They're Overly Critical
Constructive criticism coming from a place of love is one thing, but a sign your sister is jealous of you could be that she intentionally makes you feel bad about yourself, instead of dealing with her own feelings.
The main causes of sibling rivalry are lack of social skills, concerns with fairness, individual temperaments, special needs, parenting style, parent's conflict resolution skills and culture.
'There's always going to be a little bit of jealousy between siblings, which is a normal part of human nature, but when that turns into envy it brings out the absolute worst in people,' says Karen Doherty, a mother of four and co-author of the new book Sibling Rivalry: Seven Simple Solutions.
Jealousy may be driven by low self-esteem or a poor self-image. If you don't feel attractive and confident, it can be hard to truly believe that your partner loves and values you. Other times, jealousy can be caused by unrealistic expectations about the relationship.
There is not one root cause for someone's jealous behaviors or feelings, but there are a few reasons why someone might feel this way, including insecurity, past history, or fear of loss. Jealousy can be triggered by these and might create tensions within your relationships.
A toxic sibling relationship is a relationship that is unbalanced in its power dynamic and may involve sibling abuse and dysfunctional sibling rivalry. Sibling estrangement can be caused by parental favouritism, having immature parents, parental or sibling abuse and psychopathy.
Monopolizing conversations; demanding constant attention. Disrespecting boundaries; feeling entitled that they needn't comply with others' wishes. Betraying confidence. Launching “campaigns” against others: making themselves look perfect and their sibling look like the “crazy” one.
Narcissistic Sibling Characteristics
They need to be the center of attention: If you are tired, she is exhausted. If you bought a new car, he did too, only a much more expensive model. They always feel entitled: Even though you remember his kids' birthdays, he has never acknowledged yours.
The abuser has the intention of making the victim feel lesser than, creating a sense of low self-esteem or social withdrawal. Examples of sibling emotional abuse include name-calling, belittling, teasing, insulting, threatening, destroying property, relational aggression, intimidation and asserting power or control.
Jealousy breeds suspicion, doubt, and mistrust, which can snowball into pretty intense emotions and behaviors, he says. We may become preoccupied with the fear of betrayal. We might start checking up on our friend or partner constantly, trying to “catch them.” We might become possessive of that person.
Delusional jealousy (also known as morbid jealousy) is one type of delusional disorder, and as the name implies people with jealous delusions are completely convinced that their spouses or romantic partners have been unfaithful.
Jealousy can also occur as a symptom of a mental health condition. People who suffer from personality disorders have a difficult time sorting through cognitive distortions, unfair assumptions, and damaging judgments of other people. This can lead to intense feelings of jealousy and even relationship conflict.
Trust Issues and Past Trauma – Some people are traumatized by their past relationships. Having someone who cheated on them makes it difficult to trust again, even in a new relationship. When a person lacks trust, seemingly innocuous stimuli can easily trigger jealousy.
Jealousy is an emotion, just like happiness, sadness, and anger. Everyone feels jealous from time to time. But it can be painful and difficult to control. Jealousy happens most often within relationships.
Remaining in a relationship with a toxic person is potentially harmful to your emotional and physical health and relationships (and may negatively affect your spouse and children, too). The bottom line is that for many people, the only way to heal is to remove yourself from the abusive relationship.
Until your sister acknowledges the harm she's caused and the lack of emotional awareness she's mixing into your relationship, taking some space is absolutely fine. Cutting off a family member with these toxic traits is justified, but you might consider leaving the door open to reconciliation later on down the road.