Delusions of Jealousy

Many paranoid schizophrenics are afflicted with jealous suspicions which go to extremes and yet cannot be helped even by those who acknowledge that these suspicions are exaggerated.

E.F., in his middle twenties, remarked at a group therapy session, in support of another patient's jealous suspicions, “It may sound crazy, but I have exactly the same thoughts. In fact, every time my wife comes home from work, I manage to examine her panties.”

There have been at least two interpretations offered in literature for these delusions. One, Freudian, that these are homosexual tendencies, expressed in curiosity about other men's sexual activities. These cases are characterized by repeated and prolonged questioning as to details of previous sexual experiences with other men. One patient went so far as to have a scaled drawing of the hotel room in which the sexual encounter had taken place.

But this particular characteristic was not present in E.F.'s case. There was no obsession with sexual details. At any rate, homosexual tendencies are not a cardinal problem with him.

A second interpretation, Sullivanian, is that these patients have an abiding sense of personal unworthiness and cannot conceive of another person wanting them. In which case, their rivals need not be of demonstrably better caliber to win their spouse away; but they invariably are. In fact, they are usually pictured as exceedingly worthy adversaries, in a few cases even as God Himself having intercourse with their wives.

In the case of E.F., it did not go this far; but something about his demeanor suggested boastfulness, so that, without premeditation, the writer blurted, “That is pretty conceited of you, isn't it, your wife coming back home to you each time, even if desired by every other man at work?” The patient just stared, but the other fellow who shared similar delusions with him, remarked: “That rings a bell with me.”