EmptyCittas1by1 wrote:Would it be like blindly following the teachings and living heedlessly while deluding yourself into thinking you're practicing?
No, that's simply deluding yourself = delusion. Neurosis is not the same as delusion.
The term "neurosis" covers a lot of different types of behaviors. A person may have a wide range of obsessive-compulsive disorders, do repetitive actions that have no real purpose, become anxious for no real reason, have phobias, or many other symptoms. Some of these behaviors are well hidden and not exhibited in public, so it's hard to say who is and who is not neurotic. Suffice it to say, most people exhibit some neurotic tendencies. Here's a list:
anxiety, sadness or depression, anger, irritability, mental confusion, low sense of self-worth, etc., behavioral symptoms such as phobic avoidance, vigilance, impulsive and compulsive acts, lethargy, etc., cognitive problems such as unpleasant or disturbing thoughts, repetition of thoughts and obsession, habitual fantasizing, negativity and cynicism, etc. Interpersonally, neurosis involves dependency, aggressiveness, perfectionism, schizoid isolation, socio-culturally inappropriate behaviors, etc.
And actually, the term "neurosis" is no longer used in professional psychiatric diagnosis.