1. Introduction

    Jealousy is a very important emotion, but it's one that is often misunderstood. You see, jealousy can be a great motivator to help you learn to feel more confident in your abilities, but it can also be a negative emotion that holds you back from pursuing what you really want.

Many of us have felt jealous at some point in our lives. And though the feeling isn't always easy to deal with, there's something about the experience that can make it more exciting and give you a sense of accomplishment if you learn to overcome those pesky feelings.

Jealousy can be defined as an emotion of intense desire for success and your own achievements. Jealousy is also defined as the state of being overly concerned with something or someone else's success or failure. The word envy comes from Old French which means "to see" or "to look" and means "to covet."

 

2. The Psychology of Jealousy


    It’s not easy to be jealous. It’s not the sort of emotion you can just brush off. You have to know why it sometimes seems like a bad idea. I’ll tell you why:

The other day I was at a friend’s place and he asked me if I wanted to go out for a drink or something with his friends. My first thought was that I didn’t want to but then he told me he’d already invited them over so I had no choice but to accept.

My second thought was that they were friends of his girlfriend and they probably hadn’t even spoken since the last time I saw him. But then my third thought was that maybe it wouldn’t be too weird if we went for a drink together after all.

I had never been jealous before, but now I knew exactly what it felt like. Even though there wasn’t anything wrong with being friends with his girlfriend, being constantly reminded of her whenever you thought about her seemed… odd? And if we spent time together, it would be awkward because she would always be there when he wasn’t around, and if she wasn’t there then he wouldn’t talk to anyone else.

So yes, jealousy is weird! But it is also true! It can happen to anyone. Sometimes people feel jealous because they have nothing else in their lives or because they want someone else more than they want themselves right now (which is also weird!). You may feel jealous toward your parents; toward your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife; and even toward yourself! Jealousy is normal. People feel jealous towards people they love, sometimes even towards themselves at times like these! So if you begin feeling jealous toward someone (even yourself!) don't worry about it now! Just learn more about what feels good for you and make sure that person isn't making anything out of this situation for the purpose of getting attention or money from you — which could include manipulation — then move on with your life! But if someone doesn't do any of those things, just relax and get back to work :)

 

3. What Is Social Comparison Theory?

 

    The human brain is a very complex organ. The parts that people perceive as our “self” are all interconnected in the brain. Our self can be viewed as the sum of our memories, beliefs, and values, not to mention our social identity (who we think we are) and personality traits. We can't really know how all these factors relate to who we truly are—it's just a collection of information that's constantly changing.

If you're like most people, you've probably felt jealous at some time or another. Although jealousy isn't a universal emotion, it's often one that is associated with specific emotions such as anger, fear, and sadness. For example:

Jealousy: fear that someone else has more than you do

Anger: hostility toward an individual who causes you frustration

Sadness: melancholy about a loss or failure in your life

Fear: anxiety about potential harm to yourself or others

The human brain may be able to recognize similar feelings from one person or situation to another but is not always able to pinpoint exactly what those feelings are or why they may exist at one time versus another. Social comparison theory (often abbreviated SCT) is an important research area dealing with such issues and other related topics including envy and related feelings (e.g., greed). People tend to evaluate their own strengths against those of others who they perceived as having more than them when there may be no disparity between these two groups; however, when there is a disparity between these groups, the comparison process results in an emotional response of envy which leads to negative feelings such as anger and sadness. Social comparison theory invokes three main perspectives:

One perspective assumes that people evaluate their own abilities by comparing themselves with reference groups; this perspective was developed by psychologists who were trying to understand how individuals were able to come up with a sense of self-worth from little information provided by other people. The second perspective assumes that individuals evaluate their capabilities by comparing themselves with reference groups; this perspective was developed by social psychologists interested in studying how individuals could identify with others based on shared characteristics in order for them to feel connected with others through social exchanges. The third perspective assumes that individuals evaluate their ability independent of reference group; this perspective explains the mechanisms behind how individuals can relate socially based on their own experiences. One theory of social comparison theory describes it using socially relevant parameters (e.g., gender roles), item characteristics (e.g., academic achievement), trait dimensions (e.

 

4. Why We Feel Jealousy

 


    Jealousy is a feeling of insecurity or fear that arises when we sense our partner has someone else’s attention or affection.

In the case of jealousy, this can be in the form of a feeling of inadequacy, fear, and anxiety about limited resources or security. Jealousy can have one or more negative emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness, or disgust.

Jealousy frees us from being kept in a box where we are expected to look perfect at all times because we want to make sure that no one ever takes the place of our partner in what is important to us.

 

5. How to Deal With Jealousy

 


    Jealousy is an emotion that we tend to experience whenever our needs are not being fulfilled. It is a feeling of inadequacy, insecurity, or anxiety and can be experienced when we fail to obtain something that we desire for ourselves.

Jealousy can have several negative feelings such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness, or disgust. Jealousy also has one or more positive feelings such as excitement and attraction. Jealousy can also be felt as fear of losing something that you have and need. We may feel jealous of what others possess in the way of material resources (money, love), emotional support (affection), personal power (authority), or social status (honor).

The emotions we experience towards the object of jealousy are the same feelings that we experience when someone does something wrong to us: anger, frustration, sadness, and sorrow. Fear is one way that jealousy can play into a situation where our needs are not being met; it is simply an unhealthy feeling which should not be indulged in.

6. Conclusion

    Jealousy is a natural human emotion. It centers on the desire to be recognized by someone else as worthy of being noticed and being treated as special. It is a feeling of insecurity, one that stems from feelings of inadequacy because we are naturally afraid we do not measure up in comparison to other people. We wish we could be better than others. But the fact remains, when it comes to our own self-worth, there are only so many more people out there that can measure up to us in comparison.

So like all emotions, jealousy is an appropriate response if it serves a beneficial purpose and its use doesn’t harm anyone else or violate any other normal rules of social interaction.

Jealousy may seem irrational but it is important to remember that jealousy has been around since the beginning of time and has provided us with valuable insight into the behaviors of our animal cousins when it comes to reproductive strategies and mate choice.

 

By: Mahpara Nazeer 

The writer is a teacher at Ruzhn Academy Bugh Meeri