vascular wall and the inflammatory process, the vessel cavity decreases. Lack of blood supply affects metabolic processes in the tissues of the legs. Congestion in the blood vessels and lack of muscle nutrition lead to the fact that at the end of the working day the legs begin to buzz and pain is felt in the calf muscles. Numbness of the feet and aching pain syndrome disappear after rest (“intermittent claudication”), this condition is characteristic of early-stage vascular sclerosis.
Thrombophlebitis and endarteritis are also diseases of the blood vessels of the legs and lead to impaired blood supply to the lower extremities. The initial stages of vascular diseases of the legs differ little from each other. Even in the absence of visual manifestations of pathology of the veins of the legs, they can signal the onset of the disease. If at the end of the day swelling appears in the legs, the limbs ache, or buzz, then the probable cause of this discomfort is vascular pathology.
However, when the legs are buzzing, the reasons may also lie in a violation of the musculoskeletal system. Flat feet or irregularities lead not only to excessive stress on the veins of the legs, but also to unphysiological tension in the muscles of the lower extremities. Overstrain of the leg muscles leads to:
The causes of discomfort, pain and “humming” in the limbs can be different. But despite the fact that the reasons may be different, the conclusion should be the same - it is necessary to urgently undergo an examination by a phlebologist, neurologist or orthopedist.
People often complain about rumbling in the legs after drinking too much alcohol. Why do my lower limbs buzz when I have a hangover? There could also be several reasons:
Some types of alcoholic beverages increase diuresis. At the same time, calcium is washed out of the body in urine. A low level of microelement leads to the fact that the legs begin to ache and ache. There may be cramps and muscle twitching, which is subjectively perceived as a buzzing sound. If your legs tingle from a hangover, what should you do? Eliminate the causes of discomfort - stop drinking and consult a doctor to diagnose the condition of the veins of the lower extremities.
After the doctor makes a diagnosis, you can begin to treat the identified pathologies. Therapy consists of:
Conservative methods include drug therapy, normalization of lifestyle, and physical therapy. Each of the listed causes of restless legs syndrome has its own treatment regimen.
If the cause of the “humming” of the lower extremities is varicose veins, then the doctor will prescribe medications to prevent the progression of the pathology. Drug therapy consists of strengthening the vascular wall, reducing its permeability, normalizing blood outflow, and eliminating edema. For this purpose, the following are prescribed: phlebotonics (externally and orally), diuretics. Physiotherapy methods help stimulate blood flow in the lower extremities:
The last method can be done at home. If your feet are buzzing after work, then you need to take baths, alternating warm and cold water. Combine hydromassage and pour cool water over the lower limb. To do this, you need to direct a stream of water to your feet and move with massage movements from below, from the foot up to the groin. If you do this procedure at night, not only will the blood vessels in your legs return to normal, but your sleep will also normalize, your nervous system will be strengthened, and local immunity will increase.
If you supplement hydrotherapy with a subsequent massage using venotonic cream, this will increase the effectiveness of both methods. Manual massage should be done gently, without applying excessive force. To strengthen the lower muscles, you need to do special exercises, walk in the fresh air, do fitness and swimming. All of these methods, if done regularly, will help you quickly get rid of buzzing and other symptoms of varicose veins.
A brilliant result can be achieved in the fight against “humming” in the legs if you use traditional methods of treatment. For varicose veins, you can make decoctions of the following medicinal herbs:
Herbal decoctions can be used for oral administration, cool baths, and wraps. If the cause of the “humming” is atherosclerosis, then for the purpose of prevention you need to make herbal preparations from the following plants: arnica, mantle, panzeria, sundew, field violet, etc. If you eat avocado, feijoa, plums, they will also help cope with sclerosis blood vessels and eliminate buzzing, pain and swelling. Tonic herbs will help you forget the unpleasant buzzing in the lower extremities:
If you do cool leg wraps every day with a cloth soaked in a decoction of these plants, not only will the unpleasant syndrome go away, but the skin will rejuvenate, its texture and color will even out. The leg will delight you with its smooth, toned, healthy skin. You can make homemade ointments from the above plants.
It is worth taking 5-6 plants of your choice in equal parts and grinding them into powder. Prepare a decoction of 8 g of plant material and 300 ml of boiling water in a water bath. Steam covered for 5 minutes. To the strained warm broth, add 100 g of pork lard and olive oil, 2 drops of mint essential oil and cool. With this ointment you can do not only a massage, but also a compress at night.
To do this, spread a thin layer of ointment on your legs below the knees and rub it in lightly. Place silver birch, lilac, and knotweed leaves on top. Cover the compress with burdock leaves or cabbage leaves. Cover the compress with gauze folded in 2 layers and secure with a bandage. This compress should be applied to the lower extremities until the buzzing, pain, feeling of fullness and heaviness disappear completely.
For flat feet, baths with plants that relieve spasms and muscle tension are suitable: this is stork, thistle, blue cornflower, speedwell, columbine, wallflower, catnip, lovage, lemon balm, cyclamen, fragrant rue, etc. “ Buzzing” is not a disease, but a very alarming symptom of a large number of serious diseases. You shouldn't ignore it. And even if the buzzing goes away after rest, it is better to be examined in advance so as not to miss the moment favorable for effective treatment.
Hysterical neurosis (hysteria) can manifest itself as a variety of functional mental, neurological and somatic disorders against the background of increased suggestibility of a person.
Hysteria gets its name from the Greek word “hystera,” which means uterus. The fact is that symptoms of hysterical neurosis occur more often in women, so ancient Greek doctors thought that the manifestations of hysteria were associated with dysfunction of the uterus.
