Jealous? Here's Why

In her phone session with me, Katy was completely perplexed about her jealousy.

"As you know, I broke up with my boyfriend, Jared, 6 months ago. By the time I broke up with him, I was really done with the relationship, and I have no desire to be with him. But last week I found out that he has a girlfriend and I feel jealous! I can't figure this out. It makes no sense to me at all."

I asked Katy to open to learning with the jealous part of her - an aspect of her wounded self.

The Need To Feel Special

Katy's 12-year-old wounded self quickly started to talk.

"I always want to be the favorite. I wanted to be Mom and Dad's favorite and I was always upset when my brother seemed to be the favorite. Even though I don't want to be with Jared, I want to be his favorite. As long as he didn't have a girlfriend, I still felt like I was his favorite."

When asked what being the favorite means to her, she answered, "It means that I'm better than other people. I always want to be the special one. I don't like it when I’m with my friends and they pay more attention to their children or even their dog than they do to me. I know that it sounds crazy, but I hate it when my best friend brings her dog along when we get together. I feel upset about the attention she gives her dog!"

Katy was not valuing herself. Her jealousy was a symptom of her own inner abandonment. What her inner child was saying to her was, "I don't feel at all special or important to you. I am not your favorite. You don't think much of me. You rarely pay attention to me."

When we are not loving ourselves, our wounded self may look to others for confirmation of worth. To our wounded self, who may constantly compare us to others, being "better than" - which may be determined by getting special attention from others - validates our worth.

Because Katy had spent most of her life making others responsible for her self-worth by trying to get their attention and approval, her inner child felt abandoned and worthless. Of course she felt jealous! And she would continue to feel jealous in many different situations until she felt loved and valued by loving adult Katy.

“Now I Know You Love Me”

As Katy began to devote herself to practicing Inner Bonding, she started to recognize her own beautiful qualities and take care of her own feelings. The more she did this, the more loved and special her inner child felt. One day her inner little girl said to her, "I know that you love me. I know that I am your favorite. And I love you too." Katy tearfully reported to me that she did indeed love her little girl and that jealousy was no longer an issue for her.

Feelings such as jealousy are always a symptom of inner abandonment. Jealousy, insecurity, neediness, fear of rejection - these feelings are not the issue. They are the symptom of the fact that we are abandoning ourselves through:

• Self Judgment
• Not attending to our feelings, ignoring them or using addictions to numb them
• Making others responsible for our feelings of safety, lovability and worth

No other person can ever take away these painful feelings. No other person can make up to you the lack of valuing you might have experienced as a child. No matter how much others love and value you, as long as you are not loving and valuing yourself, you will feel unsafe, insecure or jealous.

The power of Inner Bonding is that, through practice, you learn to give yourself what you didn't receive as a child and always wanted and needed. This is what heals jealousy, as well as insecurity, neediness, and fear of rejection.

Join Dr. Margaret Paul for her 30-Day at-home Course: "Love Yourself: An Inner Bonding Experience to Heal Anxiety, Depression, Shame, Addictions and Relationships."

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Photo by Greekfood-tamystilka