Who has not felt jealous at some point in their life? Jealousy, whether we want it or not, is a human and totally natural reaction to the threat of losing a relationship that is valuable to us, as long as we have it in an appropriate “proportion.”

But What happens when this jealousy becomes extreme or irrational? In this type of case, we are talking about a serious problem, which could be related to the Othello complex, also known as monosymptomatic delusions of jealousy.

This type of pathological jealousy usually hides large doses of insecurity in the person who suffers from it and an uncontrollable need to know what the other person is doing, at all times.

A pathological jealousy that ends up transforming Othello into a totally obsessed man who will dramatically destroy his own reality until he killed his wife Desdemona. Something that, unfortunately, can also happen today if this problem is not detected in time.

Causes of the Othello Complex

Normally, people affected by Othello Syndrome have a mix of biological causes and cultural aspects that can enhance obsessive love or the false belief that the other person belongs to them.

The pathological jealousy of this type of people means that they tend to fit the profile of dominant people with their partner, going so far as to monitor or even constantly look for possible competitors.

The physiological reasons behind this disorder are unknown. Even so, recent research has linked it to a great lack of self-esteem in the person who suffers from it.

What is especially striking is that this phenomenon also occurs among some mammals. In them the word ‘self-esteem’ is no longer important, which is why this jealousy is also related to the extreme search for family preservation or offspring.

How to deal with the Othello Complex?

This complex can affect both women and men and, in not so extreme cases, it can ruin the life of any couple, due to the conviction that infidelity is being committed.

For all this, it is crucial that if there is even the slightest suspicion of this complex, the person seeks to put themselves in the hands of an expert psychologist as soon as possible and their partner tries to stay as far away as possible from any gesture of violence or hostility and even if they need it, that Do not hesitate to call the essential service against gender violence (016).

We must not forget that the person affected by Othello syndrome will always see the reality that he or she wants to see and normally it is his or her own head that will constantly detect patterns in the behavior of his or her partner that lead him or her to think about what he or she is doing. He is being unfaithful.

This is one of the main reasons why these people do not usually pay attention to logic or dialogue in these types of situations. The person who is affected by this syndrome simply assumes that she is being the victim of a conspiracy by her partner and that she is being betrayed.

Follow the topics that interest you