Jealousy is a killer. Relationships end because of
jealous conflicts and people kill other people because they are jealous.
Imagine this. You are at a party and someone is friendly
and you smile. Your partner thinks that you are betraying her. Or your partner
tells you a funny story about a former lover and you feel threatened. You feel
the anger and the anxiety rising inside you and you don’t know what to do.
Susan could identify with this. She would glare at her
partner, trying to send him a “message” that she was really annoyed and hurt.
She hoped he would get the message. At times, she would withdraw into pouting,
hoping to punish him for showing an interest in someone else. But it didn’t
work. He just felt confused.
At other times Susan would ask him if she still found her
attractive. Was he getting bored with her? Was she his type? At first, he would
reassure her, but then—with repeated demands for her for more reassurance—he
began to wonder why she felt so insecure. Maybe she wasn’t the right one for
him.
And when things got more difficult for Susan, she would
yell at him, “Why don’t you go home with her? It’s obvious you want to!”
These kinds of jealous conflicts can end a relationship.
But, if you are jealous, does this mean that there is
something terribly wrong with you?
Let's look at what is going on when you are jealous and
how you can handle it.
Jealousy is angry agitated worry.
When we are jealous we worry that our partner might find
someone else more appealing and we fear that he or she will reject us. Since we
feel threatened that our partner might find someone more attractive, we may
activate jealousy as a way to cope with this threat. We may believe that our
jealousy may keep us from being surprised, help us defend our rights, and force
our partner to give up interests elsewhere. Similar to worry, jealousy may be a
“strategy” that we use so that we can figure out what is going wrong or learn
what our partner “really feels.” We may also think that our jealousy can
motivate us to give up on the relationship—so that we don’t get hurt any more.
If you are feeling jealous, it’s important to ask yourself what you hope to
gain by your jealousy. We view jealousy as a coping strategy.
Similar to other forms of worry, jealousy leads us to
focus only on the negative. We interpret our partner’s behavior as reflecting a
loss of interest in us or a growing interest in someone else: “He finds her
attractive” or “He is yawning because I am boring.” Like other forms of worry,
jealousy leads us to take things personally and to mind-read negative emotions
in other people: “She’s getting dressed up to attract other guys.”
Jealousy can be an adaptive emotion.
People have different reasons—in different cultures—for
being jealous. But jealousy is a universal emotion. Evolutionary psychologist
David Buss in The Dangerous Passion makes a good case that jealousy has evolved
as a mechanism to defend our interests. After all, our ancestors who drove off
competitors were more likely to have their genes survive. Indeed, intruding
males (whether among lions or humans) have been known to kill off the infants
or children of the displaced male. Jealousy was a way in which vital interests
could be defended.
We believe that it is important to normalize jealousy as
an emotion. Telling people that “You must be neurotic if you are jealous” or
“You must have low self-esteem” will not work. In fact, jealousy—in some
cases—may reflect high self-esteem: “I won’t allow myself to be treated this
way.”
Jealousy may
reflect your higher values
Psychologists—especially psychoanalysts—have looked at
jealousy as a sign of deep-seated insecurities and personality defects. We view
jealousy as a much more complicated emotion. In fact, jealousy may actually
reflect your higher values of commitment, monogamy, love, honesty, and
sincerity. You may feel jealous because you want a monogamous relationship and
you fear that you will lose what is valuable to you. We find it helpful to
validate these values in our patients who are jealous.
Some people may say, “You don’t own the other person.” Of
course, this is true—and any loving relationship with mutuality is based on
freedom. But it is also based on choices that two free people make. If your
partner freely chooses to go off with someone else, then you may rest assured
that you have good reasons to feel jealous. We don’t own each other, but we may
make affirmations about our commitment to each other.
But if your higher values are based on honesty,
commitment and monogamy, your jealousy may jeopardize the relationship. You are
in a bind. You don’t want to give up on your higher values—but you don’t want
to feel overwhelmed by your jealousy.
Jealous feelings
are different from jealous behaviors
Just as there is a difference between feeling angry and
acting in a hostile way, there is a difference between feeling jealous and
acting on your jealousy. It’s important to realize that your relationship is
more likely to be jeopardized by your jealous behavior—such as continual
accusations, reassurance-seeking, pouting, and acting-out. Stop and say to
yourself, “I know that I am feeling jealous, but I don’t have to act on it.”
