rationalskepticism.org

CdesignProponentsist wrote:

The other issue is that it's difficult to tease apart morbid jealousy from obsessional jealousy (and those two from "normal" jealousy)

I absolutely agree. Which is why I recommend seeking professional advice.

Definitely.

CdesignProponentsist wrote:

Mr.Samsa wrote: And delusions aren't necessarily caused by abnormal brain function, or at least the last time I read up on the topic there will still a number of different approaches to the nature of delusions..

You are absolutely right. I was referring to psychotic delusions however. I should have been specific.

Fair enough, but psychotic disorders don't necessarily have to be treated with medication, and medication isn't always the best treatment for all forms of psychoses. More specifically, morbid jealousy isn't necessarily a symptom of psychosis. Although this is debatable as the definitions of delusions and psychosis are kind of circular.

The important thing to remember is that the idea that mental disorders or neurological issues are caused by "chemical imbalances" (or similarly phrased cliches) is overly simplistic and misses the fact that our brain chemistry is physically altered by the way we think and behave. Hence, change the way you think and you can significantly alter your brain chemistry - you can even permanently change the structures in your brain. This is the problem with research which finds things like "depression is caused by a reduction in chemical X"; we have no idea which way causality is working. Are they depressed because they are low in a particular brain chemical, or is the brain chemical low because they are depressed? The answer is that it can be either, or both.