The Green-eyed brain: What neuroscience says about envy.

You might be wondering about the correlation between green eyes and envy. The answer is quite literary. The color correlation between feeling and green was first used by Shakespeare as “green-eyed jealousy” in his play The “Merchant of Venice”. However, the phrase “green eyed monster” comes from Shakespeare’s Othello. Iago tells Othello that he should beware of jealousy because “It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on.”

The color green is often symbolizing jealousy and envy, while the monster is representative of the feelings that threaten to take over and make Othello mad. Therefore, thanks to William, the phrase green-eyed used by itself can mean jealous or envious.

This photo is probably one of the most celebrity photos in history. The photo of Sophia Loren staring daggers in the direction of Jayne Mansfield’s cleavage was taken 70 years ago, but holds validity yet still.

When I thought about envy, this was the first image that came to my mind. I can not explain why. Maybe because it was recreated by one of my favorite comedy tv shows “Modern family”.

Both photos, original and the remake, are quite self-explanatory. They truly show how a green eyed monster looks like when they experience envy. More importantly, photos portray the target of envy.

At this stage, I would like to provide a brief clarification regarding the difference between envy and jealousy.

What is Jealousy? It is a feeling of resentment, bitterness, or hostility toward someone who has something that you don’t. This could be general success, an achievement, a trait, a social advantage, a material possession, or a relationship, among other things. What matters is that the other person has the thing, you want it, and this makes you resentful of them.

When used in the context of romantic relationships, jealousy more specifically refers to a feeling of suspicion or uneasiness that often comes from one’s partner giving or being given positive attention by others.

What is Envy? It is a negative feeling of desire centered on someone who has something that you do not. Envy can also be a verb meaning to feel this way toward someone. Both the noun and the verb imply that you want to be in the other person’s position—to have what they have. Like jealousy, envy can be centered on any number of things, tangible or intangible.

Envy can be described as a mix of admiration and discontent. But it’s not necessarily malicious. It can even be used as part of a compliment, as in You’ve worked so hard to achieve your success—I really envy you.

As you see, both terms are more or less the same. At the same time, both feelings are very negative. They are negative not only according to human feeling and emotion spectrum but also from perspective of various religions.

In Islam, envy (hasad) is discouraged and considered a major sin if it leads to resentment or harm. The Quran advises believers to seek refuge in Allah from envy (Surah Al-Falaq 113:5). Islam encourages gratitude for one’s own blessings and warns that envy can harm the envier more than the envied.

In Christianity, envy and jealousy are also considered sinful. The Bible warns against envy in passages like Galatians 5:19-21, listing it among the works of the flesh. The Ten Commandments also emphasize not coveting what others have (Exodus 20:17). Christianity teaches that envy can lead to harm and that love and contentment are virtues to cultivate.

In Buddhism, envy is considered a defilement that causes suffering and hinders enlightenment. Buddhism teaches mindfulness and compassion to overcome envy. Recognizing the impermanence of all things helps reduce attachment and jealousy.

No matter how you look at it - envy is a trait of bad boys and girls - who wont be getting any gifts from Santa. I dislike both - envying others and being the target of envy or jealousy.

Before answering the question of why I detest those feelings, I would like to unravel the neuroscience behind those emotions. Throughout this article, I will also describe the first time I felt envy as a child & the last time I was envied. Unfortunately for romance fans, this article will not include stories about relationships and jealousy towards partners.

So?! Why and how we are becoming green eyed monsters? Why envy is a social emotion?

Envy arises in social contexts; it usually occurs when we observe others’ possessions, achievements, or qualities and feel discontent with our own situation. Our sense of who we are and our self-esteem can influence how strongly we feel envy. If we see ourselves as less successful or deserving, we might be more prone to envy when we perceive others as having an advantage.

In essence, envy is not just about wanting something. It is about how we view ourselves in relation to others and how social comparisons can trigger feelings dissatisfaction, resentment, longing or simply just “Eeee what the F…?!”

Let’s sprinkle some neuroscience upon few next paragraphs. There are few parts of the brain that light up when we become green eyed monsters. Anterior cingulate cortex is involved in emotional pain and social comparison. Dorsal anterior insula, associates with negative emotions and disgust. Ventral Striatum - this one is the little devil, it lights up when someone we envy suffers a setback or a loss. Finally, prefrontal cortex regulates how we respond and manage social emotions.

Throughout the evolution of human social behavior and the observation of emotional patterns, it has become apparent that humans compare their own state and payoffs with others. However, comparative behavior is not unique to humans. Even capuchin monkeys have been found to respond negatively when they are treated inequitable compared to a group mate. Therefore, we are not special. On the contrary we are just like any other animal.

“The emotional reactions to the success or failure of others can vary greatly toward different people as well as toward the same person. When another person experiences failure or success, our emotional reaction can take various courses. It can range from feeling envious about the other's possessions, or feeling sympathy toward someone who just lost all his savings, to feeling pleasure at seeing an arrogant leader fall.

Envy is a negative reaction in the face of one's inferiority compared to another's good fortune. It is comprised of the wish to abolish inferiority by either having another person's possession or success and/or the wish that the other person did not possess the desired characteristic or object”

Although I promised not to dive into romance in relationships. There is a syndrome called “Othello syndrome”.

There are several interesting reports of stroke patients who developed a specific kind of jealousy called Othello syndrome, which is named after a Shakespearean play. The syndrome is a type of jealousy in which people incorrectly suspect and accuse their spouse of infidelity.

