Jealousy is within you. It has nothing to do with your partner. No matter what your partner does, you still feel jealous UNLESS you track it down, dissect it, and reduce it to a speck of its former power!
Jealous people are:
- Suspicious
- Accusatory
- Smothering
- Blaming
- Shaming
- Manipulative
- FEARFUL
That last one is really BIG! Jealous people are FEARFUL. They are afraid of being betrayed, making a mistake, not being “in the know,” left, lost, abandoned, and wrong. It’s all about them. That other poor partner has nothing to do with it at all! (Now, just in case you’re about to go off the deep end and yell at me “But, s/he cheated,” that is not about jealousy. That is about actual behavior that took place that now needs attention and relationship help.)
Jealousy isn’t about something that really happened. It’s more a fear that something could happen. It worms its way up from within you, looking suspiciously at your partner over your shoulder at all times. Jealousy is an inside job.
It is your insecurities tying you up in knots and spitting them out at your partner. Again, it has nothing to do with your partner.
Dr. Phil says: “Jealousy is a poorly disguised need for power and control.” Here’s some telling relationship questions:
Do you have a need to know where your partner is at every minute?
Do you suspect the worst when your partner is out of your sight?
Do you think that every person your partner meets is out to seduce them?
You’ve got a problem. And, jealousy will drive your partner away. Even if your partner has never strayed in thought, word, or deed, your suspicious behavior may drive them to do that, too.
If s/he is being accused of cheating all the time, they might take that as you telling them to go ahead. It won’t make any difference if they did or didn’t. You’ll still be jealous. (If your partner uses your suspicious nature as a reason to cheat, you two both need help. But, that’s a topic for another day.)
Sometimes people are as jealous of their partners as they were of other children taking away their mother’s attention. There’s a clue in there. Maybe, you didn’t get the attention you wanted before, and now you feel no one could possibly love you enough to be faithful.
Notice, I said you feel that way. Feelings are not facts. You are entitled to your feelings, but you must examine them for evidence in reality that they are accurate. Jealous people usually can’t find that evidence.
Jealous people are hurting people: they both hurt others, and are hurting themselves. If you are jealous, get some help. Your friends or relatives cannot help you with this. You need to uncover the causes and lay them to rest once and for all. It’s not easy and it can happen.
I had a client who started her first session with, “I am so jealous. I know it will ruin my relationship. I cannot stop. Please help.” She was really in pain and her partner was threatening to leave for the last time. She was willing to change to keep her jealousy from ruining her relationship. Wise woman.
Are you too jealous to let love in? Are you letting jealousy ruin your relationship? You don’t have to. You can get relationship help to find out where that jealousy came from, where it’s hiding, and why it sneaks its head out to devour your relationship.
Don’t let jealousy ruin your relationship and your life.
Have you experienced jealousy in your relationships? How did you manage it?
By Gwendolyn Seidman Ph.D. | eH Advice
