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Anxiety, depression, dissatisfaction with the world. Doomed to never fit in, and be perpetually filled with doubt about your place in life. Always seeing the potential in the world, but also unable to not see how the world is failing to meet that potential.

Being forever ill-at-ease in the world seems like the stuff of nightmares. To most mental health workers, it probably also looks like the signs of a mental illness. Something to be fixed. Something to be cured. Something that shouldn’t be.

But what if our current notions of what constitutes ‘good mental health’ have got it all wrong?

What if our unhappiness with the world isn’t a sign that there’s something wrong with us? What if it’s a sign that our ability to notice these things – how the world is, and how the world ought to be – mean we’re perfectly fine?

More than that, what if your anxieties and tendency to not fit in, mean we can develop a more authentic personality than everyone who seems perfectly happy?

What does ‘Psychoneuroses’ mean?

Dabrowski saw the difference between “neuroses” and “psychoneuroses”. Psychoneuroses reflect a different type of experience, and one that is a normal reaction to a harsh world.

An example of this would be depression – not all depressions are equal. Clinical depression may have biological causes, and would be a form of neurosis. However, existential depression may be caused by questioning your mortality after a loved one dies, and this is perfectly normal.

Psychoneuroses are not only perfectly normal, they are necessary for growth. They play a critical role in motivating you to improve how things are, and internal conflicts are necessary to force you to examine yourself and try to make changes.

Think about it this way – if you never feel bad about your behaviours, or question yourself, what is going to motivate you to make improvements? If you think you are perfect the way you are, you are never going to change and grow.

“Psychoneurotics, rather than being treated as ill, should be considered as individuals most prone to a positive and even accelerated psychic development”

(Dąbrowski, 1972, p. 4)

In other words, just because you are going through feelings of anxiety, confusion, self-doubt and depression, it does not mean that there is something wrong with you. It just means you are identifying things which need improving. These feelings show your potential to question ‘what is’ and think about ‘what should be’.

But make no mistake, these feeling may be painful. They are necessary for growth, but they are far from pleasant. And they are largely unavoidable. In fact, some people are far more prone to experiencing psychoneurosis than others.

“Psychoneuroses are observed in people possessing special talents, sensitivity, and creative capacities; they are common among outstanding people”

(Dąbrowski, 1972, p. 2)

The key to dealing with psychoneurosis

Psychoneuroses may not a sign of poor mental health, but it can still be bloody uncomfortable! Just because your existential depression leads to personality growth, doesn’t mean it’s all fun and games.

If therapy pushes you towards ‘fitting in’ how can you continue to grow while successfully managing the pain?

Dabrowski believed that autopsychotherapy was the key – working on yourself, through reflection, journaling, meditation, and even creative outlets. All this helps you understand yourself – the root causes of your concerns, the ins and outs of your own mind, and who you believe you ought to be. All this will help you discover your authentic self, by establishing what is important to you (in your values) and changing your behaviours to align with those values.

Self-education is also important. Understanding the process of positive disintegration, and understanding overexcitabilities (and your emotional extremes) also helps. In short, the more you know about yourself and the process, the better off you’ll be.

Dabrowski’s theory helps us understand the painful processes we go through when we experience anxiety, doubt, and angst. It gives us a reason to push through the pain, and gives us hope in our darkest hours that things can be better. It shows us that it is good to question the way the world works. 

That your pain can be a gift, and not a mental illness.