The terms neurotic and psychotic both indicate effectively enough that something is not entirely well with someone's mental state.
However, the precise distinction between the two terms can be hard to grasp.
What does each one mean, and how and where should we use it?
Both words tell us about a mental pain.
The difference lies in sufferers' relative degree of conscious awareness of its actual origins.
As a general rule, the neurotic knows they are not well.
They may be in difficulty, but they know they are and have some inkling of why.
They can say in plain enough terms that they're anxious about their ex, or that they're depressed about their work, or that they're underconfident because of neglect at the hands of their parents.
The distress may not be easy to budge, but its existence and causes don't need to be ignored.
The psychotic, for their part, is also in pain, but they have an additional struggle.
