Alienation in the light of Karen Horney's theory of neurosis

Abstract

Self-alienation has been seen by many people in different ways and in multiple dimensions. It has been described as boredom, lonelines, impairment of depth of feeling, remoteness from self and from one's own constructive resources. To the degree an individual suffers from self-alienation, his self-realizing and self-creating are impaired and thwarted. His life becomes increasingly determined by others with the corresponding loss of autonomy. An important insight into the process of self-alienation is found in the theory of neurotic character development as described by Karen Horney. She places compulsive defensive trends and conflicts and their solutions in the fore-ground of the neurotic process. Especially significant are the processes of self-idealization and the concomitant self-hate. These turn an individual away from, and against, himself and produce a deep intrapsychic conflict that he attempts to resolve in various ways, but always with increasing self-alienation.