Trauma Rewired Inside the Jealous Mind: What Neuroscience Reveals About Threat, Envy, and the Drive for Connection
Nov 3, 2025
Dr. Jolie Hamilton, a relationship coach and expert on jealousy, dives into the neuroscience of this often-misunderstood emotion. She explores how jealousy acts as a survival signal, rooted in our evolutionary past. Jolie distinguishes between jealousy and envy, highlighting jealousy’s adaptive role from infancy. The conversation also covers the neural circuits involved, how attachment styles amplify jealousy, and effective tools for processing it. Jolie encourages open discussions about jealousy to foster healthier relationships.
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Jealousy Is A Biological Threat Signal
- Jealousy lights up brain regions that process physical pain, showing social rejection registers as real threat.
- Treating jealousy as a survival signal reframes it from moral failing to useful information.
Host Shares Personal Jealousy Experience
- Jolie Hamilton shares she experiences intense jealousy and practices non-monogamy, which makes jealousy a recurring teacher for her.
- Learning to work with jealousy transformed how it impacted her life and relationships.
Jealousy Roots In Infancy
- Jealousy appears in infancy when social bonds are survival-critical, showing it's evolutionarily adaptive.
- The same attachment system later maps onto romantic and friendship bonds, explaining intensity across life.