Erotomania: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Erotomania is a mental disorder that was described in systematic form at the beginning of the 20th century by the French psychiatrist Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault. The disease, also known as de Clérambault syndrome or love mania, predominantly affects women. Although it is occasionally equated with stalking, it should be noted that stalking can occur only as a consequence of the disease.

What is erotomania?

Erotomania is a delusional disorder. Sufferers cannot shake the obsessive idea that they are loved by a particular person. They interpret their gestures and actions as expressions of love and as hidden proofs of love. They assume that the person they feel loved by is deliberately hiding their feelings. The love delusion can break out even if there has been no previous personal contact between the two people. Often, the people with whom this obsessive relationship is developed are celebrities or people who are higher in social rank. These can be singers and actors, but also doctors, professors or lawyers from the immediate vicinity. The decisive factor is that they are significant and difficult to unreachable personalities.

Causes

The de Clérambault syndrome usually erupts as a consequence of an existing mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder). Rather rare is the isolated, i.e., unrelated to other illnesses, onset of the disease. In this respect, De-Clérambault has distinguished between the two basic types “erotomanie symptomatique” and “erotomanie pure”. People who suffer from love mania have most likely experienced too little love and attention during their childhood. Now they try to compensate for this lack and strive for recognition. The majority of women between the ages of 40 and 60 suffer from the disease. The fact that their obsessive thoughts are often directed towards older and well-off men suggests that the father-daughter relationship has been deficient. More often than men, women of a certain age struggle with the worry of no longer being able to experience a happy relationship. In addition, not only frustrating and failed couple relationships, but also loneliness and a pronounced fantasy have a favorable effect on the disease.

Symptoms, complaints, and signs

Symptoms manifest in misinterpreting or exaggerating actions or gestures of the person by whom the sufferer mistakenly feels loved. The person’s life is haunted. Unless the loved one is already known and there is sporadic or regular contact, in most cases contact is made. Chance encounters are arranged, visits are paid, gifts and innuendos are given. Stalking can be an effect of delusional love. This involves prolonged surveillance or unauthorized entry into other people’s homes. In some cases, it is claimed to be married to the victim. It cannot be ruled out that violence is inflicted on the victim and his or her relatives.

History

Erotomania is when people talk about romantic relationships that do not exist. They behave as if they were real or as if they would become real after certain obstacles to the relationship are removed. In his description, De Clérambault distinguished three successive phases. First, the patient is in good faith that the imagined relationship can be transformed into reality. The second phase is characterized by the fact that the optimism in this regard is shaken. The spreading disappointment turns into hatred as well as into xenophobic and auto-aggressive behavior in the final third phase. Violent fantasies are developed and also realized. In order to minimize the risk of harm to others and self, early diagnosis and treatment are essential.

Complications

As a rule, erotomania mainly affects women; however, the symptom also occurs in men. No health complications occur that could affect the patient’s health. However, erotomania has strong negative psychological effects. In most cases, there is a misinterpretation or misinterpretation of signs or feelings, so that they are overestimated.The patient feels loved by another person, even if this person is not known to the patient. This can lead to stalking. However, those affected often make direct contact with the target person. This can lead to severe psychological problems. Erotomania also has penal consequences for the patient. Due to erotomania, the patient usually concentrates only on his target person and forgets other important things that happen in life. Friends and the social environment are strongly neglected. This can lead to social exclusion. Patients also often invade the home of the target person or arrange random meetings. Here, the affected persons can also become aggressive, whereby injuries can occur. Treatment takes place primarily on the psychological level and can be supervised with medication. It often takes several months before treatment is effective and the patient admits to suffering from erotomania.

When should you go to the doctor?

A visit to the doctor is necessary as soon as the affected person appears due to conspicuous social behavior. Since it is a mental illness, it is very unlikely that the affected person himself notices the conspicuousness of his behavior and classifies it as a cause for concern. Therefore, the cooperation of close relatives is particularly important. In the case of the love delusion, the closeness to a chosen person is increasingly sought without his or her consent. A doctor or therapist should be consulted as soon as the sufferer repeatedly approaches the person in an intrusive manner and becomes intransigent when rejected. If the sufferer becomes very involved in another person’s life and activities, this is considered unusual and should be questioned. If the affected person does everything to get the attention of the chosen person, this should be discussed with a doctor or therapist. If one’s own needs are no longer central in one’s own life, thoughts and life planning, the affected person needs help. In his condition, it is not possible for him to change his behavior patterns without medical support. The pursuit of recognition by the other person is central to erotomania and creates a level of suffering at which a physician should intervene. If the delusional behavior increases, options for treatment must be sought.

