A close reading of Freud's texts suggests that critics hindered him in proving his theories not only by their intellectual resistance but also by creating an internal conflict for Freud that sometimes interfered with his ability to address skepticism and criticism. I define this interference as “proof neurosis”: wherein unloving, resistant skepticism towards the hard-earned insights of psychoanalysis enrages the expositor of psychoanalysis in a way that is particularly intolerable to his superego, with resultant defenses, such as identification with the critic, that unsuccessfully suppress this rage while introducing irrational symptoms into discourse with critics and restricting proving activities.