Jealousy

Bharat Singh Sehrawat*

Corresponding Author: Bharat Singh Sehrawat, PhD Scholar, Post-graduation diploma in Rehabilitation psychology (PGDRP, RCI), Post-graduation diploma in counseling and family therapy (PGDCFT), M.A Counseling Psychology, Clinical Hypnotherapist, India.

Copy Right: © 2022 Bharat Singh Sehrawat, This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received Date: May 17, 2022

Published Date: June 01, 2022

Jealousy is a very complex emotion. It refers to thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear and concern. It can be driven by one's low esteem or poor self-image. It's a feeling of unhappiness and anger caused by belief system that my loved one might be unfaithful, OR A feeling of unhappiness caused by wanting that someone else has. As an emotion which is related to thoughts which keep coming continously whole day.

As per research a human being has around 6200 thoughts per day out of which around 70 to 80 percent are negative which is a matter of concern.

Every human being has thought of jealousy at some point in their life, which is very common to have but whenever these thoughts trigger up the emotional reaction the problem begins. Extreme jealousy can interfere with the daily life of a person it creates a loop of thoughts for the individual and one finds it difficult to move out of these thoughts and emotions. It creates a fear for the individual that another person might takes something that is their or something they consider to be theirs.

Types of Jealousy:

1.Jealousy in Relationship: Jealousy in a relationship doesn't mean a husband -wife, girlfriend-boyfriend relationship only. It can be between siblings, friends and partners.

Example: Fear of being replaced by someone in a valuable relationship between partners, friends and so on.

2.Jealousy related to Status and Power: It generally occurs at work place. It is related to competition, promotions, incentives, bonus, transfers etc. It can also be among neighbours, friends, siblings related to job, salary, wealth as it represents the status of an individual.

Causes of Jealousy: People can become jealous for several reasons.

1. Rivalary: Rivalary between siblings, neighbours, employees.

2. Insecurity: If a person feels insecure about their position might be taken away then it leads to jealousy. It can be among partners or at work place.

3. Competition: Competition among people leads to jealousy.

4. Trust Issues: Some people have difficulty in trusting others, so they develop jealousy when their partner or friends spend time with others.

5. Perfectionism: People who need everything to be perfect find themselves feeling jealous when they compare themselves with others.

6. Comparision: People who keeps comparing themselves with others develop the feeling of jealousy.

When jealousy feelings are long- lasting or severe. It indicates that the cause can be an underlying a mental health issue. Some mental health issues and jealousy includes:

1.Attachment issue

2.Anxiety

3.Schizophrenia

4.Border line personality (BPD)

Physical Symptoms of Jealousy:

The following physical symptoms may occur when jealousy arises:

1.Head ache

2.Chest pain

3.High blood pressure

4.Stomach ache

5.Palpitation

6.Insomnia

7.Poor appetite

Jealousy Management and Treatment:

As jealousy is a very comples emotion which is related to thoughts and feelings of an individual but when these thoughts and emotions become very severe that they start affecting the day-to-day life, physical or mental health of an individual, then one needs treatment. Treatment will vary depending upon the type of jealousy one is experiencing.

The treatment options include:

1.Cognitive - behavioural therapy (CBT)

2.Psychotherapy

3.Emotional freedom technique (EFT)

4.Relaxation Therapy

5.Hypnotherapy

Note: In some cases, medication may also require like antianxiety, sleeping pills.