This is NPR's life kit.

Gelicy is such a complex emotion.

For starters, it can really sneak up on you.

One minute, you and your partner are doing just fine,

walking on the street, having a laugh, then it happens.

Maybe it's the way where glance have been attractive stranger,

the ping of a private message in their inbox,

or an invitation to hang out with that hilarious co-worker they won't stop talking about.

It's that feeling of almost going over a roller coaster, that sort of stomach flip flop.

You know, I feel like there's just like ice in my veins,

like especially in my hands and feet, tightness in my chest,

and a shallowness in my breath, and just this internal voice that is saying,

nope, absolutely not, shut down the situation right now.

I instantly feel this surge comes up from my stomach and this electrical tingle down my neck.

We all experience romantic jealousy differently,

but the common denominator is the feeling of that inner alarm bell going off.

Warning, warning, incoming threat to relationship,

incoming threat to self-esteem, find and destroy.

That's my clue that I'm like, oh, I am imagining

that I'm going to lose my influence over this person who I care about.

I'm imagining that there will be less love, less attention, less something.

That's the other thing about jealousy.

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