As this book is primarily about the general neurotic syndrome, I need to be convincing in creating the groundwork to persuade the reader to continue to read. Some may feel this syndrome is a fictitious creation and so I will have to work even harder to persuade these sceptics; all I would ask at this point is for people to have an open mind. The general neurotic syndrome is not (yet) a familiar term, even though it should be. As it has been a subject I have had in my head for over 45 years – I hope not as an obsession but as a guiding light – I need to put my thinking about it into context.