Jealousy is a single word with a complex meaning. Whether in romantic relationships, business life or family, jealousy can severely impair your ability to make wise choices. Because jealousy is so complex, it is not a standalone emotion. A variety of other emotions accompany it, confusing those who suffer from jealousy toward another person, causing them to mistake their jealousy for another emotion. Identifying these emotions can give you clues to the underlying causes of your jealousy, helping you to conquer it once and for all.
Love Research
While little research has been performed on the subject of jealousy due to the lack of hard evidence, emerging research suggests that jealousy is actually triggered by the hormone oxytocin, which is the same hormone released when you are in love. The study, completed by Israeli researcher Simone Shamay-Tsoory of the University of Haifa, noted that the emotions of love and jealousy go hand and hand, which is why so many individuals feel jealousy when in a loving relationship.
Self-Esteem and Jealousy
"Psychology Today" notes a strong connection between jealousy and low self-esteem. When a man has low self-esteem, he believes he is unworthy of a woman's love. Therefore, he actually visualizes her leaving him, cheating on him or talking about him to other people, resulting in jealousy. Low self-esteem and a feeling of low self-worth are dangerous emotions when linked to jealousy, as they are completely internal but are projected onto the other partner.
Becoming Fearful
The U.S. Navy, which offers self-help and psychological services, has one definition of jealousy as the fear that you are about to lose something---a spouse, a job, a friendship or other connection.Thus you become irrationally jealous of that person who you perceive is taking that connection away. This fear of loss or betrayal can cause you to act out in irrational ways due to that jealousy.
Projecting Anger and Shame
Someone suffering from jealous feelings may also struggle with conflicting emotions, which is why jealousy is such a complex emotion. Jealousy causes anger---not only anger toward the person who you believe is offending you or causing the jealousy, but anger and shame that you direct inward. If you realize your jealousy is irrational, you then begin to look internally and feel worse about yourself, causing a cycle of low self-esteem to begin again.
Relational Qualities
It's important to note that jealousy is an emotion that is always found in relation to another person. You cannot feel jealous on your own. This means that some of your emotions toward another person can be linked to jealousy: love, happiness, anger, shame and envy. Tainting your life relationships with jealousy can cause you to negatively associate other people with bad feelings or emotions, says an article for the Interpersonal Division of the International Communication Association. You may find that you need to solve your jealousy issues in order to function emotionally in your relationships.
