GC: n
S: CUP – https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cns-spectrums/article/othello-syndrome-delusional-disorder-jealous-type-violence/8E1A2EAE789557DF14B15B3750DDB3E6 (last access: 16 December 2024); RXList – https://www.rxlist.com/othello_syndrome/definition.htm (last access: 16 December 2024).
N: 1. Othello syndrome is an eponymous created from the name of a famous tragic play character.
– Othello (pn): The main character of William Shakespeare’s tragic play The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice (1603).
– syndrome (n): “a number of symptoms occurring together,” 1540s, from medical Latin, from Greek syndrome “concurrence of symptoms, concourse of people,” from syndromos “place where several roads meet,” literally “a running together,” from syn- “with” + dromos “a running, course”. Psychological sense is from 1955.
- Acronym: OS.
2. The Othello syndrome was named by the English psychiatrist John Todd (1914-1987) in a paper he published with K. Dewhurst entitled “The Othello Syndrome: a study in the psychopathology of sexual jealousy” (Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorder, 1955, 122: 367). Todd was also the first to name the Alice in Wonderland syndrome.
3. On the basis of the neuropsychiatric assessments, OS is classified into the following subgroups: demented patients, cognitively preserved patients with a relatively early onset of PD (Parkinson’s disease), and cognitively preserved patients in whom OS appeared after dopaminergic medication of variable duration.
4. Othello Syndrome (also called morbid jealousy, delusional jealousy, pathological jealousy, sexual jealousy, or Othello psychosis) is a mental health disorder in which someone is convinced that their romantic partner is being unfaithful without any proof. In other words, someone affected by Othello syndrome imagines that their partner has cheated on them and becomes obsessed with their partner’s fidelity. Some of the most common signs of Othello syndrome are:
- Repeated accusations that their romantic partner has been unfaithful without the ability to prove these claims.
- Attempts to exercise excessive control over their romantic partner, such as monitoring their online behaviors or controlling their daily schedule.
- Expressing an unhealthy focus on their partner’s fidelity, especially when this focus affects their and their partner’s daily life.
- Expressing a desire or plan to harm themselves or their partner or seek other forms of revenge.
- Domestic violence, physical abuse of other members of the household (including children), or emotional abuse
5. OS may be a manifestation of several neuropsychiatric conditions, primarily delusional disorder, cerebrovascular accident, Alzheimer’s dementia, and the use of dopaminergic agonists. One-third of cases include violent behaviors. It appears to respond to antipsychotic medications, but treatment is delayed more than 3 years on average. Available data have not localized OS to a specific brain region.
6. Psychology (General); Mental Disorders: delusional jealousy.
- the victim is constantly on the watch for any indication that his suspicions are justified, and manufactures evidence if he does not find it.
7. Cultural Interrelation: We can mention William Shakespeare’s tragic play The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice in which Othello kills his wife, blinded by rage when falsely believing that she’s being unfaithful to him. Othello was written in 1603, and was first performed at the Palace of Whitehall, Westminster (London), on November 1st, 1604.
S: 1. Etymonline – https://www.etymonline.com/word/syndrome (last access: 16 December 2024); EncBrit – https://www.britannica.com/topic/Othello-by-Shakespeare (last access: 20 December 2024). 2. RxList – https://www.rxlist.com/othello_syndrome/definition.htm#:~:text=The%20Othello%20syndrome%20is%20also,Othello%20psychosis%2C%20or%20sexual%20jealousy (last access: 20 December 2024). 3. CEC (last access: 16 December 2024). 4. STUD – https://study.com/learn/lesson/othello-syndrome-causes-disorder-analysis.html (last access: 16 December 2024). 5. HONG – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667296023001295 (last access: 16 December 2024). 6. TERMIUM PLUS (last access: 20 December 2024). 7. EncBrit – https://www.britannica.com/topic/Othello-by-Shakespeare (last access: 20 December 2024).
SYN: delusional jealousy. (depending on context)
S: TERMIUM PLUS (last access: 21 December 2024); GDT (last access: 21 December 2024).