Recent medical case reports describe stroke patients who exhibited almost identical symptoms of pathological jealousy in which they suddenly became jealous of other people and most notably, accused their wives of infidelity that was considered by all witnesses to be practically impossible. In one case a patient accused his wife of having an affair with his (the patient’s) childhood teacher. In another case, a person accused his wife of having relationships with other patients in the hospital.

All of the patients who were described as having Othello syndrome had large strokes and subsequent decrease in function of the right frontal cortex. This is interesting because the experiments in which researchers were able to produce jealousy by electrical stimulation involved over-activating the left frontal cortex.

I am sure many of you have been victims of people who experience mild or severe cases of Othello syndrome.

Final notes on the jealous part of the brain are as follows:

“Certain areas of the brain activate feelings of jealousy. Brain injury and stroke studies have revealed that jealousy is indeed "in your head”-specifically in the left part of the cerebral cortex. Activation or inhibition of certain regions of the brain can induce jealousy, although measures of decreased jealousy have not been recorded.

The cortical region of frontal lobe of the brain modulates decision-making abilities and self-control. Kelley and colleagues1 used transcranial direct-current stimulation to target the left or right frontal cortex on two groups of healthy volunteers for a period of 15 minutes. Both groups were instructed to play a game designed to provoke feelings of rejection and then answered questions by the researchers.

It turned out that the volunteers who received stimulation to the left frontal cortex reported greater feelings of jealousy after their experience of rejection than the volunteers who received the stimulus to the right frontal cortex who were exposed to the same experience of rejection.”

At this point, you might ask what triggers envy or jealousy?

To that I would say - nothing which is good. Comparing oneself to others, perceived threats to relationships, insecurity, low self-esteem, feeling of injustice, unfairness, success of others, social environments & most importantly UNMET DESIRES.

As my favorite podcast guest & thinker Naval Ravikant says: “Desire is a contract that you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want.”

I find this statement to be very true. In my opinion most of our struggles and frustrations can be traced back to some root desire. The problem is that throughout our lives, we adopt endless desires, unconsciously or consciously. However, we rarely take the time fully understand them.

And the more desires we have that we can’t or are unwilling to put the effort and time towards, the more likely we are to be frustrated about it. Until a time comes when we just feel sad or down, and yet can’t explain why.

If I am not mistaken the most vivid memory of my envious state occurred when I was 11. My parents were invited as guests to a family friends’ house and they took me along with them. So that, I could spend time with their son.

While parents were engaging in their conversations, towards which we had no interest. We were walking around their garden and playing. He showed me his multiple toys, multiple rooms, multiple cars and other possessions. Could not care less about any of it. The only thing that triggered interest, the only moment when I became the green eyed monster was when he showed me his firecrackers. He had more than 30 boxes of firecrackers on a windowsill in his room. I remember it so vividly, I was itching with a desire to fill my room with firecrackers. Not just any part of the room, but my own windowsill, right behind the curtain. For next 2 weeks, I was anxious. Was saving my school allowance everyday and was buying firecrackers on the way home. Honestly, that was not even enough. I asked parents for more money & topped my stash off. After 3 weeks, my mission was complete. My windowsill was full of firecracker boxes and I slept like a baby that day.

The reason why, I remember that memory so vividly is that: I detest having that feeling of envy. I hate being the green eyed monster. Furthermore, I remember how hard I tried to get what he had.

However, what I liked about that 11 year old boy is that - he did something about it. The envy was followed by a set of actions leading to a satisfaction of completion.

I think the worst kind of envy or jealousy is the kind when you cannot do anything about your situation. When there is no remedy or cure to your itch. Or simply you do not have the guts or capabilities to pull off or have the what the other person has.

Being on the receiving end of envy is no cakewalk either. Especially when you receive it from people you are sharing a meal with. A few weeks ago, I was dining with a couple of friends. During which, I started sharing a story. It involved a financial gain and a return on an investment made. I was positively sharing my experience and the fact that how the stars aligned for me to be in that position. Right around the moment when I dropped the punchline of the story and announced the number I made on that deal. I saw smiles fading away. I was sitting across two friends who were smiling and listening to the story. Up until the moment when I announced the number. After which I saw a slow fade-away of their genuine smiles. In slow motion, I saw them becoming green eyed monsters. Needless to say that, people across the table were successful entepreneurs & business owners as well.

I cannot disregard them as friends or good acquaintances just for that..no no! Not everyone is capable to be happy for someone else. We are selfish species as a whole. However, smiles fading away - was a reminder for me.

“Rashad, keep your shit private! Privacy is king!”

Most people experience feelings of envy and jealousy at some point in their lives. These emotions are natural responses to social situations. While the intensity and frequency can vary among individuals, the fact is apparent. No one is immune to those feelings. However, something can be done. A little tweak that can prevent us from becoming green eyed monsters.

There is a phrase for it Azerbaijani language - Qibtə etmək (GIP-teh ET-mek)- which can be translated to feeling envy or applying envy (because etmək is a verb or an action). However, it is a less negative version of envy. It involves a wishful thinking of having something the other person has and doing something about it. Qibtə - usually triggers an action. It does not limit oneself to bitterness & low self esteem. It pushes the green eyed monster towards becoming less so. I might not be a linguist or a dictionary wizard but, I love my own interpretation of this word and I am sticking to it.

I do not like becoming a green eyed monster or being surrounded by them. Stay positive, apply Qibtə, learn to be happy for others and Pura Vida!

Rashad