Anxious individuals tend to experience higher levels of jealousy (Buunk, 1997), suspicion and worry that their partner will leave them for someone else (i.e., cognitive jealousy; Guerrero, 1998), and respond to jealousy-inducing situations with elevated levels of fear, sadness, and anger (Sharpsteen & Kirkpatrick, 1997 ...
Intense jealousy can take over your everyday life and lead to sleep problems and a poor appetite. Intense feelings of jealousy can have similar effects to chronic anxiety, including: a raised heart rate. sweating.
Fear and anxiety of the unknown and uncertain can creep in and create fears in relationships. A jealous person may have thoughts such as, “What if my partner finds someone else more attractive and leaves me.” Obsessing about the unknown and perceived fears can serve to create and fuel jealousy.
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.
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.
Abnormal jealousy: Also called pathological jealousy or extreme jealousy, this may be a sign of an underlying mental health issue, such as schizophrenia, anxiety, or issues with control.
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 can come from feelings of low self-esteem or lack of confidence. And when someone is unhappy about themselves, feels anxious and insecure, this can lead to feelings of jealousy and being out of control. Jealousy is slightly different from envy. You can envy someone for something they have.
Envy and jealousy also add to stress and anger that are closely tied to several illnesses. Anger has been shown to be a risk factor for heart disease. Also, long-term stress harms the immune system and has been linked with some forms of cancer.
According to Jonathan Dvash, neuroscientist at the University of Haifa, the sympathetic nervous system buckles under the stress of jealousy, quickening the heart and spiking blood pressure. Left unchecked over time, this could lead to hypertension and heart disease.
Research shows that jealousy is often fueled by insecurity, not love for a partner. The best way to deal with a jealous partner may be to reassure them of your affection. Working on your own confidence and having good communication with your partner are key to coping with jealousy.
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.
Too much of anything can be unhealthy, but a little jealousy is not bad or unhealthy from time to time. Jealousy is a normal human emotion, and like all our emotions, they're here to tell us something about ourselves and what we need.
If you get jealous easily—as in, you feel jealous even when you have no real evidence of a threat—there could be a few factors at play: You might have low self-esteem. You might be lonely. You might have trust issues.
Jealousy & Mental Health Concerns
Sometimes, pervasive jealous feelings might be an indicator of a deeper issue related to your mental health, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Here are other mental health concerns that could be related to jealousy: Depression.
Summary: Jealousy increases activity in the cingulate cortex and lateral septum, areas of the brain associated with social pain and pair bonding, researchers report.
Why do we feel jealousy? Therapists often regard the demon as a scar of childhood trauma or a symptom of a psychological problem. And it's true that people who feel inadequate, insecure, or overly dependent tend to be more jealous than others.
Delusional jealousy is a psychotic disorder and should be treated mainly with antipsychotics, while obsessive jealousy resembles obsessive-compulsive disorder and should be treated with SSRIs and cognitive-behavioural therapy.
It's also a symptom of mental health conditions and commonly occurs in the presence of bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and other personality disorders.
Some telltale signs that you may be experiencing envy that is affecting your depression or anxiety can include: Frequent comparisons between your life and others' lives. Experiencing frustration, jealousy or feelings of inadequacy when good things happen to other people.
“Jealousy is the highest form of flattery.”