Infidelity, commonly referred to as cheating, is a serious issue that many
people go through in relationships. While the most common form of infidelity
is physical, there are chances that people indulge in emotional infidelity
without being aware that they are doing something wrong or purposely indulge
in it.
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Infidelity is a subjective topic that differs from relationship to
relationship. It even differs between two people in the same relationship
hence boundaries and meaning of infidelity should be discussed beforehand. If
your ideas are too conflicting then it won t be smart to be in a relationship
with them. For example, if flirting is a form of emotional infidelity for you
and your partner simply does not believe in it and thinks that sleeping with
other people is the only form of infidelity. The concept of cheating is so
conflicting that you are bound to be hurt here.
How To Avoid Such Situations
You can avoid such situations by having an open conversation with your partner
at the beginning of your relationship. Having a discussion about what you
consider emotional infidelity and what your partner considers infidelity will
allow the both of you to be aware and avoid such situations, especially when
it was not intended to be this way. If your partner loves to hang out with
their friends and have night stays, which you do not like, then you both can
discuss and talk it out so you can reach a conclusion that is acceptable to
both of you. Compromise is an essential aspect of relationships, and so are
sacrifices but making sacrifices in this situation might not be ideal and you
would be ultimately setting yourself up for disappointment sooner or
later.
Some people have a stricter idea of what a healthy relationship means and
others have a more open idea. Neither of them can be labeled as wrong or
right, till the time the people involved are comfortable in the relationship
then it is good for them.
What To Do If You Feel Attracted To Other People
If you are in a long-term relationship, it is common to feel a little
monotonous, and talking to new people might give you a sense of freshness and
you might start liking those other conversations more. Under these situations,
make sure that you dont confuse that sense of newness with attraction. Make
sure to be truly aware of your situation and your feelings.
Finding someone attractive is relatively normal, but acting upon it is not.
Acting upon those thoughts is a completely different thing which, simply put
is, wrong or unethical. There are certain things that you can do if u feel
attracted to someone.
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Maintain your distance from them- if you have identified
your feelings for someone else then it is advisable to maintain your
distance from them in order to reduce and ultimately terminate those
feelings.
-
Don t take it too seriously- you need not think about how
you feel for hours on end, that won t get you anywhere. If you feel like you
have feelings for another person, accept it and try to get over it instead
of thinking about that person.
-
Don t fantasize about it- do not fantasize or romanticize
the person or different aspects about them.
-
Try being in your partner’s shoes- how would you feel
if your partner had feelings for someone else, and even worse, acted upon
them? It hurts to be in a position like that, and if it hurts you, it will
hurt your partner too.
-
Spend more time with your partner- spending more time will
allow you to realize why you are with them in the first place, and that
might make you appreciate their existence in your life more.
-
Accept your mistakes- running away from your feelings or
actions won t benefit anyone. A better way would be to accept them and try
to make the situation better by taking the right steps.
-
Discuss it with your partner if required- if you feel the
situation has gotten out of hand, keeping your partner in the dark will end
up hurting them. Come clean to them and decide if there is anything that you
both can do about it.
Being in your partner s shoes will make you realize that your actions might be
wrong. Simply imagine yourself in your partner’s shoes and see how would
you feel if your partner were attracted to someone that they told you was just
a friend or someone completely new. While being attracted to someone is
normal, it is in your hands to deal with the situation effectively and not
make it any worse than it already is. Having these thoughts is one thing,
acting on it the wrong way is in your hands. If you wish to be with someone
else, then simply discuss it with your partner and break your old relationship
first before you enter a new one. Having more people in your life might feel
exciting in the beginning but it ultimately leads to no good.
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How To Deal With Your Partner’s Commitment Issues
As we were talking about being in your partner’s shoes, let us consider
a situation where your partner is struggling to commit, then what are the
steps that you can take to manage this situation?
But firstly let s try to understand signs which might show that your partner
has commitment issues.
-
They don t initiate plans. Do you feel like you’re the one who
constantly makes the effort to plan out dates or day outs with your partner,
and they just go along with whatever you do? Not wanting to make plans or
not putting in the effort to plan out dates is something that you should
look out for.
-
They tend to avoid conversations about your future if they tend to
avoid commitment or avoid the term ‘relationship’ even after a
long while then they may be hesitant to be emotionally vulnerable with you
and have a future with you.
-
The relationship feels one-sided if the relationship feels one-sided,
meaning that you do everything and dont feel any form of reciprocation,
appreciation, or even acknowledgment.
-
They dont respect your efforts or time they fail to acknowledge the
effort that you put into the relationship and them.
-
You feel like you are the one who’s holding the relationship. This
could lead to you feeling exhausted and even resentful towards your partner.
What should you do now?
- Listen to them
If you listen to them calmly then chances that they will be open and honest to
you about everything that they feel. Getting angry and not hearing them out
might push them to hide even more things from you.
- Being patient
If they have trusted you enough to share their feelings with you and they
assure you that they will handle the situation and fix things give them the
time to do so as well. Rushing them or pushing them will not be helpful for
either of you
- Set boundaries
Set boundaries and be headstrong while maintaining them. Setting boundaries
means that you should be clear with your partner about the things that are
acceptable and the things which you are not comfortable with.
- Don t force them
Do not try to force a relationship with someone who is not on the same page as
you. That will make things worse than what they might already be
- Have a non accusatory conversation
Talk to them openly about everything and make sure that you do not have an
accusatory tone. Doing will make them uncomfortable and not.
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