] Neurosis: a form of psychological suffering involving
] unconscious inner conflicts around basic anxiety and
] partially determined by cultural factors. All neuroses
] include anxiety, the defenses against it, numerous fears,
] a dissipation of energy, pretense, and impairment in
] vitality, spontaneity, freedom, enjoyment, and
] achievement. "The neurotic personality of our time"
] refers to the similarities in neuroses in a given
] culture; in ours, they include an excessive dependence on
] affection or approval, feelings of inferiority or
] inadequacy, inhibited self-assertion, hostility,
] inhibited or compulsive sexual activity, and
] competitiveness. Origin: lack of warmth and affection in
] childhood (children who feel wanted can healthily endure
] trauma and frustration) kept alive and urgent by
] present-day defenses.
]
] The essence of a neurosis is the neurotic character
] structure whose focal points are neurotic trends
] organized around the central inner conflict between
] neurotic and healthy dynamics. These in turn constitute
] three early relationship-management strategies: moving
] toward people (emphasizes the helplessness aspect of
] basic anxiety), against people (hostility), or away from
] people (isolation). The first tend to be dependent
] personalities, the second narcissistic, and the third
] schizoid. These attempts at solution gradually harden
] into personality traits and pervade the entire character
] structure.The healthy counterpart is growing with people.

I was surfing around the web today looking for a definition of "neurotic conflict" (I'm dealing with a couple friends here in St. Louis who have some serious emotional problems right now). While surfing, I found this page, with a variety of definitions. The "neurosis" definition in particular I found interesting, because of its perspective on the most common modern-day neuroses.

Glossary of Psychological Terms