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Relationships can be complex. Sometimes, the differences between the people that make up a couple can cause major conflicts that affect their children. Furthermore, there are times when one of the parents undertakes reckless actions towards their own sons or daughters with the aim of causing pain to the other parent.
In this sense, Greek mythology has developed a great variety of stories that have some validity today. If you have read up to this point, what will unfold along these lines will surely be significant to you. If you want to know more about this, in this Psychology-Online article, we will provide you with information about what is Medea syndrome in psychology, as well as its origin and characteristics.
Index
- Origin of Medea syndrome
- What is Medea syndrome today
- Characteristics of Medea syndrome
- Medea syndrome cases
Origin of Medea syndrome.
How does Medea start? Medea syndrome has its origin in the myth of Medea, in which it is explained that a
As an act of revenge, Medea finally decided to kill his children because of the betrayal he felt his partner Jason had done to him.
What is the Medea syndrome today.
Although today it is not a Greek mythological story, there are situations related to this story. Specifically, the Medea syndrome in psychology refers to when a parent decides to harm his/her child, both physically and psychologically, due to behavior by the other parent that you consider unfair.
The type of harm caused to children will depend on the social, cultural, political and economic environment in which it takes place. In this sense, there have been situations of physical and verbal violence that concern beatings, insults, punishments and even murders of children as a means of discharging personal frustrations. However, the purpose of these actions is always linked to a way to get revenge of the couple
Characteristics of Medea syndrome.
When addressing this issue more clearly, it is important to know what must be taken into account to detect this pathology. Therefore, we show you the characteristics of Medea syndrome below:
- Low tolerance for frustration.
- Low self-esteem.
- Feeling of insecurity with respect to other people.
- distortion of reality
- Hallucinations.
- delusions.
- Addictions.
- compulsive behaviors
Even so, the presence of any of these qualities does not necessarily imply that it is Medea syndrome. It is imperative that the diagnosis is made by a mental health professional, given that it has the pertinent knowledge to evaluate the characteristics of each person.
Medea syndrome cases.
The acts of revenge linked to the Medea syndrome have not only occurred within the framework of Greek mythology, but also have happened in real life. Given the diffusion that certain situations have had, below, we will present some of the most controversial cases of Medea syndrome that expose the seriousness of this pathology:
- Jose Breton case: In 2011 it was revealed that José Bretón killed his two children under six and two years of age in the town of Córdoba. After the murder of the children, the man burned the corpses so as not to leave traces of the crime committed. Finally, during the year 2013 he was sentenced to 40 years in prison. It should be noted that the murder was an act of revenge against his wife's proposed divorce.
- David Oubel case: In 2015 David Oubel murdered his two daughters, nine and four years old, in the Galicia area. The reason for the act was another act of revenge towards his wife. After a while, in the trial that was held for this crime, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is Medea syndrome in psychology, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.
Bibliography
- Antolinez, D., Cardozo, N.I. (2017). The myth of Medea: a psychoanalytic view of the abject. Pontifical Xavierian University. Faculty of Psychology, Bogotá D.C.
- Gomez, L. P. (2018). From the myth of Medea to the "Medea Syndrome". University of Granada Magazine, 29 (2), 211-238.
- Peinado Vázquez, R.V. (2011). Reasons and unreasons of Medea's infanticide. Nomads Magazine. Critical Journal of Social and Legal Sciences, 32 (4), 1-25.
