The Curious Case Of Mrs. Wood

A year later, Miss Wood was residing in her home country of Scotland when she was introduced to Mr. Wood on Facebook by a mutual acquaintance. They had their first date in London when she flew there after weeks of messaging one other. “I knew we were meant to be a couple,” she remarked after their first kiss beneath the London Bridge. “Steve captured my heart, even though I didn’t plan to fall in love again after my last relationship. The only issue was our great distance from one another. When I found out that Steve had been seeing another female around the time we’d initially met, we decided to move in together and start becoming serious.“

“I forgave him when he said he didn’t think our distance made us exclusive, but I began to question his ability to remain faithful.” Miss Wood, who also has body dysmorphic disorder and bipolar illness, continued to say that after the two moved in together, her jealousy grew as she sought to keep an eye on Mr. Wood’s every action.

She forbade him from watching any television shows with women and put child-proof filters on his phone and laptop to prevent him from viewing graphic images of women. Miss Wood was given an Othello Syndrome diagnosis in September of this year, and in the six months since then, she has seldom left the house due to the condition’s severe effects.

Othello Syndrome: What Is It?

Othello Syndrome is a mental health condition in which a person believes, without evidence, that their love partner is disloyal. It is also known by other names, such as morbid jealousy, delusional jealousy, pathological jealousy, sexual jealousy, or Othello psychosis. Put differently, an individual afflicted with Othello syndrome assumes that their significant other has cheated on them and develops an obsession with their partner’s faithfulness.

The phrase “Othello syndrome” originated with William Shakespeare’s play Othello. In the play, Othello murders his wife Desdemona after he is persuaded that she is unfaithful by Iago, the main antagonist. Othello syndrome patients have intrusive, obsessive, and/or delusional thoughts, frequently related to accusations of infidelity in their relationships. Concepts are deemed obsessive when they take on a compulsive nature. Thinking about a potential love partner constantly, even if they are not real, is one example of this. Adversive thoughts are hard to resist and seem inevitable when they arise. Limiting the suspected partner’s freedom of choice is a common response to this. Delusional ideas are impossible for the mind to process since they are not seen as false.

On The Path To Address The Issue

To address her issues, she is undergoing therapy and using anti-anxiety medication. She also plans to wed Mr. Wood, who proposed early this year. Miss Wood had already taken on his last name before the wedding. She has also been studying Othello Syndrome in order to get ready to start a support group for those who have the condition.

15% of those with the condition have acted aggressively against their relationships, according to a study. Robert Mercati, sixty-three, is one of them. He took Margaret’s life at their house earlier this year after learning of the diagnosis. Unemployed Mr. Wood accepted that his wife may be challenging at times, but he thought she was worth it. He said, “There are moments when I get anxious and my heart races, which makes Debbi question me,” alluding to the conflicting results of the lie detector test. “All I have to do is reassure her that I haven’t cheated, and maybe she will accept that.”