Has anyone ever heard of Morbid Jealousy and understand it?

I remember reading an article about a woman who had this. Her husband suffered from “shared psychosis syndrome” and it was a really bad combination. The wife was constantly accusing the husband of cheating. The husband was convinced that he must be cheating on her in his sleep because he couldn’t remember it. He would tie himself to the bed to keep himself from wandering. Of course, his wife kept accusing him because she was psychotic herself.

Finally, the guy ended up in the ER. He had cut off his own penis because he thought it was the only way he could stop “cheating” on his wife. After being away from her for a few days, his shared psychosis went away and he realized that he never actually cheated on her.

Oh my god! Is that a true story?

Yes, as far as I know. It was an article about shared psychosis syndrome, NOT morbid jealousy. It just stuck in my head because I was amazed that someone actually COULD “catch” crazy being around it too long (it’s rare, though)

It COULD be an urban legend, but I don’t think so. I wish I could remember where I read it. I was thinking someone like Oliver Sacks, but I could be wrong.

@keobooks That is pretty wild. I’ve seen jealousy but not to the Morbid zone.

I do not recall morbid jealousy as a subject covered in my training as a psychologist. I do not know if that term is even used in clinical practice. I’m sorry I can not be more helpful for those who referred this question to me.

@Dr_Lawrence I know it is also called Othello Syndrome, if that helps?

I just googled it and it’s very interesting. I’ve heard of people (significant others of friends) who sound like they had it. I’ve heard stories of girlfriends who have “gone off” because the boyfriend was chatting with a coworker or because the boyfriend could not be reached by phone for ten minutes or something.

@jca Yes it is a devastating condition.

I could very well be wrong, but honestly, I think that the medical field sometimes creates some of these terms (not every single one, of course) in order to “diagnose” people. I feel like it allows people to be a “victim” to their disorders. It just sounds like that woman has trust issues. Maybe she was cheating on him the whole time lmao.