Emotional Infidelity: It Can Cause Your World To Crash And Burn
Do you find yourself in a confusing situation where either your or a cherished partner are have extended the proper bounds to your relationship? Or at least, you strongly suspect so? Has a flirtation perhaps gone a bit too far? How do you define a betrayal? If sex isn’t involved is it possible for anyone to really be betrayed. If you are asking these type of questions, you may be going through an emotional infidelity.
And, how, exactly, is emotional infidelity defined? It is simply when one partner in a committed union becomes emotionally drawn to someone outside the boundaries of that relationship. Sex is not a part of it, not currently anyway. But still, the new wandering creates a distance and a doubt between the committed partners. And, as that distanced grows so does the feeling of isolation, which can quickly lead to bitterness.
What makes it particularly painful is that the involved partner is guilt-free. There’s no sexual relationship, yet, to speak of, so what on earth could could possibly cause any shame? The shame is brewing, make no mistake, in a big pot of emotional infidelity. And no one knows when the pot will finally boil over.
If you believe your partner may be involved in an emotional infidelity, be on the lookout for how they spend their time. Do they spend a lot of time away from you, time you used to share? Do they guard their cell phone and time on the computer? Are they emotionally unavailable? Are they unresponsive when you ask about some personal details of their lives? Do they spend free time away from you?
Conversely, you may be one who unwittingly finds themselves in this sort of emotional mess. Do you share intimacies with another that you once reserved for your partner or spouse? Are you making secret times to rendezvous with another, either through a phone call, IM, email, or in perhaps even in person? Do you go to great lengths to keep these events a deep secret from your partner? Is there sexual intensity whenever you around the other person, even though neither of you have acted on it? If so, you could be in the middle of an emotional infidelity.
There are things that can be done to curb the affair. Stay away from social situations that you view as a danger to your current relationship. Stay away from communicating anything you wouldn’t be willing to have your partner see or hear. Avoid making special time for anyone put your intimate partner and family. Invite your spouse to be a part of your relationship with the new involvement.
If you suspect you have wandered into this situation unaware and would like to end it before it destroys something you hold dear, then do it. End it. Right now. Today. Communicate that fact in no uncertain terms, with the smallest opportunity for wiggle room. When the dust as settled, then go about the task of trying to find out what happened and what means to you and your partner or spouse. Nothing is set in stone. Even an emotional infidelity can come to an end.
Visit Stan’s site at Steps to Surviving Infidelity to get more great tips on what to do about emotional infidelity.