Envy and jealousy are complex emotions. We talked to some experts about why it feels so bad and how you can tame this terrible feeling.
You already know that envy and jealousy are terrible feelings. They can affect your work, your relationships, and your life.
But why does it actually feel so bad? And how can you make it better? BuzzFeed Life talked to experts in psychology and mindfulness to find out how to tame this common but destructive emotion and how you can give it a positive spin.
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There's a difference between envy and jealousy, but they're both about fear.
Envy is the fear that you lack something. It's a two-part emotion: Person A wants what person B has. For example, you wish you had some other person's job.
Jealousy is the fear that you will lose something you already have. It is a three-part emotion: Person A is worried about losing person (or thing) B because of person (or thing) C. For example, you think your job is in jeopardy because someone else is doing well at their own job.
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Envy and jealousy are both totally normal.
Envy and jealousy are basically the shitty result of feeling competitive with other people — blame your animal instincts for that.
"In the mammal world, serotonin actually motivates you to feel good when you compare favorably to others," Loretta G. Breuning, professor emerita of management at California State University, author of Your Happy Chemicals and the founder of the Inner Mammal Institute, told BuzzFeed Life.
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