17_4_26_EDU_celos
Echeburúa: "Jealousy is inherent to human beings; the problem appears when it generates suffering".
The Full Professor of Clinical Psychology talks about the destructive capacity and the therapeutic approach to jealousy in couples.
"Jealousy is inherent to human beings, it is normal within certain limits and there is no need to be ashamed of it. The problem arises when we do not know how to manage it, because it generates suffering", said Enrique Echeburúa, Full Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of the Basque Country. The expert gave at the University of Navarra the lecture "Jealousy in the couple: a destructive emotion", organized by the students of the School of Education and Psychology.
"The red line between normality and pathological occurs when there is no logical provocation, the suffering is intense and disproportionate, there is severe interference in daily life and a lack of control," he explained. Also when there are ritualistic checking behaviors, such as "frequent questions, repeated interest in the past, constant phone calls, unexpected appearances or searches of personal objects".
The session, which was part of the First First conference of Psychology Experiencethe member of the Basque Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters (Jakiunde) stressed that jealousy can appear at any time in a relationship, although "it is true that there are critical moments that may favor its appearance, such as the beginning of cohabitation, the birth of a child, a new work or the professional success of one of the parties".
Regarding the profile of jealous people, in his opinion there are personality factors or biographical circumstances that influence the probability of experiencing this feeling, for example, "susceptibility and distrust, self-esteem deficit, emotional dependence, introversion or lack of social resources". She also stated that jealousy occurs more in men than in women, and is expressed differently: "Men express it more in the form of anger or aggression, while women express it with sadness or depression, even, on many occasions, mixed with self-reproach, the famous 'what have I done wrong'".
Enrique Echeburúa also explained the responses that can be given to the different types of jealousy from a therapeutic perspective. In the first place to jealousy with obsessive character, which occurs when the person is unable to reject thoughts related to infidelity, even though he or she does not have any test and is convinced that it is not real. "In this case it is necessary to work on behavioral changes, in the modification of thoughts or intervention in other related aspects, such as learning to relax, increase self-esteem or improve the couple's relationship".
However," he added, "when the picture is more serious, and there are situations of delusional jealousy, in which the person does not admit that his thoughts are not true, treatment may require the use of psychotropic drugs.