Obsessed with someone who doesn't love you back? You could be suffering from erotomania

Know someone whose crush on a celebrity is a little bit too creepy?

They could be suffering from a little-known psychiatric condition called erotomania, when they genuinely believe the star loves them back.

The one in 500 Americans who suffer from it experience delusions such as believing lyrics in singers' songs are about them.

And experts say that in the world of online dating, it's not just celebs and politicians at risk - it could see erotomaniacs fantasize over normal people.

Know someone whose crush on a celebrity is a little bit too creepy? (stock image)

The DSM-5-TR, also known as the shrink's bible,  classifies the condition as a serious break from reality, that leads to obsessive pursuit of the admired by the admirer.

It can happen without the pair ever meeting and usually the admirer is of a lower social standing than their object of obsession.

In the digital age, this presents particular danger for people isolated at home, able to communicate with others online, psychiatrists from The University of Pec in Hungary wrote in a new case study. It was posted in the journal of BMC psychiatry.

It focuses on one patient afflicted with the unfortunate condition- an anonymous 70-year-old retired cook.

She was admitted to the hospital after an unsuccessful suicide attempt that she initially blamed on rift with her husband. 

A man who was arrested in January for stalking and trying to break into Taylor Swift 's Manhattan apartment 

But over the course of psychiatric treatment, it was revealed that the woman had been corresponding online with who she thought was a world-renowned musician, though they were never named.

Reader, this goes without saying, but this patient had actually caught the attention of a catfish, not a famous musician.  

Their relationship began after the fan began commenting on social media accounts for the musician, when an account with his picture on it began messaging her. 

Overtime the messages between the two progressed from friendly to romantic to exploitative, when the 'musician' began soliciting sums of money from the patient. 

At this point, the patient's husband became concerned and filed a police report. This disruption led the woman to attempt suicide, fearing that she might lose her communication with the musician she so 'loved'. 

After four weeks of intensive therapy and course of antipsychotics, the love spell finally lifted, and the doctors were able to bring the patient back to reality. 

They said that the only way they were able to make her see reason was to develop a relationship with her where she didn't feel judged for her feelings. 

'Avoiding victim blaming is paramount, and establishing a safe, trusting, and supportive therapeutic relationship is essential,' the authors wrote. 

The authors present this story as a cautionary tale for those online and lonely in the digital age. Other studies show this can happen to anyone- a 2017 case from Temple University highlighted a young man who developed erotomania and stalked a fellow college student. 

When we're online, we feel closer to our objects of desire than ever, and that can be dangerous, the researchers from the 2017 case highlight.

'Communication through social media can eliminate previous barriers that existed between an individual and the object of their delusions,'