Jealousy - As a Normal Experience and Mental Disorder
The feeling of jealousy, together with a sense that the loved person 'belongs to me", is part of normal human experience.
It is of social value in marital relationships for preserving the family.
Various terms have been used to describe abnormal, morbid or malignant jealousy.
Kraepelin, the German psychiatrist who is considered the father of modern psychiatry, used the term "sexual jealousy".
Others have considered it important to distinguish between jealousy as a form of mental illness from other types.
This is dependent on demonstration of a delusion of infidelity.
It is sometimes difficult to distinguish understandable jealousy from that which is clearly delusional.
A delusion is a belief not based on reality and held strongly against all evidence to the opposite.
It usually does not fit the circumstances of the person and does not seem to be logical.
A person may believe he is a victim of infidelity without any real evidence for that.
This delusional belief of the spouse being unfaithful is based on delusional evidence when the circumstances does not indicate a basis for such belief.
Such delusions are resistant to treatment and do not change with time.
A patient was very concerned that his wife was being unfaithful with numerous people, including his boss, her general practitioner and others.
Four years later despite various treatments, his belief was unchanged, but he said, 'I don't blame her now.
She is much younger than I am and everyone does that sort of thing'.
Delusions of jealousy are common in alcoholism.
Sexual jealousy is present in 35% of alcoholic men and 31% of women.
As jealousy appeared to be justified in some cases, morbid jealousy was considered to be present in 27% of men and 15% of women.
Delusional jealousy also occurs in some organic states, for example the punch-drunk syndrome, a condition suffered by boxers due to multiple repeated damage to the brain following a career in boxing.
Quite frequently the spouse wearied by continued accusations of infidelity, does form another sexual involvement, which may result in an acute exacerbation in the mental state of the patient and further marital conflict.
The sexual content of the delusion is obvious and all-important.
Jealousy is directed towards the sexual partner.
The deluded person is very attached to her.
He is often emotionally and utterly dependent upon her.
He may have a sense owing her completely.
The victim is often much more sexually attractive than the deluded partner; for instance, a young wife or a sociable and popular husband.
The deluded person may have been promiscuous in the past and therefore resignedly expects his spouse to show similar behaviour.
He may have become impotent and projected the blame for his failure onto her.
He may have homosexual fantasies directed towards the men with whom he claims his wife is consorting.
Morbid jealousy arises with the belief that there is a threat to the exclusive possession of his wife.
This is just as likely to occur from conflicts inside the deluded person himself - his own inability to love or his sexual interest directed toward someone else- or from changing circumstances in his environment or his Wife's behaviour.
Husbands or wives may show sexual jealousy; as may heterosexual and homosexual partners.
Jealousy is particularly prominent in these latter two types of relationship since the insecurity of a liaison not condoned by society is especially likely to germinate suspicion.
Crimes of violence are more frequently associated with morbid jealousy than with any other psychopathology.
It is of social value in marital relationships for preserving the family.
Various terms have been used to describe abnormal, morbid or malignant jealousy.
Kraepelin, the German psychiatrist who is considered the father of modern psychiatry, used the term "sexual jealousy".
Others have considered it important to distinguish between jealousy as a form of mental illness from other types.
This is dependent on demonstration of a delusion of infidelity.
It is sometimes difficult to distinguish understandable jealousy from that which is clearly delusional.
A delusion is a belief not based on reality and held strongly against all evidence to the opposite.
It usually does not fit the circumstances of the person and does not seem to be logical.
A person may believe he is a victim of infidelity without any real evidence for that.
This delusional belief of the spouse being unfaithful is based on delusional evidence when the circumstances does not indicate a basis for such belief.
Such delusions are resistant to treatment and do not change with time.
A patient was very concerned that his wife was being unfaithful with numerous people, including his boss, her general practitioner and others.
Four years later despite various treatments, his belief was unchanged, but he said, 'I don't blame her now.
She is much younger than I am and everyone does that sort of thing'.
Delusions of jealousy are common in alcoholism.
Sexual jealousy is present in 35% of alcoholic men and 31% of women.
As jealousy appeared to be justified in some cases, morbid jealousy was considered to be present in 27% of men and 15% of women.
Delusional jealousy also occurs in some organic states, for example the punch-drunk syndrome, a condition suffered by boxers due to multiple repeated damage to the brain following a career in boxing.
Quite frequently the spouse wearied by continued accusations of infidelity, does form another sexual involvement, which may result in an acute exacerbation in the mental state of the patient and further marital conflict.
The sexual content of the delusion is obvious and all-important.
Jealousy is directed towards the sexual partner.
The deluded person is very attached to her.
He is often emotionally and utterly dependent upon her.
He may have a sense owing her completely.
The victim is often much more sexually attractive than the deluded partner; for instance, a young wife or a sociable and popular husband.
The deluded person may have been promiscuous in the past and therefore resignedly expects his spouse to show similar behaviour.
He may have become impotent and projected the blame for his failure onto her.
He may have homosexual fantasies directed towards the men with whom he claims his wife is consorting.
Morbid jealousy arises with the belief that there is a threat to the exclusive possession of his wife.
This is just as likely to occur from conflicts inside the deluded person himself - his own inability to love or his sexual interest directed toward someone else- or from changing circumstances in his environment or his Wife's behaviour.
Husbands or wives may show sexual jealousy; as may heterosexual and homosexual partners.
Jealousy is particularly prominent in these latter two types of relationship since the insecurity of a liaison not condoned by society is especially likely to germinate suspicion.
Crimes of violence are more frequently associated with morbid jealousy than with any other psychopathology.
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