in psychoanalysis, this refers to a neurosis in which the anxiety generated by unconscious sexual conflicts is expressed by way of phobia. For example, an individual may hold an irrational fear of dirt or open spaces. There may also be physical disturbances that manifest as conversion symptoms. The term is now seldom used because it combines disorders and groups of symptoms that are now classified separately. See also anxiety disorders- conversion disorder. |defined by Sigmund Freud]