Notice that it is a feeling inside you. But you have a
choice of whether you act on it.
What choice will be in your interest?
Accept and observe
your jealous thoughts and feelings
When you notice that you are feeling jealous, take a
moment, breathe slowly, and observe your thoughts and feelings. Recognize that
jealous thoughts are not the same thing as a REALITY. You may think that your
partner is interested in someone else, but that doesn’t mean that he really is.
Thinking and reality are different.
You don’t have to obey your jealous feelings and
thoughts.
Notice that your feeling of anger and anxiety may
increase while you stand back and observe these experiences. Accept that you
can have an emotion—and allow it to be. You don’t have to “get rid of the
feeling.” We have found that mindfully standing back and observing that a
feeling is there can often lead to the feeling weakening on its own.
Stop comparing
yourself to others
As said, some (not all) jealousy may be driven by low
self-esteem. "How could they love me? I don't understand how someone like
them could be attracted to someone like me!" We none of us are supposed to
understand exactly why someone loves us. Does the Mona Lisa painting know why
it is so valuable? Of course, you may be able to appreciate attractive
qualities in yourself, but consider this:
There are better looking, richer, funnier, smarter,
younger people around than just about all of us, but these are qualities of a
'product'. If he or she loves you, it will be because of an extra, indefinable
quality you have that they couldn't even explain - some deep part of your
humanity they connected to which transcends looks, youth, wealth, and so forth.
Some of the most loved people in history have been well down the list when it
comes to looks or wealth. Stop trying to 'work out' why they can possibly like
you.
Recognize that
uncertainty is part of every relationship
Like many worries, jealousy seeks certainty. “I want to
know for sure that he isn’t interested in her.” Or, “I want to know for sure
that we won’t break up.” Ironically, some people will even precipitate a crisis
in order to get the certainty. “I’ll break off with her before she breaks off
with me!”
But uncertainty is part of life and we have to learn how
to accept it. Uncertainty is one of those limitations that we can’t really do
anything about. You can never know for sure that your partner won’t reject you.
But if you accuse, demand and punish, you might create a self-fulfilling
prophecy.
Stop confusing make-believe with reality
Jealousy, like many psychological problems (from
hypochondria to paranoia), is driven by the destructive use of the imagination.
The imagination is great...if you use it for your own benefit, not if it messes
with your mind. Stephen King has a stellar career from making stuff up and
writing about it. But he distances himself (thankfully for
him!) from stuff he creates in his head. He doesn't believe everything he
writes is real just because he imagined it. Right now, I can imagine an alien
invasion headed right towards Earth. I can vividly 'see' the pesky aliens about
to land the mother ship in my local park, but I don't believe it.
Stop trusting your imagination so much. Think about it:
·
Your partner is home later than you thought they
were going to be.
·
You start to imagine them having an intimate drink
with that handsome guy you saw working in her office or that luscious sister of
his new gym partner you happened to see one time.
·
You become angry, upset, frightened - without
having any evidence that what you imagined is real.
·
They come home and you react 'weirdly' by being
very cold or you have an outburst of anger toward them.
·
They become defensive and angry back in turn.
Examine your
assumptions about relationships
Your jealousy may be fueled by unrealistic ideas about
relationships. These may include beliefs that past relationships (that your
partner had) are a threat to your relationship. Or you may believe that “My
partner should never be attracted to anyone else.” You may also believe that
your emotions (of jealousy and anxiety) are a “sign” that there is a problem.
We call this “emotional reasoning”—and it is often a very bad way to make
decisions.
Or you may have problematic beliefs about how to feel
more secure. For example, you may believe that you can force your partner to
love you—or force him or her to lose interest in someone else. You may believe
that withdrawing and pouting will send a message to your partner—and lead him
to try to get closer to you. But withdrawing may lead your partner to lose
interest.
Sometimes your assumptions about relationships are
affected by your childhood experiences or past intimate relationships. If your
parents had a difficult divorce because your father left your mother for
someone else, you may be more prone to believe that his may happen to you. Or
you may have been betrayed in a recent relationship and you now think that your
current relationship will be a replay of this.
