Erotomania is a rare disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that another person, usually of a higher social status, is in love with him or her. A Mind Beside Itself is a twenty minute, twenty-eight second-long song by progressive metal band Dream Theater, off the album Awake. ... A mental illness or mental disorder refers to one of many mental health conditions characterized by distress, impaired cognitive functioning, atypical behavior, emotional dysregulation, and/or maladaptive behavior. ... A delusion is commonly defined as a fixed false belief and is used in everyday language to describe a belief that is either false, fanciful or derived from deception. ... Social status is the honor or prestige attached to ones position in society (ones social position). ... For other uses, see Love (disambiguation). ...

Erotomania is also called de Clérambault's syndrome, after the French psychiatrist Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault (1872–1934), who published a comprehensive review paper on the subject (Les Psychoses Passionelles) in 1921. For other uses, see Psychiatrist (disambiguation). ...

The term erotomania is also sometimes used in a less specific clinical sense meaning excessive pursuit of or preoccupation with love or sex. This article is about human sexual perceptions. ...

History

Early references to the condition can be found in the work of Hippocrates, Erasistratus, Plutarch and Galen. In the psychiatric literature it was first referred to in 1623 in a treatise by Jacques Ferrand (Maladie d'amour ou Mélancolie érotique) and has been variously called "old maid's psychosis", "erotic paranoia" and "erotic self-referent delusions" until the common usage of the terms erotomania and de Clérambault's syndrome. For other uses, see Hippocrates (disambiguation). ... Erasistratus of Chios (330? BC - 250? BC) was a Greek anatomist. ... Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ... For other uses, see Galen (disambiguation). ... Year 1623 (MDCXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Berrios and Kennedy have outlined several periods of history through which the concept of erotomania has changed considerably: German E. Berrios is a Professor of Psychiatry at Cambridge University in the UK. He was born in Tacna (Perú) and studied medicine and philosophy at the University of San Marcos (Lima, Perú). Subsequently, he read psychology and philosophy at Corpus Christi College, Oxford University, where he was a scholar...

• Classical times – early eighteenth century: General disease caused by unrequited love
• Early eighteenth – beginning nineteenth century: Practice of excess physical love (akin to nymphomania or satyriasis)
• Early nineteenth century – beginning twentieth century: Unrequited love as a form of mental disease
• Early twentieth century – present: Delusional belief of "being loved by someone else"

Unrequited love is love that is not reciprocated, even though reciprocation is usually deeply desired. ... Hypersexuality describes human sexual behavior at levels high enough to be considered clinically significant. ... Hypersexuality describes human sexual behavior at levels high enough to be considered clinically significant. ...

Contemporary syndrome

The core of the syndrome is that the affected person has a delusional belief that another person, usually of higher social status, is secretly in love with them. The sufferer may also believe that the subject of their delusion secretly communicates their love by subtle methods such as body posture, arrangement of household objects and other seemingly innocuous acts (or, if the person is a public figure, through clues in the media). The object of the delusion usually has little or no contact with the delusional person, who often believes that the object initiated the fictional relationship. Erotomanic delusions are typically found as the primary symptom of delusional disorder, or in the context of schizophrenia. Delusional disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis denoting a psychotic mental illness that involves holding one or more non-bizarre delusions in the absence of any other significant psychopathology (signs or symptoms of mental illness). ...

Occasionally the subject of the delusion may not actually exist, although more commonly, the subjects are media figures such as popular singers, actors and politicians. Erotomania has been cited as one cause for stalking or harassment campaigns. For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... Stalking means criminally following or similarly harassing a person over an extended period. ...

The assassination attempt of Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley, Jr. was reported to have been driven by an erotomanic delusion that the death of the president would cause actress Jodie Foster to publicly declare her love for Hinckley. Assassin and Assassins redirect here. ... Reagan redirects here. ... John Warnock Hinckley, Jr. ... Alicia Christian Jodie Foster (born November 19, 1962)[1] is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress, director and producer. ...

Late night comedian David Letterman and retired astronaut Story Musgrave were the targets of delusional Margaret Mary Ray. Other reported celebrity targets of erotomania include Madonna, Steven Spielberg, Barbara Mandrell, and Linda Ronstadt.^{[citation needed]} Late Night with David Letterman was a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC hosted by David Letterman. ... David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947, in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.) is an Emmy Award-winning American television host and comedian. ... Franklin Story Musgrave (born August 19, 1935) is an American doctor and a retired NASA astronaut. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article is about the American entertainer. ... Steven Allan Spielberg KBE (born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. ... Barbara Mandrell (b. ... Linda Marie Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946 in Tucson, Arizona) is an American popular vocalist and entertainer who has earned multiple Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, numerous certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, and Tony Award and Golden Globe nominations. ...

See also

• Unrequited love
• Cognitive dissonance
• Delusion
• Delusional disorder
• Enduring Love
• Paranoia
• Psychosis
• Schizophrenia
• Stalking
• Blue Tulip Rose Read

Unrequited love is love that is not reciprocated, even though reciprocation is usually deeply desired. ... Cognitive dissonance is a psychological state that describes the uncomfortable feeling between what one holds to be true and what one knows to be true. ... A delusion is commonly defined as a fixed false belief and is used in everyday language to describe a belief that is either false, fanciful or derived from deception. ... Delusional disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis denoting a psychotic mental illness that involves holding one or more non-bizarre delusions in the absence of any other significant psychopathology (signs or symptoms of mental illness). ... Enduring Love (1997) is a novel by British writer Ian McEwan. ... For other senses of this word, see paranoia (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Psychosis (disambiguation). ... Stalking means criminally following or similarly harassing a person over an extended period. ... Blue Tulip Rose Read is the infamous stalker of TV and radio personality Mike Read. ...

References

• Berrios, G.E. & Kennedy, N. (2003) Erotomania: A conceptual history. History of Psychiatry, 13, 381-400.
• Fitzgerald, P. & Seeman, M.V. (2002) Erotomania in women. In J. Boon and L. Sheridan (eds) Stalking and sexual obsession: Psychological perspectives for prevention, policing and treatment. John Wiley and Sons Ltd. ISBN 0-471-49459-3
• Kennedy, N., McDonough, M., & Berrios, G.E. (2002) Erotomania revisited: Clinical course and treatment. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 43 (1), 1-6
• Munro, A. (1999) Delusional disorder: Paranoia and related illnesses. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-58180-X