How to Tell If You're Neurotic?

Signund Freud DDS

How to determine if you’re a neurotic? Do the symptoms manifest anecdotally? Do you need a saliva test (salivation is one of the first signs of neurosis). To begin with you may want to see a specialist, whose field is neurotic disorders. Many sufferers try psychoanalysis but with all the new DSM classifications, you may want to see someone with a different kind of advanced degree, preferably a DDS. Those who grind their teeth at night will know that childhood conflicts create cavities. Root canals not dreams are to quote Freud “the royal road to the unconscious.” Freud, btw, flirted with dentistry before he became convinced that mental problems often began with the teeth. If you consider the fact that dentists cure one of the most common symptoms of mental pain, toothaches, you begin to realize how important a good dentist can be when it comes to mental health. If you’re feeling a sense of vacuity, you might, for instance, first get x-rayed to see if it's cavities that are causing the problem. After each visit the dental assistant who performs your prophylaxis will give you a little plastic bag with floss, toothpaste and a new toothbrush. Some patients spend years in talk therapy without realizing that the solution to their problems simply lies in dealing with another part of the mouth--the incisors. 

read "Died Young" by Francis Levy, The Brooklyn Rail

and listen to "Hot Pants" by James Brown