Treatment and therapy

When it occurs in isolation, diagnosis is complicated by the fact that the delusion is often acted out in secret. It is also not uncommon for the imagined relationship to be presented in a very convincing manner. Therefore, relatives sometimes do not feel compelled to doubt the truthfulness of the descriptions and the health of the affected person. The affected person gets carried away with the delusion and usually does not feel the need to let go of it. Often there is no insight that the person is ill, that he or she is imagining things and that professional help is needed. This makes treatment difficult. If the disease is diagnosed, psychotherapy is recommended, in the course of which the causes are uncovered and appropriate behavioral therapy measures are set. The administration of antipsychotics serves to control the disease. If erotomania is a concomitant of an already existing mental disorder, the success of treatment also depends on its severity. Spontaneous recovery may occur if the affected person meets someone and enters into a fulfilling and real relationship. However, this rarely happens.

Outlook and prognosis

Erotomania is a mental illness that often increases in intensity without treatment. In addition, there is vulnerability to the development of other mental disorders. This mitigates the prospects for recovery and prolongs the recovery journey immensely. Nevertheless, with erotomania, there is always the possibility of spontaneous recovery. Often, cognitive processes or life changes lead to a sudden transformation and improvement in health. By seeking therapeutic or medical care, the causes of erotomania can be clarified and specifically treated. This increases the likelihood of lasting relief from the symptoms and working through the causative issues. The healing process often takes several months to years. During this time, steady changes in well-being are to be expected. The patient may relapse at any time despite relief of symptoms.This is independent of the form of treatment or the choice of self-healing. The prognosis continues to depend on individual circumstances if the mental disorder recurs. With increasing age, there is an increased incidence of other diseases, which overall contribute to a weakening of well-being and exert a negative influence. The longer erotomania persists and the more often it occurs throughout life, the more likely it is to become chronic.

Prevention

Love mania is promoted nowadays by the fact that the media constantly reports on celebrities. Through social media, susceptible users are given the impression that these de facto unattainable people are attainable. Socially isolated people in particular tend to create fantasy worlds in which they are recognized and happy. If (potentially) erotomania sufferers talk about a new relationship, then relatives should become alert and remain attentive. If a threat in this regard is perceived, it is recommended to contact the relevant health department or counseling services.

Aftercare

In the case of erotomania, the options for aftercare are severely limited in most cases. Since this cannot result in an independent cure, the affected person is primarily dependent on medical treatment and examination by a doctor. Since this is also a serious mental illness, it should be treated at an early stage to prevent further complications. Even after successful treatment, regular examinations by a doctor should be done to prevent the recurrence of erotomania. Erotomania is treated with the help of medication and psychological treatment. The medication must be taken regularly and should be continued even after the end of the treatment. In the case of the disease, the support of one’s own family and friends is often very important. The relatives must understand the disease and must not condemn the patient negatively. If the relatives or friends notice that the patient is showing symptoms of erotomania, they must encourage the patient to seek treatment. As a rule, the disease does not reduce the life expectancy of the affected person.

This is what you can do yourself

A delusion is a pathological misjudgment of reality. This misjudgment is often held to with absolute certainty and contradictions to reality are ignored or rationalized away. In the case of a love delusion, a person becomes obsessed with the belief that he or she is (secretly) loved by another person or even that he or she is in a relationship. Very often there is no insight that this is a disease that needs treatment. As long as the patient does not recognize that he is ill, he is not able to help himself. In some cases, however, the social environment can intervene. If a patient has already been diagnosed with erotomania, family members and friends should become alert as soon as the patient reports a new relationship. This is especially true if the new partner does not introduce himself in person, never appears at a family party, and is never seen together with the affected person. If the suspicion that the new relationship is only a delusion is confirmed, the patient should be confronted with this fact sensitively but consistently. The goal must be for the delusional patient to seek professional help. The first point of contact is the family doctor, who will consult a specialist or psychotherapist if necessary. Patients who recognize that they are suffering from a delusion should see a physician promptly and begin therapy.