We can’t escape from jealousy.
We have all witnessed it or have made others feel jealous of us.
More often than not, we tend to be jealous of those who we are emotionally involved with – husbands, wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, or partners in general. Sometimes people get jealous of those who are (or at least appear to be) more beautiful or successful than themselves. The most common manifestations of jealousy include fear, deep insecurity, constant worries, and envy. And very often people try to hide or mask it. That is why it is sometimes hard to tell if someone is being jealous of you or not.
More often than not, people who often relapse into overbearing fits of jealousy have some underlying personality issues such as, for example, low self-esteem, insecurity regarding their own worth and general uncertainty about the future.
Below you can find ten telltale signs that someone is jealous of you:
1. Most probably would pay false compliments
An insecure person would compliment you when you see each other face to face but could gossip or tell lies about you behind your back. Such people are double-faced, and you stand almost no chance of exposing their true nature. That is why you should pay attention to what you confess to others and always ask your friends whether someone has not been talking rubbish about you behind your back. A sign that someone is being jealous of you might be that they allow a long silent moment before telling you that you have done great. Their secret envy of your success causes that reaction.
2. Might try to belittle your success
People who are jealous could try to undervalue your success. They feel insecure because they are not able to achieve as much as you have achieved. They would always try to convince the others that you are not good enough. So, it is a red flag if every time you tell your best friend about something big you’ve done, he or she retells it to other people as if your achievement was a piece of cake.
3. There’s a high chance that they boast about their success
More often than not, if a jealous person becomes successful in anything, he or she will do the impossible to make the whole world understand about it. They will flaunt their success. Usually, people who behave like this are envious of others’ achievements and would do anything to prove that they are worth at least as much.
4. Jealous people tend to cross their legs
According to body language, a person might cross their legs for a variety of reasons. For example, this is a common reaction when one feels insecure, uneasy and, last but not least, when they are jealous of something or somebody. If your friend instinctively crosses their legs every time you share some achievement of yours with them, this may signal that they actually envy you.
5. Jealous people are anxious to compete
Psychologist Melanie Greenberg explains that when someone’s jealous they have a strong need to prove their superiority. As a result, people who are prone to experiencing regular fits of envy or jealousy also tend to be over-competitive. Of course, competitiveness could lead to success if it is triggered by genuine ambition. However, this is rarely the case with jealous people. These individuals take almost sadistic pleasure in humiliating people. Their second most favorite thing is bragging about their success. Few things are more pathetic than a sore winner, though.
6. Jealous people are great copycats
Although psychologists claim copycat behavior is a sign of flattery, someone who is jealous of you may also try to take after you and to imitate everything you do. They could go as far as walking, dressing and talking the way you do. Even if you take it as a compliment at first, sooner or later it will start getting under your skin. The best thing you can do is try not to pay too much attention to the annoying copycat.
7. Most probably will dish the dirt on you
Research shows that people who gossip the most have very high levels of anxiety, aggression or are extremely unhappy. They could gossip because they want to feel superior since they aren’t confident in themselves. People who are envious of your success or anything else which puts you above them could try to ruin your good reputation by making negative comments or spreading false rumors about you.
8. Jealous people celebrate others’ failure
Jealous people would always feel happy if you let them know that have fallen short of accomplishing your goals for whatever reason. But they will never let you know about the malicious joy that the news of your setback has brought them.
Rather, they will secretly rejoice the fact that for once you’ve failed in something, and it doesn’t really matter what it was. All that matters to them is that they are better than you, and you are not up to their level. I do not need to remind you that anyone that takes pleasure in seeing you fail is not a good person and does not wish you well. If you notice such type of behavior from your closest friend, you’d better distance yourself at once.
9. Jealous people are mighty plan-spoilers
Another sign of that someone might be jealous of you is when they happily give you some bad news on the pretext of doing you a favor. Suppose you’ve decided to go to the beach, but upon sharing your plans with your jealous friend, they instantly tell you that it’s going to rain for the next few days. Not that they know it for sure, it’s just the first thing they could think of so as to put a spoke in your wheel. So, pay attention if your friend does or say something that could spoil your plans or make you focus on some negative possibilities.
10. Jealousy easily turns into hatred
Through life, it is impossible not to meet people who make your skin crawl. Unfortunately, a big part of the success we achieve usually comes at the cost of having to deal with individuals, who would hate us for no apparent reason.
These people might not behave aggressively, but they will not miss a chance to demonstrate their dislike of you in one way or another. The right way to deal with them is to show them how little they mean to you. I wouldn’t bother to even think about such people, as the poor attitude you’ve been getting from them is totally undeserved.
Has someone ever been jealous of you?
How did you find out, what did you do? Please, share your experience!
