Sick with jealousy

"The passion of jealousy is a monster who engenders himself and is born of their own bowels. Minutiae light as air are confirmations for jealous as emphatic as if they came from the Holy Scriptures." Othello W. Shakespeare.

Jealousy, as we saw in our previous article, are a complex behavior. It includes components, emotional, cognitive and behavioral. It is expressed in different areas of interpersonal relations and not only in the sphere of the couple. But try to focus our previous article in jealousy or marital love, where we saw the role that such conduct had played from the evolutionary perspective.

Psicosociobiológicas theories, jealousy, love us, as an adaptive behavior that has been in our repertoire for the role it has played to ensure the genetic survival of individuals. It is a universal behavior, which has accompanied our species throughout history and across cultures.

In this line of reasoning, jealousy are part of normal behavior of individuals. The question from this moment, it would be Where does the line for separating what we mean by normal jealousy, pathological jealousy?

A certain amount of jealousy and expression of such behavior can not be considered abnormal or unhealthy. Jealousy even have positive aspects. A minimum fear of losing what we love or loved one, can induce in us to better take care of the relationship, get to deliver more attentions to the beloved, seeking their good. This focus and dedication is appreciated by the couple and in some cases if needed can be interpreted as a sign of indifference.

Enrique Gonzalez Monclús Professor, Faculty of Medicine of Barcelona (2005) in one of his article concludes, "... love is jealousy when their size is very moderate, a demonstration of love through them, the individual trap is feel valued, distinguished from each other and accept a level of ownership that degree of reciprocity, which requires love.

Jealousy obviously can generate intense discomfort and suffering in those who suffer, but different authors come to treat the discomfort and suffering, although they are necessary, not sufficient condition to give the epithet of sickly jealous or pathological conditions.

The character would be given sick when its intensity, duration and frequency cosntituirse ubiquitous reach the subject's psychic life, displacing and preventing this, focus on other types of alternative thoughts, as occurs with obsessive ideation. The subject's behavior is altered and directed by these thoughts, come to affect the socio-famiiares and labor.

Jealous ideation in principle rumiativa and even obsessive, may acquire Carat delusional conviction. This is what has come to be called Jealous delusions. The subject is convinced of the infidelity of her partner and the person you live it as a reality of absolute security, so that no objective evidence or any reasoning allow the subject to abandon that belief. In these cases, aconteeciientos trivial and unimportant, such as a phone call or change clothes or perfume to come out, come to be interpreted by the subject as incontrovertible proof of the infidelity of the spouse. Jealous Delirium can be accompanied by other symptoms, such as in certain types of psychotic disorders or become a pure delusional disorder, without affecting other areas as the trial, affection or reasoning.

In these cases the problem does become a serious psychiatric disorder. In most cases the discomfort of the subject itself, extends to the person object of jealousy, leading to behaviors of harassment, persecution, defamation or violence. This fact comes to encouraging, most of the time, the abandonment of the relationship, which in turn tends to be interpreted by the jealous as confirmation of their suspicions.

Independent of the above, delirium jealous Jealous and behaviors can have an organic substrate as a result of brain damage caused by trauma, brain tumors, strokes or drug abuse. It is very common in cases of chronic alcoholism onset of aggressive behavior and even jealous.



References:

Monclús E. Gonzalez, Jealousy, pathological jealousy and delusions Jealous. Barna Rev Fac Med Psychiatry 2005; 32 (1) :14-22

Hernandez Espinosa, Victor. What is jealousy. Sociedad.Barcelona Health Library. Ed's Gay Science, 1977.