Amit, a 45-year-old man, was an only child and used to live with his mother. He used to spend his days frequently visiting a coffee house with two of his friends. He had no other friends or social contact other than this. He also never had any lasting or significant relationships in his life. When Amit was 41 years old, he started believing that a married lady that came to the same coffee house was in love with him. He was sure that the lady was in love with him because he believed she looked at him often and attempted to grab his attention.

Amit kept on approaching the married woman, and she kept on rejecting him. He briefly interacted with her once and found in their short conversations that she was in love with him. He thought she was sending him signals, and he tried to reciprocate her love. He believed that they were deeply in love, that her marriage was doomed and that she would be pleased only with him. Later he started sending her messages and going to the coffee house at the specific times that he knew she would be there. Then he started stalking her around the city. But his infatuation stopped when he was sure their relationship wouldn’t work because another divorced lady, the coffee house owner, was also in love with him. Amit believed the owner was jealous of his relationship with other women and conspired to end his ties by saying bad things about him to other people in the coffee house.

This is a case of erotomania. A person with erotomania has a delusional belief that another person is in love with them despite clear evidence against it. The object of the person’s delusions could be a person of higher social status who might be imaginary, dead or someone the person has never met. Shy, dependent and sexually inexperienced women suffer from erotomania more often than men. Erotomania can start suddenly, and the symptoms are often long-lasting.

Common symptoms of this disorder include a firm and delusional belief that another person is in love with them. People with erotomania believe that the object of their affection is sending secret, personal, and promising messages back to them. They make persistent efforts to make contact by engaging in stalking and harassing behaviours. People with erotomania also find it very difficult to accept reality.

Causes of erotomania may be psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer’s, anxiety disorder, eating disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). People suffering from extreme stress or trauma, having an unusual amount of energy, or suffering from insomnia can also be diagnosed with this disorder. Also, genetic factors do play a role in the incidence of erotomania.

To treat erotomania, several methods can be undertaken. These could include maintaining social function or reducing the risk of problematic behaviour. Social skills training can also be taught to patients of erotomania to keep their behaviours in order. Treatment using medications, therapy, and hospitalisation can be done, depending on the patient and the underlying causes.

As a Mental Health Professional, Dr Nisha Khanna proffers online,  telephonically and face-to-face Counselling Services. If you live in Delhi, India or any other part of the World, you can approach us through any of these mediums. For further details, visit Bye Tense, or call us at +91-9818211474