Pre-reading Discussion

1) Have you ever loved from a distance? Did this "love" become your air supply for your life? Describe this period of your life.

2) What is your opinion of obsessive love? Would you encourage or discourage it? Why or why not?

March 28, 1998
Psychiatrists do not know how prevalent delusional erotomania is, but recently they've come to believe it is not as rare as originally thought.¹

Also called Clerambault Syndrome, after the French psychiatrist who first identified it in 1921, the disorder is diagnosed far more often in women.²  The patient becomes fixated on a person and despite rebuffs, becomes convinced there is a romantic relationship.

It is most common in unmarried women who have few social skills, consider themselves unattractive and are employed in low-paying jobs. They often are lonely and withdrawn.

Men with the disorder are more likely to become violent than women, particularly if they have a history of substance abuse or mental illness.

The person who is the object of the obsession often is more socially prominent and sometimes is a higher-paid colleague. In some cases the person is a celebrity.