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Relationships can be complex. Sometimes, the differences between the people who make up a couple can cause major conflicts that affect their children. Furthermore, there are times in which 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 psychologyas well as its origin and characteristics.
Origin of Medea syndrome
How does Medea start? Medea syndrome has its origin in the myth of Medea, which explains that a sorceress woman decided to kill her children to take revenge on her husband. According to this myth, Medea and her partner Jason headed towards Corinth to be received by King Creon. In Corinth, they had years of happiness and had two children. However, Jason fell in love with the king’s daughter and left Medea behind.
As an act of revenge, Medea finally decided to kill her children because of the betrayal she felt her partner Jason had made of her.
What is Medea syndrome today?
Although today it is not a Greek mythological story, there are situations related to this story. Specifically, Medea syndrome in psychology refers to when a parent decides to harm his/her child, both physically and psychologicallydue to behavior of the other parent that they consider unfair.
The type of damage 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 situations of physical and verbal violence that involve beatings, 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 that 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.
- .
- Feeling of insecurity with respect to other people.
- Distortion of reality.
- Hallucinations.
- .
- Addictions.
- Compulsive behaviors.
Even so, the presence of any of these qualities does not necessarily imply that it is Medea syndrome. It is essential that the diagnosis is carried out by a mental health professionalgiven that it has the relevant knowledge to evaluate the characteristics of each person.
Cases of Medea syndrome
The acts of revenge linked to 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 present some of the most controversial cases of Medea syndrome that expose the seriousness of this pathology:
- José Bretón Case: In 2011 it was revealed that José Bretón killed his two minor children, aged six and two, in the town of Córdoba. After the murder of the children, the man burned the bodies to leave no traces of the crime committed. 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 daughters, aged nine and four, 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, 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.
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Bibliography
- Antolínez, D., Cardozo, NI (2017). The myth of Medea: a psychoanalytic look at the abject. Pontifical Javierana University. Faculty of Psychology, Bogotá DC
- Gómez, LP (2018). From the myth of Medea to “Medea Syndrome”. University of Granada Magazine, 29 (2), 211-238.
- Peinado Vázquez, RV (2011). Reasons and unreasons for Medea’s infanticide. Nomads Magazine. Critical Journal of Social and Legal Sciences, 32 (4), 1-25.