1.
neurosis; anxiety disorder
A category of mental health conditions characterized by anxiety, obsessive thoughts, phobias, or compulsive behaviors, without loss of contact with reality. The traditional Japanese psychiatric term, now partially replaced by more specific diagnostic labels.
A compound of 神経 (nerve, nervous) and 症 (condition, disease). Historically a broad category in Japanese psychiatry that included anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias. Modern psychiatry increasingly uses more specific terms.
Common collocations
- 神経症の症状: symptoms of neurosis
- 不安神経症: anxiety neurosis
- 強迫神経症: obsessive-compulsive neurosis (now more commonly 強迫性障害)
- 神経症的: neurotic
Similar words
- ノイローゼ: neurosis — loanword from German (Neurose), commonly used in everyday conversation
- 不安障害: anxiety disorder — the modern clinical replacement term
- 精神障害: mental disorder — a broader category
- 心身症: psychosomatic disorder — physical symptoms caused by psychological stress
Usage
In everyday Japanese, ノイローゼ is often used more casually (育児ノイローゼ, "parenting neurosis"), while 神経症 appears in clinical and formal contexts.