Neurosis and Human Growth: The Struggle Towards Self-Realization

A must read for any serious psychology student!This is a book that lays out Karen Horney's theory of neurosis. It is not a self-help book per se, but if you want to understand your inner subconscious processes - this is the best theory out there (in my opinion). It is complementary to ideas that you will find in CBT and Recovery literature.I challenge anyone out there to read a self-help book out there today that does not take at least one idea from this book.I have a Master's degree in psychology and have primarily trained in and use cognitive therapy. However, if you study cognitive therapy, Karen Horney will barely be a footnote. This is absolutely baffling to me after reading Neurosis and Human Growth. Horney makes reference to nearly every cognitive therapy concept out there including the role of attitudes and distorted thinking. When I have heard others reference her, they make reference to what she seems to be most famous for - "The Tyranny of the Should". Of course, Cognitive theorists have stolen this idea and have taken her words and twisted them into the term "cognitive distortion" ... or thinking error. This "thinking error" is called "shoulds" or "should statements." Albert Ellis called it "Must-erbation."Of course, the therapeutic methods used by Ellis and Beck are different than Horney's approach - which primarily used free association and dream interpretation to "uncover" subconscious thoughts and attitudes. Cognitive therapy has the same general aims but instead refers to the subconscious processes as "automatic thoughts." So, I'm not saying that Beck and Ellis made no original contributions. But, Horney's ideas supply the basic foundation.It's a bit frustrating for me that she gets very little credit to her immense contribution to the field of psychology - and she came by it by her own suffering and self-work. To me, it's as if Beck and Ellis stole her ideas, came up with some new therapeutic interventions and passed it all off as their own. Why else has Horney received so little attention?That brings me to another of Horney's contributions - "Self-Analysis" - Cognitive therapy self-help books proliferate stores today. She was the first psychiatrist to discuss this topic in her book "Self Analysis" (as far as I know).Even newer "Third Wave" CBT approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment therapy emphasize what is called "pragmatic truth criterion" - which Horney proposes in this book when she writes: "The criterion for what we cultivate or reject in ourselves lies in the question: Is a particular attitude or drive inductive or obstructive to my human growth?"There are many other examples I could point out. I hope that Horney will get the proper recognition that she deserves at some point in the future.

Dr. Karen Horney once wrote the following about genuine introspection: “you must not study only the highlights. You must take every opportunity to become familiar with this stranger or acquaintance that is yourself. This, by the way, is not a figurative way of speaking, for most people know very little about themselves, and only gradually learn to what extent they have lived in ignorance. If you want to know New York you do not merely look at it from the Empire State Building. You go to the lower East Side; you stroll through Central Park; you take a boat around Manhattan; you ride on a Fifth Avenue bus; and a great deal more. Opportunities to become familiar with yourself will offer themselves, and you will see them, provided you really want to know this queer fellow who lives your life. You will then be astonished to see that here you are irritated for no apparent reason, there you cannot make up your mind, here you were offensive without meaning to be, here you mysteriously lost your appetite, there you had an eating spell, here you could not bring yourself to answer a letter, there you were suddenly afraid of noises around you when alone, here you had a nightmare, there you felt hurt or humiliated, here you could not ask for a raise in salary or express a critical opinion. All these infinite observations represent that many entrances to the unfamiliar ground that is yourself. You start to wonder — which here, too, is the beginning of all wisdom…” (Self-Analysis)In her many works Dr. Horney shines a spotlight on aspects of ourselves that we might have never before even acknowledged, and in ‘Neurosis and Human Growth’ she is at her best. The strongest recommendation I can give for the book is that if you read it, you are virtually guaranteed to discover something new about yourself. The challenge is that it's not a beach read; it takes definite work to understand and apply in one's own unique life. But the reward is so well worth the effort. Cheers, Jesse

The print is legible; the binding is solid.Neurosis and Human Growth investigates the many ways a soul traps itself in its own false logic, and stunts the innate struggle towards authentic self-expression.Horney writes in expressive but simple English, eschewing the esoteric sexual theories and psychoanalytic jargon that characterizes the work of her more (in)famous peers. But this does not mean her work is simple or dumbed-down; rather, it is elegant, intuitive, and wise.This book is for all readers; everyone will benefit from reading this. You will be more informed about the nature of the soul, and if you truly take the advice of the book, you will be more prepared to spot and disarm the secret destructive snares of the ultimate enemy, Pride.

Incredible book, exactly what I needed after being diagnosed with social neurosis. Explains the nature of my own foundations. Glad I bought this.

One of those rare books that EVERYONE should read. Regardless of whether you feel it applies to YOU - it will apply to people you know, love, care about, run into and work with. It will give you an understanding of the prisons that narcissitic, competitive, arrogant, withdrawn, shy etc people build - why they behave the way they do. And so, we start to feel compassion for them, whilst insulating ourselves against the negative aspects of their personalities.This is an incredible achievement; the distilled wisdom of 50 years of careful, compassionate, considered analysis of the human condition and how it leads many of us into (seemingly) unstoppable pain and down dark, bleak paths.Dr Horney was a legitimate equal to Freud and Jung. Her insight feels superhuman at points. Her writing style is succinct, graceful, direct and very, very carefully considered. She was a true professional.The only bad point is that she died before I was born, so I cannot thank her in person.

A classic. Karen Horney was clearly a psychiatric thinker and writer of the first rank. Here, in her magnus opus, she embarks on a tour de force of psychological analysis, portraying 'that part of the animal' we call 'attitudinal formation'. No one psychologist or psychiatrist ever gets the whole animal in one swipe, but here Horney has made a stellar contribution to the theory of human neurosis.

Le livre est destiné aux névrosés légers; il concerne donc la majorité de la population.Karen part du principe que pour se protéger dans l'enfance on s'est forgé un modèle qui désormais nous étouffe. On reconnait ce comportement car on est "In search of glory", de quelque façon que ce soit (sainteté, virilité, richesse.....).On devient fier d'un comportement aberrant que les autres ne comprennent pas. Devant la statue de ce qu'on devrait être on oscille entre un état survolté et un découragement. L'aliénation du Moi qui en résulte ne laisse plus la place à des choix authentiques; on est en permanence dans la compulsion.Quoi faire pour en sortir (dans le cas ou on ne souhaite pas voir un psy)? Selon KH il faut:- connaitre ces travers et leur mécanismes (c'est le but du livre d'informer)- les reconnaitre dans les actes de votre vie quotidienne (ce qui suppose un travail personnel).En principe, le bug démasqué s'enfuit automatiquement de votre psyché.On a finalement affaire à un livre de développement personnel. Il s'agit de développement personnel très haut de gamme. Rien à voir avec la plupart des ouvrages de ce genre de littérature où abondent des conseils séduisants mais à la portée opérationnelle extrêmement limitée.A lire, ou plutôt à étudier, si vous sentez un problème et que vous voulez vraiment vous en débarrasser....

Es ist sehr interessant, es zu lesen. Leider ist der Preis etwas hoch.