Meaning & use
Psychasthenia
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A historical psychiatric term for a condition marked by phobias, obsessions, compulsions, and chronic anxiety or self-doubt.
See it in a sentence
Early 20th-century psychiatrists used the term psychasthenia to describe patients plagued by irrational fears and doubts.
The concept of psychasthenia has largely been absorbed into modern classifications of anxiety disorders.
A note on using this word
Coined by French psychologist Pierre Janet in the late 19th century; the term is now largely obsolete in clinical practice.
Words with a similar meaning
neurasthenia
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