You may also believe that you have little to offer—who
would want to be with you? If your jealousy is based on this belief, then you
might examine the evidence for and against this idea. For example, one woman
thought she had little to offer. But when I asked her what she would want in an
ideal partner—intelligence, warmth, emotional closeness, creativity, fun, lots
of interests—she realized that she was describing herself! If she were so
undesirable, then why would she see herself as an ideal partner?
Listen to your
partner
If your partner tells you she will be late for dinner
because of work, try to trust her. This is easier said than done, but give it
some time. In the beginning, you won’t trust your partner and you’ll feel
restless. But after a while you’ll see that by trusting your partner the
jealousy slowly fades away.
What happens if you don’t trust your partner? You’ll
probably check your partner’s whereabouts and you’ll only be satisfied when you
have proof… for a while. Because every time your partner is somewhere else, you
need to feed the jealous wolf inside you. If you can’t feed the jealous wolf,
it becomes hungrier and more upset (your jealousy becomes worse). By checking
if your partner spoke the truth you are actually feeding the wolf (and so you
keep the wolf alive). So basically, dealing with jealousy means that you stop
checking your partner’s whereabouts, and start to believe your partner. Another
tip: write down or think of all the possible reasons your partner may have to
be late, or to act ‘mysterious’. Write down your jealous making thoughts the
last. Then rate them: how likely is this reason (in percentage). Make sure you
start with the first one you wrote down and make sure they all add up to 100%.
Now, check the results.
Use effective
relationship skills
You don’t have to rely on jealousy and jealous behavior
to make your relationship more secure. You can use more effective behavior.
This includes becoming more rewarding to each other—“catch your partner doing
something positive.” Praise each other, plan positive experiences with each
other, and try to refrain from criticism, sarcasm, labeling, and contempt.
Learn how to share responsibility in solving problems—use “mutual problem
solving skills.” Set up “pleasure days” with each other by developing a “menu”
of positive and pleasurable behaviors you want from each other. For example,
you can say, “Let’s set up a day this week that will be your pleasure day and a
day that will be my pleasure day.” Make a list of pleasant and simple behaviors
you want from each other: “I’d like a foot-rub, talk with me about my work,
let’s cook a meal together, let’s go for a walk in the park.”
Stop limiting your
partner
Jealous people love to limit their partner as much as
possible. You might not want to admit it, but it is true. Dealing with jealousy
like this is the easiest way. It makes you feel good to know that your partner
is not in touch with A or B any more. But does it make you trust your partner
more? No, not at all. Why? Exposure. I will use an example to illustrate this.
The first time you did something exciting (bungee jump,
driving a car, or having sex) it was amazing and you were high in adrenaline.
Just thinking of this experience made you feel excited again. However, after
doing a lot of bungee jumps, driving the car a lot or having a lot of sex with
the same person, it becomes less exciting. What does this have to do with
jealousy? Well, imagine that your partner chatting to your rival is like a
first bungee jump, it’s very scary and you will feel a lot of adrenaline. But
the more your partner talks to your rival, the more normal it becomes. Normal
things do not make you upset or anything.
But pay attention: you will constantly find something new
in your partner’s behavior to be jealous of (she touched his arm, she kissed
him too close to the mouth when saying goodbye, she smiles too often <— but
this is your imagination). Give your partner the chance to show that they can
be trusted. Not limiting your partner is scary in the beginning, but a very
effective way of dealing with jealousy on the long run.
Look at the Big
Picture
We can get so wrapped up with what we have that it's hard
to maintain a realistic perspective on things sometimes. If there is something
that's stopping you from being satisfied with the way things are, try to find
the root of the issue. Talk it out or take some time for yourself to reflect on
what steps need to be taken to make these changes. Address potentially
invisible issues or dissatisfactions before they become real problems.
Per the relationship experts Susie and Otto Collins in an
article on World of Psychology, it's important to stop stalking and start
talking when jealousy hits. If you have a gut-wrenching feeling that your
partner is cozying up a little too closely with someone else, vocalize rather
than accuse. There may be something missing or just something that's needed to
be talked about for a while that you couldn't even see because you were too
busy focusing on your suspicions.
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