As a recovering jealousy addict, I can honestly say it is a destructive, distracting and dangerous emotional drug.

I call it an emotional drug because no one WANTS to be jealous.

We want to be happy for others. But jealousy doesn’t care how much you love the people in your life. It just wants to consume you from the inside out until there’s nothing recognisable about you left.

When we can no longer maintain self-control, when we can’t STOP our behaviour even when we recognise it’s a problem — THAT’S an addiction! And it never only affects the user.

We all have goals and dreams, and it's hard to see others getting and achieving the things we want too. It’s hard to watch dreams turn into nightmares. I know because I've been there: in the early days of my acting career, jealousy was my Gin. It would start with one negative thought, “they didn't deserve it” or “they were just lucky” —and before I knew it, I was passed out drunk on negative thoughts.

But the truth was that they got their win because they worked hard and deserved it—and my job was not to discredit them or tear them down but rather to appreciate and learn from their successes.

Jealousy is a hard emotional drug to kick, but it is possible.

When you reframe what things mean in your head, like someone else winning, doesn’t mean you’re losing.

That’s a big one! Hell that’s THE shift. So, really hear that and take it in.

Whether you’re jealous of someone’s relationship, career, body— you name it, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person but it does distract you from your purpose and block your blessings.

So make no mistake, while jealousy may be your teacher it is definitely not your friend.