in psychoanalytic theory, an excessive drive or demand that may arise out of the strategies individuals use to defend themselves against basic anxiety. Karen D. Horney enumerated 10 neurotic needs: for affection and approval, for a partner to take over one’s life, for restriction of one’s life, for power, for exploitation of others, for prestige, for admiration, for achievement, for self-sufficiency and independence, and for perfection. When an individual’s personality is dominated by a few neurotic needs, he or she may exhibit a neurotic trend.