When one partner in a relationship cheats, or has an affair, it can seem like the end of the world for the faithful partner and indeed the end of the relationship. Moving forward seems impossible and if there are children involved things seem even bleaker. There is no getting away from the fact that affairs cause misery to all concerned. Recovery is a slow process and it is important not to make any hasty decisions, especially when emotions are still running high. It is important to take stock of your relationship, what was good about it to start with, what caused things to go wrong and what future do you and your partner have. There is no quick and painless fix, but with time and patience you will get to the light at the end of the tunnel.
The standard definition of an affair or cheating, is that one person in a committed relationship is physically involved with someone other than his/her partner. In recent years, cheating has been redefined to include not only a physical affair but also an emotional affair.
An emotional affair is defined as any infidelity that occurs through feeling or thought. With the technological development of cell phones and the internet, the definition of cheating has been expanded. Cheating now includes having intimate correspondence with someone while on a cell phone, meeting someone over the Internet and maintaining a close, personal relationship with someone other than your partner.
However the end result is that the unfaithful partner is paying more emotional attention to someone other than their partner and they are removing themselves from the commitment they made to their relationship.
An emotional affair can and often does lead to a physical affair.
An emotional affair begins with the exchange of personal information. As the people involved get acquainted, the information becomes more personal. Some argue that an emotional affair is harmless because it is more of a casual relationship than traditional cheating. However the intimate nature of the communication, plus the emotional investment made by the people involved, places an emotional affair on the same level or worse as traditional cheating.
It is much more dangerous for a relationship should your partner connect with someone emotionally rather than physically. Anyone who finds himself or herself drawn to another person on an emotional level should consider the possible consequences of the affair. Emotional affairs are just as likely to lead to divorce as physical affairs.
The danger of an emotional affair.
While it is healthy and normal for people to have friendships outside the relationship with both men and women, an emotional affair threatens the emotional bond between spouses. Friendships are based on attraction, in that we are drawn to various qualities of our friends. Healthy friendships and attractions don’t need to threaten a marriage at all, but add richness and enjoyment to life. When an attraction turns into an obsession or into an affair, it can become harmful to everyone involved and nothing is more harmful to a relationship than the breakdown of the emotional bond committed partners have for each other.
