Neurosis can be viewed as a ubiquitous personality trait/dimension or as a less severe collection of symptoms some of which are also found in psychosis. That source did not allow me to search whether autism should be thought of as a kind of neurosis.
Basic definitions of neurosis and psychosis
Neurosis: A term used to describe some mental health conditions. Typically involves expressions of obsessive behaviors, hypochondria, an intense need for control, dissociative states, depression, or anxiety. This is not a term used in clinical diagnosis, and some people view neurosis as a personality trait that we all have to some degree.
Psychosis: A term used within clinical diagnosis to describe an abnormal mental state. This mental state can involve experiencing delusions, paranoia, hallucinations, and difficulty telling whatâs real and whatâs not. This can lead to distressed emotional states and disorganized speech.
I have never heard neurosis used as a cause or part of autism. Of course, people with autism can be neurotic as well, although neurosis is a seldom used term except colloquially these days. I really suspect @em3ry just misspoke but if not perhaps you can elaborate on your meaning, em3ry?
A google search of âoverlap of autism and neurosisâ results in the suggestion that autism, neurosis and depression may represent a larger spectrum with neurosis bridging the gap between autism and depression. I am guessing the spectrum between these three is a matter of primarily being a sensory problem or an emotional problem. But I see claims there are significant genetic, environmental and behavioral overlaps.
I still doubt this is justification for saying neurosis is the cause of autism, but perhaps the idea isnât quite as strange as it first appeared to me.
You are making an etiological claim, not a philosophical one.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition with early developmental onset; âneurosisâ is a historically obsolete, non-diagnostic term describing anxiety-related symptom clusters.
If you are claiming neurosis causes autism, please provide a peer-reviewed source and define your mechanism. If you instead mean that anxiety commonly co-occurs with autism, that is already well established and not controversialâbut it is not causation.