Title:Subduing the Green-eyed Monster: Bridging the Psychopharmacological and Psychosocial Treatment Perspective in Understanding Pathological Jealousy
VOLUME: 20 ISSUE: 2
Author(s): Farah Deena Abdul Samad, Hatta Sidi*, Jaya Kumar, Srijit Das, Marhani Midin and Nurul Hazwani Hatta
Affiliation:Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Medical Centre, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Medical Centre, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Department of Physiology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Medical Centre, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Department of Anatomy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Medical Centre, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, School of Medicine, Medical University of Galway, Galway
Keywords:Pathological jealousy, green eyed monster, pharmacological and geographical perspective.
Abstract:Human being is not spared from a broad-ranged emotional state, including being jealous.
Jealousy has both affective-cognitive and behavioural-evaluative dimension where the person perceives,
or experiences a real threat on a valued relationship. As this complex emotion becomes irrational
and not amenable to reason, it later transforms into a dangerously ‘green-eyed monster’. This
perilous situation which is viewed as pathological jealousy is a form of delusion, which is maintained
by a fixed and false reasoning in an originally entrusted intimate relationship. Pathological jealousy is
equally prevailing among both gender, and with a greater ubiquity among the geriatric population. The
role of dopamine hyperactivity in the fronto-parietal-temporal region was implicated, with the anatomical
mapping of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), cingulate gyrus (CG), and amygdala
involvement in the context of the disease’s neurobiology. The etiology of pathological jealousy includes
major psychiatric disorders, i.e. delusional disorder, schizophrenia, mood disorder, organic
brain syndrome, and among others, the drug-induced psychosis. The role of relationship issues and
psychodynamic perspective, i.e. psychological conflicts with dependence on a romantic partner, and
low self-esteem are involved. Pathological jealousy inherits high-risk forensic psychiatry entanglement,
which may warrant intensive intervention, including hospital admission and antipsychotic
treatment. Treatment options include an early recognition, managing underlying neuropsychiatric disorders,
psycho education, cognitive psychotherapy, and choosing an effective psychopharmacological
agent. The management strategy may also resort to a geographical intervention, i.e. separation between
both persons to complement the biological treatment.
