What is Medea syndrome in psychology

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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 wide variety of stories that are still valid 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 its characteristics.

Index

1. Origin of Medea syndrome
2. What is the Medea syndrome today?
3. Features of Medea syndrome
4. Medea syndrome cases

How does Medea start? The 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 her children because of the betrayal that she felt that her partner Jason had done to her.

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 of the other parent that he considers unfair.

The type of harm caused to children will depend on the social, cultural, political and economic environment in which it is carried out. In this sense, there have been verbal and physical violence that concern blows, insults, punishments and even murders of children as a means of venting personal frustrations. However, the purpose of this vicarious violence is always linked to a way to get revenge of the couple.

Now that this subject is addressed 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 carried out by a mental health professional, since it has the relevant knowledge to evaluate the characteristics of each person.

The acts of revenge linked to the Medea syndrome have not only occurred within the framework of Greek mythology, but also have occurred in real life. Given the diffusion that certain situations of vicarious violence have had, below, we will expose some of the most controversial Medea syndrome cases 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 carried out. Finally, in 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 nine- and four-year-old daughters in the Galicia area. The reason for the act was another act of revenge towards his wife. After some time, in the trial that was held for this crime, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017.

This article is merely informative, at 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 and its characteristics, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

• Antolínez, D., Cardozo, N.I. (2017). The myth of Medea: a psychoanalytic look at 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 wrongs for Medea's infanticide. Nomads Magazine. Critical Journal of Social and Legal Sciences, 32 (4), 1-25.