Some people are predisposed to developing hysteria. Among them are persons suffering from hysterical psychopathy. However, this is not the only personality disorder against which hysterical reactions may appear. They can form in people with schizoid psychopathy, with excitable psychopathy, among narcissistic personalities.
People with an immature psyche are prone to hysterical reactions - characterized by increased suggestibility, lack of independence of judgment, impressionability, easy excitability, emotional swings, and egocentrism.
Freud believed that the development of hysteria is based on two factors - mental trauma from early childhood and sexual complexes. From the point of view of the well-known Freud, the seeds of our adult problems are laid in childhood, and hysteria is no exception to this rule.
Hysteria is also called the “great malingerer”, because it can manifest itself with a wide variety of symptoms, and there are no serious deviations in the functioning of internal organs that could be confirmed with the help of laboratory or instrumental examinations.
There are 3 groups of symptoms of hysterical neurosis: motor (motor), sensitive (sensory) disorders and disorders of autonomic functions that imitate somatic or neurological diseases. Autonomic symptoms observed during hysteria are somatoform disorders.
Hysteria can manifest itself as motor disorders in the form of partial or complete paralysis of the limbs, impaired coordination, and the inability to move independently while maintaining all movements within the bed. With hysteria, the voice may disappear, its sonority may be lost while whispered speech is preserved, speech may become slurred and incomprehensible. Stuttering, difficulties in pronouncing certain words, and hesitations in speech may appear.
Various involuntary muscle twitches (tics), rough rhythmic trembling of the head and limbs, which intensifies with fixation of attention, may also occur. Some patients complain that their legs become braided, or that they feel heavy and stagger when walking. With anxiety, instead of paralysis, weakness in the arms and legs may appear.
The area of paralysis that occurs with neurological diseases always depends on the location of the brain lesion. Also, over time, with neurological paralysis, signs of circulatory disorders appear in the paralyzed areas of the body. In hysterical paralysis, there is no relationship between the affected area of the limb and the location of a specific lesion in the central nervous system.
If hysterical neurosis is accompanied by the onset of paralysis, then the clinical picture will be somewhat different. With this pathology, most often motor disturbances will spread either to the entire limb or are strictly limited to the articular line (for example, leg to knee, arm to elbow), and there will be no signs of trophic disorders.
The severity of involuntary movements (hyperkinesis) is closely related to a person’s emotional state. During stressful situations they can be pronounced, but in a calm state they can pass. They may also weaken or disappear completely when the patient’s attention switches. The nature of hyperkinesis can change against the background of new information received (by the type of imitation).
Hysteria can manifest itself as seizures. In response to psychological stress during hysterical neurosis, widespread convulsive phenomena resembling an epileptic seizure may develop.
Unlike epileptic seizures, seizures in hysterical neurosis always occur in the presence of “spectators”; a person falls to the floor “successfully” without receiving any injuries; demonstrativeness is one of the main features of hysteria.
A hysterical seizure is accompanied by a narrowing of consciousness, however, such that a person does not understand at all what is happening to him, where he is, and what happened during the seizure, as happens with epileptic seizures, never happens.
Unlike epileptic seizures, during hysterical seizures there is never involuntary urination, tongue biting, severe injuries, and the pupillary reaction to light is preserved.
Hysteria may be accompanied by sensory disturbances. The most commonly observed sensitivity disorders are:
Hysterical neurosis most often manifests itself as anesthesia (lack of sensitivity) or hypoesthesia (decreased sensitivity) in the form of socks (the affected area is the area of the leg on which socks are usually worn), gloves, a vest, a belt, half the face.
Hysterical neurosis, in addition to loss of sensitivity or pain, can be manifested by loss of function of the sensory organs - deafness or blindness. Quite often, with hysteria, a narrowing of the visual field and a distortion of color perception occur. However, even a pronounced narrowing of vision does not prevent such patients from orienting themselves in space.
In addition to all of the above, hysteria can manifest itself as vegetative disorders: multiple somatic complaints are observed. Most often, vegetative signs of hysteria are disorders of the gastrointestinal tract (nausea, vomiting, pain, belching, feeling of transfusion in the abdomen) and skin sensations (burning, itching, numbness). Autonomic disorders can manifest themselves in the form of dizziness, fainting, and rapid heartbeat.
The appearance and further development of symptoms of the disease are always closely related to unpleasant life events and conflicts, but the patients themselves deny such a connection. The inability to convince doctors and relatives of the seriousness of one’s illness and the need for further examination and treatment provokes the emergence of demonstrative behavior aimed at attracting the attention of others to one’s personality. Hence the appearance of fainting, seizures, and attacks of dizziness.
Hysteria is not a mental disorder for which a disability group is indicated. However, many patients still hope for social support, and therefore very vividly describe the severity of their mental and somatic condition, although no objective signs of this are determined.
Hysterical reactions caused by psychogenic influence can be short-term and disappear spontaneously, without concomitant treatment. In some patients, symptoms of hysterical neurosis can persist for several years.
Drug treatment of hysterical neurosis is carried out with tranquilizers (diazepam, phenazepam), prescribed in small doses and short courses.
If the symptoms of hysteria become protracted, in such cases tranquilizers are combined with antipsychotics that have a corrective effect on human behavior (neuleptil, eglonil, chlorprothixene).
To be frank, hysteria is very difficult to treat, because the whole problem lies not so much in the presence of some serious pathology, but in personal characteristics, in a person’s need to be in the center of attention.
Psychotherapy should occupy a central place in the treatment and prevention of hysteria. During the sessions, the doctor will try to gently find out exactly what events provoked the appearance of symptoms of hysterical neurosis, the exacerbation of an existing personality disorder, and will help the patient understand the existing problems in his social environment. However, therapy should be long-term; quick results cannot be counted on.