Erotomania: Definition, Symptoms, Characteristics And Treatment
Romantic love, or the feeling of being in love with another person, is one of the most turbulent and mood-shaking experiences a person can experience. Love can alter and transform the way a person thinks, speaks and behaves, and can become an immense source of well-being when it is reciprocated.
However, what happens when a person becomes obsessed with the idea that the other person is also in love with them when, however, the reality is different? This alteration of thinking is known as erotomania and in it the person is fully convinced that their love is reciprocated, even if there is no proof of this.
Erotomania is a strange form of paranoid delusion currently classified as Delusional Disorder of Erotomanic Type The content of this delusion is characterized by a deep conviction that another person, usually of higher social class or rank, has romantic feelings or is in love with the delusional person.
These beliefs or perceptions that the other person has a series of romantic emotions towards the patient are completely unfounded, since, furthermore, in most cases the real contact that exists between these two people is practically nil.
Likewise, this delirium brings stalking behaviors towards the other person feelings of hope or longing for the other and, when the other does not respond, it ends up leading to deep resentment towards them.
The patient may come to believe that there is a kind of invisible and mystical communication between the two, blaming the other for sending them signs of love or for provoking these beliefs.
This disorder, traditionally known as Clerambault Syndrome, was widely described by this French psychiatrist in 1921 in his treatise Les Psychoses Passionelles.
Possible causes
Usually, the most common cause of erotomania is related to suffering from affective, organic-cerebral or schizophrenic disorders Which foster in the person an erroneous perception of reality, as well as a misinterpretation of his or her experiences, which leads him to create a passionate delirium with any person for whom he feels a fixation.
Erotomanic behaviors are related to other psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder or paraphrenia.
In addition. There are a series of risk factors that can favor the origin of this strange disorder. The most important are social isolation and extreme loneliness, sexual inhibitions and the consumption of toxic substances like drugs and alcohol.
The typical epidemiology of this condition focuses mainly on single women, extremely lonely and over 30 years of age; however, there are also records of erotomania in men with the same characteristics.
Clinical characteristics of erotomania
Although, due to its uniqueness, there is not much current scientific literature on erotomania, a series of common peculiarities in patients who suffer from it These features are:
1. A delusion common to all patients
Unlike most delusional disorders, in erotomania The basic delusion of all patients is that another person is in love with them
2. It can be recurring
During the development of the disorder, the patient may be convinced that the same person is in love with him for a long period of time , the longest known case on record has been 37 years; Or, the patient can alternate between different people, who replace each other in similar delusions.
During his delusions, the patient is convinced that the other person, the center of his delirium, communicates with him through hidden messages, signs and strange codes or gestures that the patient interprets in any way.
4. Blaming the other
In a large number of cases, the patient is convinced and perseveres in the idea that the other person was the one who initiated the contact or the one who started the “love affair.”
5. Greater social status of the other person
As a general rule, the target of the patient’s delusions is usually a person of a higher social or economic status even affecting famous people, politicians, etc.
6. Construction of strange theories
As in many other delusional disorders, the patient constructs a series of strange theories that allow him to remain in his delirium, becoming more and more complicated as the person who is the object of the delusion denies or flatly rejects the ideas or approaches of the other.
7. There does not have to be real contact
The person at the center of the patient’s delirium does not have to be someone the patient knows firsthand. Likewise, said person may be completely unaware of the patient’s intentions or thoughts or, on the contrary, end up tormented by the patient’s constant attempts to contact him or her.
A person affected by erotomania can reach try to obsessively contact the other through telephone calls, postal mail or email or even through stalking.
Treatment and prognosis
Although the majority of people who suffer from this disorder rarely reach mental health services, erotomania requires psychotherapeutic intervention. in tune with treatments for delusional disorders
Today, these treatments involve a psychological as well as pharmacological approach in which psychologists and doctors must coordinate and work to improve the patient’s mental health.
Although the intervention may undergo some change depending on the severity or disposition of the delirium, psychological therapy aims to ground the patient in reality, also aided by pharmacological therapy through the administration of antipsychotic medication, antidepressants or euthymizing drugs.
It is necessary to point out that although intervention in patients with erotomania manages to reduce love delirium, at least in 50% of cases, it does not usually disappear completely, becoming a chronic condition.
The John Hinckley Jr. case
One of the most renowned cases of erotomania, which ended up acquiring worldwide fame, was that of John Hinckley Jr., which occurred in 1981. During his love delirium, Hinckley ended up committing an assassination attempt on American President Ronald Reagan
After the failed assassination attempt, he stated that His motivation was to dazzle the well-known actress Jodie Foster , for which he felt an obsession derived from his erotomaniac delirium. The central idea of Hinckley’s delusion was that the assassination of President Reagan would cause the actress to publicly declare her love for him.
Before the attack against the president, Hinckley had already carried out obsessive and persecutory behavior towards the actress through constant phone calls, letters and sudden appearances in all those places where the actress was.
Finally, Hinckley was exonerated by alleging psychological disorders and was admitted to a psychiatric center.
