I think all emotions are neutral and can be good or bad depending on how you handle them.

I think that "negative" emotions are, at most, indications that something is a little "off" - jealousy, for instance, may mean that the person feeling it is insecure, either for personal reasons or because the situation is an actual "threat." This indication CAN be bad if they accuse the significant other of cheating/try to make strict rules/etc, but it also can be good if it leads to a discussion that shows they care about each other and ultimately strengthens the relationship.

if a guy tells me that I'm clingy, jealous or overreacting, then I'll usually get spiteful, and drastically not pay attention to him, and I find attention elsewhere:) why does he want to be with me if he thinks my passionate admiration for him is "crazy." then he'll miss the attention, but he already turned me off by ignoring my emotions. in which case, I don't care if he flirts with other girls or hangs out with his female best friend more than he does with me. he can have them. so many dreamy guys for me to devote my clinginess to it depends on the "needs" of the person. my bf doesn't think I'm clingy. he says my behavior makes him feel important that's because he's just as CrAAAAAzZzy in love with me as I am with him so the other guy, we ain't compatible, so see ya!

Jealousy in itself seems like a negative emotion.

When I am feeling jealous; it does not make me feel good, nor does it make my boyfriend happy.
Though, honestly, I often think if my boyfriend displayed some jealousy it would make ME feel good, but then HE wouldn't feel good.
So since one party is gonna feel like shit, it isn't a good thing!

I am a very jealous person when it comes to my boyfriend hanging out with other girls, but he is the same with me hanging out with other guys. It is more like a fear of the rare chance something bad could happen is all. We have been working on it very well though and I'm not that jealous. We always discuss our jealousy calmly and reassure each other. If trust is poor, jealousy is always present.

I'm so glad you brought up this point. I joined a dating site awhile back & noticed under the question, "Is jealousy healthy or unhealthy?", so many people answered healthy. But if you look up the definition of the word, it has a very unhealthy one. Now, I can understand where people are coming from & say there's a certain amount of jealousy that should be in the relationship because it shows you care for one another, but that's categorized more under being protective than jealous. Bottom line; if it's causing you to fight, or causing your SO to punch other people, it's not healthy no matter what you call it; it's a product of distrust, & since you shouldn't have love without trust.. But if it's simply minor snarking that just shows how much you love your SO, whatever. If it works for you, go for it.

I'm jealous. Both by nature (probably a little insecure at times) && because of past experiences (my x cheated on me).

It can be healthy.

I used to get jealous because my fiance is a chef & works with a lot of pretty, young waitresses daily. But then I expressed my concern && he laughed && told me not only does he not want anyone else but me, but the waitresses are really dumb girls that he does his best to stay away from because they annoy him. That conversation made me feel better. --->> Healthy because I was able to express a concern, have a discussion about it && move on from it.

It can also be unhealthy.

Like when my x helped a girl because her car broke down && I freaked out && said if he wanted to be around her so much, he could just date her instead. But I was that way mainly because our relationship sucked && I was really worried about it... which, is obv why he's my x. --->Obv the crazy jealous... I mean.. whoaa...

I'm sure there is an adaptive quality to jealousy, as all emotions has evolved to be adaptive. But since we are more intelligent, sometimes those emotions aren't needed in certain situations. However, it is very natural, you just need to use your frontal lobe to maintain it. Anyway, if two people can handle each others jealousy, then it's fine. Trust comes over time, and it's unfair to say that one person should trust the other and if they don't then there's something wrong. No matter how amazingly close two people are, there is no way to know how they will handle themselves in different situations. Unless they have been through a lot with each other. Relationships are up and down, they're not easy. Changes happen, how the couple deals with the problems will either result in heightened trust or lowered. 

Nope. I don't care if people say blahblah, it shows how much you care but all it really is a sign of distrust and insecurity.

i think only to a certain point is it healthy. to me, if my bf is jealous, not the extreme kind, but it means that he is just protective of me and wants me to himself. but if it's anything more than extreme, i can't take it. sometimes jealousy gets ugly. 

Jealousy can be healthy if it's expressed in a healthy way. I think there's a fine line between insecurity and jealousy. I'm not a jealous person by default, so it's weird to me when I feel jealous. I also let it eat me alive. Ugh. I need to learn to control that. 

I don't know.  In another context, jealousy motivated me.  Our instincts are there for a reason.  Without them, I get confused.

The basis of jealousy is fear, which stems from survival instinct: for males, to ensure the offspring is really theirs'; for females, to ensure the men will help to take care of their babies; for love, to ensure something/one that is theirs remain to be so - owning often correlates with fitness. Since jealousy promotes fitness and reproductive success, it is perfectly healthy... in the past.

In a modern society, however, heredity of an offspring can be easily determined by some cheap genetic test; gender equality plus social security means single parents can take care of their kids with much less difficulties; people in general already own too much stuffs. i.e. the paradigm has shifted due to technological and social advancements, such that the basis of jealousy has essentially disappeared.

The thing is, jealousy is so crucial in the past, it is hardwired into the brain, and institutionalized via monogamy then absolute monogamy after the rise of feminism. Yes, conflict arises when jealousy crashes with personal liberty. Nonetheless, such conflict may diminish happiness but has little effect to the overall survival of the Homo Sapiens species... so in the grand scheme of things - not important.

My conclusion: for a civilized person, jealousy is lame, but not necessarily harmful.