Someone who is envious of you may also try to mimic your behavior and imitate every single thing you do. They could go as far as copying hairstyles, dressing, walking, and talking the same way you do. Even if you find it flattering at first, sooner or later, it will start to get really irritating.
In almost every case, envy arises when we are experiencing dissatisfaction in our own lives. It's when we so badly desire and yearn for success, connection or affection from others, and we don't get it.
Jealousy is often rooted in insecurities and fears that a person may not even realize they have. These could include fear of oversimplification, fear of inadequacy, fear of abandonment, fear of being replaced, and fear of being judged.
Envy drives to self-sabotage, causing wars and other conflicts. It typically becomes a group phenomenon, and turns to hatred and assaults against others, as Frank J. Ninivaggi explains on Envy Theories.
Envy and jealousy can be healthy, normal emotions, but when they become pathological, they may be considered delusional disorders. If you have a hard time managing feelings of envy or jealousy, consider online therapy, as it can provide a safe space to talk through and cope with these emotions.
In the modern psychiatric “bible” (DSM-5), the diagnostic criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder include, “often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her.”
In fact, envy has festered into one of our greatest sources of anger, especially in our current material-focused culture where symbols of wealth like fancy cars and jewelry (even the fake stuff) are flaunted with reckless abandon.
Our envy may inform us regarding, not only what we wish to obtain, but also in identifying values, traits, and behaviors that are consistent with who we are and who we wish to become.
However, it is often said that envy can turn into jealousy—and the point at which it does may not be so obvious. One distinction that is sometimes made is that jealousy centers its negative focus on the person who has the thing that you don't, while envy is more centered on the desire for the thing.
Jealousy can be a sign of insecurity. Jealousy is a fear of losing something you already have, like a relationship or friendship. People who deal with jealousy may often feel threatened by other people. You may also feel that you are in competition with others, even if you're not.
In this paper I present a novel taxonomy of envy as a psychological state, according to which there are four kinds of envy: emulative, inert, aggressive and spiteful envy.
Envy is only toxic when a person is unable to feel empathy, love, generosity or even just kindness to the other. Sometimes an envious person can be friendly to others but only direct viciousness towards the one person who triggers extremes of that feeling.
A narcissists fueled by envy will steal from you to gain something, such as status, respect, or sympathy. It usually harms the person they morally robbed. This form of morphing or taking the traits, stories, or information of another person is often done because the narcissist feels in competition with that person.
Given that the narcissist depends on an external source of support (eg, praise, admiration) for his sense of emotional equilibrium, his "self" becomes envious by the realization in (or projection onto) others (or objects) of the qualities he imagines unique in himself.
People with high levels of envy are more concerned about self-deficiency and other people's possessions and are more likely to experience negative experiences such as inferiority and dejection as a result [4-8,20]. These feelings may subsequently lead to depression [12].
Envious people tend to feel hostile, resentful, angry and irritable. Such individuals are also less likely to feel grateful about their positive traits and their circumstances. Envy is also related to depression, anxiety, the development of prejudice, and personal unhappiness.
The results show that students who reported feelings of envy and low levels of identification with their workgroups were significantly more likely to report committing acts of sabotage when they belonged to groups which reported high rates of sabotage as a whole.
Being kind and courteous to everyone is a good general attitude to have and it's essential when you're dealing with someone who hates you. Treating everyone with respect and dignity is the most civil thing you can do so go forth and be kind.
Although it's hard to do, ignoring mean comments from jealous people tells them you are not going to validate their feelings. Address haters in your daily life head on. When ignoring someone is not an option, approaching the situation directly may help release the jealous tension.
People may be jealous of you because they believe they are not as good as you are. They may not be able to explain why they envy you, but deep down, they know that you're better than them. They try to compete with you, but it's just not fair. They can't match your skills or your accomplishments.