14 DAY TRIAL // A woman from the UK has been diagnosed with a condition that causes extreme jealousy and paranoia. Whenever her boyfriend leaves the house, she gives him a polygraph test upon his return.
Debbi Wood suffers from Othello Syndrome, and that translates into her having a constant belief that she is being cheated on, without purporting evidence.
The 42-year-old also checks her boyfriend's personal belongings for receipts and goes over his bank statements, texts and email messages.
She thinks that the condition has improved after the diagnosis, according to the Daily Mail.
“I’m relieved to finally know what’s wrong with me but I still have a long way to go. Even if Steve pops out for 15 minutes to buy a pint of milk, I make him take a lie detector test as soon as he gets home.
“I get so worried that he’s been eyeing up the shop assistant that I just have to know the truth,” she says.
30-year-old Steve Wood is not even allowed to watch TV or browse magazine pages, as his girlfriend is terrified of him being attracted to other women.
“I think he’s gorgeous, but that’s not the issue - it’s about whether or not I can trust him not to look at other women while he is out on his own.
“I don’t want him thinking they’re hot. If you’re in a relationship and you’re happy with your partner, you should only have eyes for that person,” Debbi says. She has taken his last name because she expects for him to propose.
A psychiatrist has traced her condition to the trauma suffered after a previous breakup and the fact that Wood already cheated on her.
“We started to get serious and made plans to move in together but I then discovered that Steve had been seeing another girl around the time we’d first met.
“He claimed he didn’t think we were exclusive because of the distance and I forgave him but I started to doubt whether or not he could be faithful,” she recalls.