Introduction
Erotomania, also known as De Clerambault’s syndrome, named by psychiatrist Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault and listed in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), is considereda ubiquitous nosological psychiatric commodity with an undetermined prognosis.
It is usually portrayed as a rare delusional syndrome that is characterized by an individual's delusions of another being fascinated with them. An uncommon paranoid condition entangles a woman who is supposed to assume that a man, typically of higher social, political, or economic status, is in adoration. It is mostly seen in females of shy or intimidating nature who conceptualize their love interest concerning the workings of the fantasy. Erotomania regards as an infatuation with no natural seeding in love.
Hippocrates, Freud (1911), G.G. de Clérambault (1942), Erasistratus, Plutarch, and Galen all mentioned the syndrome early. Bartholomew Pardoux, a physician from Paris, wrote about erotomania and nymphomania. Before the widespread use of the terms erotomania and de Clérambault's illness, erotomania was referred to as "erotic paranoia" and "erotic self-referent delusion" in Jacques Ferrand's 1623 work Maladie d'amour ou Mélancolie érotique. The disease was known by M.V. Seeman as "phantom lover syndrome" and "psychotic erotic transference reaction and delusional loving" in 1971 and 1977, respectively. Additionally, Emil Kraepelin and Bernard wrote about erotomania, and more lately, Winokur, Kendler, and Munro have added to our understanding of the condition.
What Are the Causes of Erotomania?
Erotomania is a circumstantial condition that originates from self-individualities and directly impacts the affected person's environmental factors, current mental status, and baseline personalities. Erotomania may happen over a long period or only in short episodes, known as psychotic breaks. Psychotic breaks present erotomania as
a common symptom of other mental health conditions like
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Schizophrenia: It refers to a condition that involves a disconnection from reality, including hallucinations and delusions. It also affects a person’s ability to recognize the symptoms they develop.
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Major Depressive Disorder: A serious mood disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities based on the chemical imbalance in the brain that must be treated.
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Bipolar Disorder: A brain disorder that causes mood, energy, and ability to work shifts. Individuals with bipolar disorder experience extreme emotional circumstances for days to weeks named mood episodes, characterized by as manic or hypomanic - abnormally joyful, excited, or irritable mood or depressive - sad, depressed, or low energy mood.
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Alzheimer's Disease: A brain disorder that slowly demolishes memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. Mainly characterized by dementia, the loss of cognitive functioning - thinking, remembering, reasoning, and behavioral abilities.
Primary causes are highlighted:
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Evidence-based studies also suggested erotomania as a coping mechanism for handling severe stress or trauma.
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Emotional dereliction, negligence, or feeling of dissatisfaction.
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Genetics or family history of mental illness.
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Sexual inexperience.
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Social isolation or withdrawal.
What Are the Symptoms of Erotomania?
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The obsessive consumption of social media handles relates to the fascinated person.
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Mailing letters, emails, and gifts to the other person.
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Establish contact by phone.
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Assuming that their love interest attempts to communicate with them secretly through glances, gestures, actions, songs, or coded messages in the news, television shows, movies, or social media platforms.
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Expressing feelings of jealousy that the individual may be “unfaithful” to them.
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Incessantly describing their love interest.
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Stalking-like behavior.
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Assembling and intricate the scenarios but false situations where another person is following them, stalking them, or attempting to get in contact with them.
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Shiftings interest and getting limited to talking about the other person or doing activities related to them.
What Are the Types of Erotomania?
Types of erotomania are:
Primary Erotomania: It is a subtype of delusional disorder, also known as “De Clérambault’s Syndrome, which includes:
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No underlying other mental health condition or diagnosis.
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Rapid onset of symptoms that last for a long time.
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Difficult to respond to treatment.
Secondary Erotomania: Secondary erotomania is a symptom of mental health conditions other than delusional disorder. It involves:
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Other mental conditions are present.
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Slow and gradual onset of symptoms that present in episodes.
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Effectual management with psychotherapy (talk therapy) and pharmaceutical approach.
What Makes Erotomania Different From Attraction For Someone?
To have a crush on someone is quite normal, particularly among more youthful populations. It is considered normal to write one’s favorite celebrity a fan letter or kiss the poster on the wall or say goodnight. Suppose one meets them (either a celebrity or crush) in person, and they do not reciprocate one’s feelings. In that case, the person may feel hurt but can move on because the person is aware of mutual attraction to be in an invested relationship to work on rather than assuming things and feelings. Research suggests that it is not a case of erotomania unless:
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One believes they are in love with someone despite their refusal.
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Finding information about them is a priority in one’s life.
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One can go to extreme lengths to connect with them.
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Obsession is beyond the self-realization of rejection.
What Are the Treatment Options for Erotomania?
Erotomania can be manageable and can show improvement with well-rounded treatment approaches with professional support like:
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Psychotherapy: Talk therapy may be integral to one’s treatment plan to manage both primary and secondary erotomania. Research suggests that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help devise deeper insight into one pattern, strengthen coping skills, and recognize the cues that drive such behavior.
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Medications: Pharmaceutical approaches may help reduce symptoms of delusions in secondary erotomania individuals where only a mental health professional can specify the best treatment based on the underlying cause of the associated mental condition. The most beneficial medications employed are antipsychotics, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety drugs.
Conclusion
Erotomania, referred to as “ love is a delusion,” implies assuming the effortless action of the other person as a sign of immense love, which is based on the delusion of love and belief in their unrealistic reciprocal feeling and breaks down the barrier between individuals who are otherwise disconnected. It is a paranoid condition that gives a false sense of kinship and is related to emotionally vulnerable individuals. Whereas love is well explained when one cares for another person more than themselves, with self-realization to put someone's need before their own and wants of the other person to be happily considered an organic seed that happens with the flow of mutual interest and similarities in their attributes.
