How to get better from infidelity in your relationship

MadameNoire Featured Video

Credit: Skynesher/Getty

If your long-term partner has been cheating on you, you may experience some of the worst pain a person can go through. According to PsychCentral, suffering from infidelity is so traumatic that it can cause symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder. It is precisely when you are rocked by the extreme heartache of betrayal that you must make one of the most difficult decisions: whether or not to stay with the scammer. Unfortunately, infidelity is common. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how many couples go through this, perhaps because not all scammers confess, not all who are cheated speak openly about it, and people have different definitions of cheating. The Institute For Family Studies reports that 16 percent of married people in America have cheated on their spouse.

The rate at which couples survive infidelity is also a mystery. There is mixed data between married and unmarried couples. Also, there are couples who “work it out” but end up divorcing or later separating. Research reported on BestLife states that married couples are more likely to find a solution after cheating than unmarried couples. Whether you are married or not, if your partner has cheated on you and you want to try and work through it, there are things you should know. If the relationship has a chance not only to survive but to thrive again, concrete steps must be taken. Here’s how to recover from infidelity.

The nature of infidelity: long-term affairs vs. affairs

Depressed husband arguing with his wife having serious communication problems.

Source: dragana991/Getty

The first thing to understand is that the type of cheating is strongly related to whether the relationship will survive it or not. According to Couples Academy, co-founded by an infidelity recovery specialist and marriage coach, long-term affairs are far more damaging to a marriage than one-night stands or short-lived affairs. Brief encounters can be traced back to a brief misjudgment. However, long-term affairs imply the constant decision to stray and come with webs of lies that deeply damage the trust in a marriage.

Comments are closed.