Erotomania, or Clérambault syndrome, is a delusional psychological disorder characterized by the belief in an individual that he is loved by another. How to explain this pathological passion? What to do ? The point with Valérie Grumelin, psychologist in Paris.
Obsession, harassment… Erotomania is a psychological disorder characterized by a delirium of passion. “Very often, they are children from a toxic family in which they have just received the bare minimum to get by “explains Valérie Grumelin, psychologist. For the victims of an erotomaniac personalityit is advisable to report these facts by going file a complaint.
Erotomania is a delusional psychological disorder that is characterized by the belief in an individual that he is loved by another. She takes a form haunting which generally focuses on an initially unknown individual, or even a public figure. This conviction translates in the erotomaniac by a form of harassment to provoke the meeting and make the other confess about their alleged feelings. If this fictitious love is not declared, the erotomaniac person can give in to depression, then to resentment and aggressiveness. This disorder affects mostly women.
The opposite extreme of erotomania is paranoia, mental disorder which manifests itself by an exaggerated distrust of others, the negative interpretation of the slightest word, suspicion or even aggressiveness. The paranoid person feels persecuted permanently, he has the impression that we want him badly.
“The cause of erotomania is a narcissistic non-recognition by parents. It’s very complicated because it also comes first and foremost from the personality of the parents. When we have a normal relationship with them, they give us hugs, kisses, they show us interest. But if a woman has never had physical or emotional attention from her parents, she will interpret the slightest attention as sexual desire, reports Valérie Grumelin. She then builds a platonic relationship and it does her a world of good. Very often, they are children from a toxic family in which they have just received the bare minimum to get by.. For example, the parents were alcoholics, not up to “.
The erotomaniac person has the delusional conviction of being loved by someone. She goes imagining that all his gestures, words, likes on social networks are proof of love that the other sends him. With many arguments, she will try to show those around her that she is living a beautiful love story.
The erotomaniac person goes through three phases :
- hope where she is convinced of being loved:
- vexation where she begins to be impatient, becomes more and more present with the “chosen” person;
- the rancor when ideas of persecution intensify and when love becomes hate.
The erotomaniac can (in the most serious cases) become dangerous and go so far as to seek union by murdering the one he loved and then hated.
“There is no no specific test to perform but the diagnosis is not difficult to make. We realize this when the patient comes to see us and talks to us. She invents a world and most of the time, the person she’s in love with doesn’t even know it “, says the psychologist.
“The treatment consists of teach the erotomaniac patient what self-esteem representswhat it means to have been loved, listened to and understood by your parents “, explains the specialist.
According to DSM-5 criteria, erotomania is a delusional disorder.
Thanks to Valérie Grumelin, psychologist in Paris.