Causes for jealousy
People with low self-esteem or bad experiences in the past tend to become jealous more often. It does not matter if you feel jealous of siblings, friends, competitors or in a partnership. People with inferiority complexes often focus more on the relationship with their partner or another caregiver.
If another person is seen as a competitor for this relationship, the feeling of jealousy sets in because there is a concern that they are no longer good or interesting enough. Even those who have been hurt in the past, have experienced many separations or have experienced insecure relationships since childhood, have often never learned to trust others completely and therefore often cannot fully engage in a relationship with another person. In evolutionary biology, jealousy is also considered a necessity for the preservation of the human species.
It is assumed that a man has the need to pass on his genetic make-up and only wants to raise his own children. However, if the woman is unfaithful, he raises cuckoo children who cannot spread his genetic material. According to this theory, the woman is looking for a partner who will help her raise the children and provide protection and food for the family. If the husband is unfaithful, it is possible that the wife has to take care of everything alone. Although these evolutionary reasons refer to partnerships, the feeling is always possible when another person plays a role in the relationship between two people.
Prognosis – Will jealousy go away at some point?
Jealousy can disappear after a certain time, but it does not have to. This depends individually on the situation and previous experiences of all those involved. Basically, it can be said that a child’s jealousy of a sibling, who supposedly receives more attention, usually disappears when the child realizes that the parents continue to pay attention to him or her.
With older children and adults, open conversations can help to remove the worries and make the jealousy disappear. A slight jealousy can often be overcome by clarifying conversations. However, it is much more complicated in the medium and severe forms.
In case of doubt, professional help can also be sought, for example from a therapist. Approximately every third to fourth couple who attend couples therapy is undergoing treatment for problems caused by jealousy.
