Determining jealousy triggers

Triggers are responsible for outbursts of jealousy. Here are some common jealousy triggers which you may be familiar with:

Your partner is friendly with a male colleague
Your partner spent a long time talking to an old schoolfriend
You find your partner looking at another man
Your partner spends a lot of time helping a male friend

The roots of jealousy lie in the envy of another person. The other person may be more attractive, better off or talented in some area. If your partner was taking time out to help an elderly male neighbour, then you wouldn’t be bothered in the slightest. But because your partner is helping out the good-looking man next door you are immediately inclined to be suspicious and to fly off the handle. We fear the people who we perceive to be better than us because we assume that our partners will leave us for them.

Take a few moments to write down the triggers which spark a jealous reaction. Being aware of these triggers will put you in a strong situation and you can plan what reaction to take when they rear their ugly heads.