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in collaboration with
Johanna Rozenblum (clinical psychologist)
Since April 11, Netflix has exploded the scores with a mini-series based on a true story, that of a woman’s obsession with an artist who goes as far as sexual assault. An extreme pattern that Johanna Rozenblum, clinical psychologist, deciphers for us.
It is the series that you must have seen these days, but which also fascinates by the discomfort it provides, if we are to believe Internet users. “My Little Reindeer”, recounts in 8 episodes the madness of a forty-year-old (Martha) towards the main male character who will lead her to stalk him day and night and attack him physically and sexually.
A true story told by the author himself
If this story of change has such an impact on its audience (the series is even not recommended for those under 18) it is undoubtedly because it is true! The victim being none other than Richard Gadd, the director of My Little Reindeer and its main actor. In 2013, while working in a bar, he served a drink to a customer who stayed looking at him all day, the start of intense harassment. In one year, the real Martha would have sent him a total of 40,000 emails, 740 tweets, 350 voice messages and hundreds of letters, would also have sexually assaulted him, forcing him to move, protect his parents and file a complaint . A difficult step since it was necessary to prove the danger of this “lady” bathed in illusions, who ultimately suffered from erotomania.
Obsessive love and erotomania, what are they?
Can admiration push a person to go too far? We asked Johanna Rozenblum, clinical psychologist and member of our expert committee. According to her, we must know how to distinguish between obsessive love and erotomania, a real psychiatric disorder.
“The obsessive lover is a love that can be real but which turns into harassment, the person will stalk, will spy on the networks of the one he or she loves, send them messages day and night, with a total loss of control in behaviors that can lead to threats (of suicide for example), or even emotional blackmail to get his attention.
A bit annoying certainly, to lead a serene relationship. But the erotomaniac will go a step further.
“Erotomania is something else, it’s a psychological disorder which consists of believing that a person loves us, apart from any objective signs. Here too, this can lead to dysfunctional behavior and harassment. But the erotomaniac person is also plagued by delusional thoughts and behaviors, which make them suffer. They are in fact very socially isolated people who are no longer able to function, sometimes with problems. schizophrenics underlying conditions and which must be treated. It’s not an obsessive love that grows.”
Getting rid of it often involves taking care of the person involved, through medication and/or legal action. “But it still remains to prove the dangerousness of the harassing person, which is not simple. recognizes our expert. Richard Gadd couldn’t agree more.