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.
Jealousy is often rooted in insecurities and fears that a person may not even realize they have. These could include fear of oversimplification, fear of inadequacy, fear of abandonment, fear of being replaced, and fear of being judged.
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.
Let the person know that you don't appreciate the negativity. While you don't want to be rude and upset the person further, making them aware of how they are making you feel may cause them to change their behavior. "I feel uncomfortable with the way you speak to me." "Your approach when we talk makes me feel bad.
Research has identified many root causes of extreme jealousy, including low self-esteem, high neuroticism, and feeling possessive of others, particularly romantic partners. Fear of abandonment is also a key motivator.
Research has shown that jealousy can be a sign of feeling deeply in love with a partner. It may contribute to relationship satisfaction by signaling emotional commitment and investment.
Everyone experiences jealousy at some point, but the emotion can become unhealthy and negatively impact their relationships. It can range in intensity. When it's severe, irrational jealousy can lead to distrust, paranoia, abuse, or even physical violence.
Ignoring his calls, flirting with a person he doesn't know, or being the center of attention can bring over a feeling of jealousy and may encourage him to get attracted toward you.
When faced with the desire to get a mate's attention, jealousy induction might be quite effective, but it is risky. It can hurt the one you love and even cause the end of the relationship.
When jealousy creeps into a romantic relationship, it can often fester into controlling tactics to assert dominance. “Do not ignore this red flag because it could also lead to an abusive and controlling situation,” says Kelman.
Oftentimes, a guy may try to make you jealous because he feels insecure about your feelings for him. His insecurity doesn't make the behavior acceptable, but it does make it quite normal. His attempts at making you jealous might be his way of trying to capture your attention.
Unhealthy jealous behavior happens when we indulge that feeling and act impulsively from a place of suspicion and insecurity. When insecurity in our relationships run rampant, jealousy can rapidly grow into paranoia and obsession and threaten to destroy the very relationship we're most afraid to lose.
If your partner wants you all to themselves, all the time, then it's a sign of unhealthy jealous behaviour. They are obsessed with you so much that they don't like the idea of you being alone or spending time with others.
Although an individual may present with morbid jealousy, the underlying psychiatric problems may show major illnesses like bipolar mania in up to 15% and schizophrenia 20%, among other diagnoses like depression and alcohol-related disorders. Morbid jealousy may not only be delusional, but also obsessional in nature.
Obsessional jealousy is jealousy that is characterized by intrusive and excessive thoughts, and may be accompanied by compulsive checking of the partner.