Erotomania: definition, symptoms and treatment

Romantic love, or the feeling of being in love with another person, is one of the most turbulent and mood-shattering experiences a person can experience. Love can alter and transform the way in which 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 is also in love with him when, however, the reality is different? This thought disorder is known as erotomania., and in it the person is fully convinced that her love is reciprocated, although there is no proof of it.

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What is erotomania?

Erotomania is a strange form of paranoid delusion currently classified as Delusional Disorder of the 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-type emotions towards the patient are completely unfounded, since, moreover, in most cases the real contact that exists between these two people is practically nil.

Also, this delusion brings stalking behaviors towards the other person, feelings of hope or longing for the other and, when the other does not respond, ends up deriving into a deep resentment towards him.

The patient may come to believe that there is a kind of invisible and mystical communication between the two, blaming the other for sending him signs of love or for causing these beliefs.

This disorder, traditionally known as Clerambault's Syndrome, was extensively described by this French psychiatrist in 1921 in his treatise Les Psychoses Passionelles.

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Possible causes

Usually, the most common cause of erotomania is related to suffering from affective, organic-cerebral or schizophrenic disorders. Which promote in the person an erroneous perception of reality, as well as a misinterpretation of her experiences, which leads her to create a passionate delusion with anyone for whom he feels a fixation.

Erotomanic behaviors are related to other psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, the Bipolar disorder wave paraphrenia.

In addition. There are a number of risk factors that may 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 centers primarily on single women, with extreme loneliness, and with over 30 years of age, however there are also records of erotomania in men with the same characteristics.

Clinical features of erotomania

Despite the fact that, due to its singularity, there is not much current scientific literature on erotomania, a series of common characteristics 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. can be recurring

During the development of the disorder, the patient he 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 are substituted for each other in similar delusions.

3. Illusory communication with the other person

During her delusions, the patient is convinced that the other person, the center of her delusion, is communicating with her. him through hidden messages, signals and strange keys or gestures that the patient interprets in any way manner.

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. Higher social status of the other person

As a general rule, the target of the patient's delusions is usually a person of 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 stay in his delusion, 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. It does not have to exist a real contact

The person at the center of the patient's delusion need not be someone the patient knows firsthand. Likewise, said person may be completely unaware of the intentions or thoughts of the patient or for On the contrary, they end up tormented by the patient's constant attempts to contact him or she.

A person affected by erotomania can become obsessively trying to contact the other through phone calls, postal or email or even stalking.

Treatment and prognosis

Despite the fact that most 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 both a psychological and a pharmacological approach, in which psychologists and doctors must coordinate and work to improve the mental health of the patient.

Although the intervention may undergo some change depending on the severity or disposition of the delusion, the therapy Psychological therapy aims to establish the patient in reality, also using pharmacological therapy through administration of antipsychotic medication, antidepressants or calming drugs.

It is necessary to point out that although the intervention in patients with erotomania manages to reduce the delusion of love, In at least 50% of cases, it does not usually disappear completely, becoming a chronic condition.

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The John Hinckley Jr. case

One of the most renowned cases of erotomania, which ended up becoming famous worldwide, was that of John Hinckley Jr., which occurred in 1981. During his love affair, Hinckley ended up committing an assassination attempt on US 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 her erotomaniac delusion. The thrust 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 behaviors towards the actress through constant phone calls, letters and sudden appearances in all those places where she was the most actress.

Ultimately, Hinckley was exonerated on the allegation of psychological disorders and was admitted to a psychiatric facility.