What is Othello Syndrome? - Dr. Sulata Shenoy

Othello syndrome is often referred to as morbid jealousy, sexual jealousy or erotic jealousy in which one person suspects the fidelity of the partner which is unfounded. It is named after the character Othello written by Shakespeare in one of his most fascinating drama in which Othello is married to Desdemona and they have a very happy married life with no problems whatsoever. The problems are created by the mischief monger Iago who is to take revenge on Othello makes a series of insinuations planted evidence and does a lot of things to plant the seed of jealousy in Othello’s mind which he nurtures till Othello fit off intense rage, murders his beloved wife all the while claiming that he loves her to distraction but he cannot bare to think of her as being unfaithful to him. In the drama Othello Iago claims, I will put jealousy on Othello that is so strong that no judgement can cure. So here it refers to the fact that even when you know that the partner may not being untrue to you the person is so driven by jealousy, but he may be overly controlling accusatory blaming and dominating to the extent that life becomes miserable for himself as well as the partner. So the cure to Othello syndrome is to trust the person, to have a deep emotional bond and connect with the person and to have a happy life together without the shadow of jealousy, without the fear of insecurity nagging you. Othello syndrome is found to be more in persons who are highly insecure, delusional and may also be connected with other psychiatric problems like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Psychiatric episode, Schizophrenia, as well as paranoid delusions. If that is the case one needs a good treatment from the psychiatrist to overcome these symptoms of the primary psychiatric disorder. If Othello syndrome is by itself one needs to follow a good lifestyle in order to overcome this, have a positive outlook in life, and trust is one of the most important things between partners.

[MinutePsychology]

This subject has been fascinating me for years! Such a lovely name for such a terrible thing! I’ve seen it especially in people with alcohol addiction.

[ChatMort]

This is a fascinating subject. Thank you!

[JackVox]

When trust is broken and betrayl is the norm then Othello Sydrome is a symptom of cognitive dissonance and mental breakdown, meditation on reciprocal authentic loyalty and agape love gives the sufferer peace from what can be a debilitating condition.

[tracimerrill]

I believe my mother is suffering from this disorder. The past 5 years have been hell. She is terribly abusive to my dad, both physically and emotionally. She refuses help. She put a butcher knife on the back of his neck and then poked him in the stomach with it last week. Her PCP is no help. I've had to call the authorities x2 and they say there is nothing they can do unless they see her being violent. She needs a psychiatric eval like yesterday. She is stalking someone and has been for a couple of years. Her concerns are completely unfounded and they are 78 and 80 years old. This isn't going to end well. I can feel it in my soul and nobody will help.

[carissakaisen]

What about when he believes he has video and photos. Video of which isn’t me and photo of us on FaceTime swearing he can see ppl in the background

[hawkspirit]

Will they cheat as a form of retaliation? My ex constantly accused me of being a whore, but I discovered that he was a serial cheater. He literally would sleep with anyone.