Obsessive Neurosis

At the beginning of his essay “The Unconscious” (1915), Freud introduced obsessive phenomena as explanatory and diagnostic manifestations of the unconscious mind but acknowledged the difficulty in understanding and describing this neurosis. He believed that comprehending obsessive neurosis was not an easy task and was much more challenging than hysteria. More broadly, psychoanalytic literature has generally devoted less attention to obsessive neurosis compared to hysterical neurosis; therefore, examining this neurosis to understand its nuances and dimensions is essential. This book attempts to provide a preliminary understanding of obsessive neurosis using the methodological approaches proposed by Jean-Michel Quinodoz (2005) for studying Freud’s works. Quinodoz suggests two main methods: the selective method and the chronological method. The first involves choosing one of Freud’s works or focusing on a specific theme in his writings and carefully tracing it, which can be time-consuming and demanding since understanding Freud outside his textual context and related hypotheses is not possible. The chronological method entails studying Freud’s major writings in order of their composition to follow the historical evolution of his ideas. These two methods are not mutually exclusive and can complement each other. This book uses both approaches to outline Freud’s conceptualization of obsessive neurosis, referencing various works written over many years—from defensive neuroses in 1895 to psychoanalytic insights in 1939. The study also strives not to overlook the temporal evolution of Freud’s views and the implications of his subsequent theoretical revisions.