Emotional cheating can be described as having a secretive continued close relationship with someone outside your relationship. Emotional cheating most often starts as a friendship that later develops into something more.
People involved in emotional cheating usually invest and receive emotional support from outside their relationship from a particular person with whom they share a deep bond. This type of relationship is usually dangerous because the person attempts to replace their partner with someone else emotionally and this usually leads to having sexual chemistry.
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How do you know if you are emotionally Cheating?
If you have and maintain an emotional bond with someone outside your relationship there’s a good chance you are emotionally cheating on your partner.
If you are being honest with yourself you will know when you do something that crosses the line in regards to your relationship. You might try to justify it to yourself or seek validation but deep inside you know it is wrong. It is usually characterized by a secretive nature in an attempt to avoid confrontation with your partner and protect your emotional affair. Taking the relationship quiz might help you identify the parts of your relationship that need attention.
Is Emotional Cheating Considered Adultery?
The answer to this is no emotional cheating is not considered adultery when it comes to divorce court. This however can be interpreted differently depending on tradition and people’s cultures. It is also important to note that although emotional cheating does not constitute adultery in the eyes of divorce court is very damaging to a relationship and Marriage just the same if not more than physical cheating.
This is because forming an emotional attachment with someone else makes it harder to break off the relationship because you feel connected to another person and you feel they have your best interests at heart. This creates divided loyalty between your partner and the person you’re having an emotional affair with.
Is texting Considered Cheating?
Texting someone is not considered cheating if you respect your relationship and the bond to share with your partner.
When you start sharing parts of yourself that you should only share with your partner for example images of your body and flirting with another person with an intent to share your emotions or satisfy physical attraction, yes in that case texting is considered cheating.
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Signs Of Emotional Cheating.
There are several ways to identify if you are having an emotional affair or whether your partner is involved emotionally with someone else.
- Confide in someone else.
- Dismissive towards your partner’s emotional needs.
- Physical isolation from the relationship.
- Secretive.
- Sudden interest in activities.
- Exchanging gifts.
- Lack of intimacy.
- Frequent contacts.
- Inappropriate sharing
- Unable to deal with your relationship.
Confide in someone else.
If you find yourself confiding in someone else rather than your partner it’s an indication that you are replacing the emotional part of your relationship with someone else. For the most part, being able to talk to other people is not a problem. For example, we all speak to our friends about our problems. But when you confide in someone else with the need for emotional support while excluding your partner it means you are attempting to form an emotional attachment. This is not in itself a sign of emotional cheating. But an indicator that things could be heading that way.
It is therefore important to talk to your partner and open up to your partner about your feeling to build and maintain an emotional bond.
Dismissive towards your partner’s emotional needs.
Some people are emotionally unavailable by nature and this does not mean that they are emotionally cheating and their partners. But that being said if your partner becomes suddenly dismissive towards your emotional needs it could mean that their emotional needs are being satisfied by someone else.
Physical isolation from the relationship.
When you spend extended periods with someone else other than your partner with a need to bond and get closer to them, it is a sign of an emotional affair. The direct result of this is isolation from your relationship and ignoring your partner. This increased investment into someone else allows you to grow closer at the expense of your relationship.
Secretive.
Emotional affairs are characterized by a secretive nature. This is because the people involved try to avoid Confrontation with their partners. This is because they know the affair violates their relationship and also as a way of protecting their affair. So if you or your partner hide your phones or not honest about how often you communicate with someone outside your relationship, there is a good chance you are involved in an emotional affair.
Sudden interest in activities.
Having a sudden interest in activities is not a sign of an emotional affair. But if your partner suddenly develops an interest in something new and has no intention of sharing it with you then it could mean that are sharing the experience with someone else. It is healthy for couples to do things separately as long as they are honest about it. But if you seek out the same person to constantly share moments with and spend a lot of time with, it means you are emotionally attached to them and that you share a deep bond.
Exchanging gifts.
Gifts are usually a good way of expressing interest and impressing someone. The gifts we get from people tend to be personal and they express how much we care and know them. This is why certain gifts have the potential to spark feeling within someone and continued exchange means invested time, interest, and knowledge towards someone. This all contributes to building a bond with a particular person forming an unhealthy attachment that could lead to cheating emotionally.
Lack of intimacy.
Lack of intimacy can also be an indicator of emotional cheating. This is because people that cheat usually ignore their partner’s needs in this case emotionally but also physically. This is brought about by the fact that they are emotionally and physically satisfied by someone else. They, therefore, don’t feel the need to express this in the relationship. Although lack of intimacy does not always reflect emotional cheating it is an important part to pay attention to. Especially when your partner is emotionally unavailable from the relationship.
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Frequent contacts.
Having frequent contact with someone outside your relationship with whom you share a deep bond is a sign of emotional cheating. It is usually this person’s opinion that you care about even more than your partner’s. You seek emotional validation and support from them, a clear sign of an emotional affair. The problem with this is that leaves you detached from your partner and relationship. The result of which is unable to form decisions together because you don’t value their opinion.
Inappropriate sharing.
There are certain aspects of the relationship that should only remain between the couple. So if you find yourself breaking this trust and bond in an attempt to feel understood by someone else or to get closer to someone else it is a sign that you’re seeking an emotional attachment at the expense of your relationship. Sharing personal things about your partner is a violation of their trust. It also shows how far you are willing to go to form an attachment with someone else.
Unable to deal with your relationship.
If you or your partner become unable to deal with your relationship and are disinterested. This could mean one of you is involved in an emotional affair. This is because having someone else sadly makes it easy to ignore your relationship. This is because you are already benefiting from an affair outside the relationship. Because of this, people tend to think there isn’t much to lose when it comes to dismissing your partner or ignoring them.
Is Emotional Cheating A Deal Breaker?
Yes, emotional cheating is devastating to most couples and most people and is a massive red light. This is simply because forming an attachment with someone else outside the relationship makes that relationship difficult to ignore and break.
But most couples can recover from this stronger by addressing the real issues in their relationship and having a healthy dialogue on how to support each other.
What Causes Emotional Cheating?
The primary cause of emotional cheating in a relationship is loneliness. Feeling alone and unable to form an emotional attachment with your partner leads people to seek this level of attachment somewhere else.
Everyone needs to feel and build a bond, friendship, and closeness to the partner one they can rely on.
Conclusion.
Emotional cheating can be devastating to a couple and it leads to trust issues. To some people, this level of cheating is considered the same or even worse than having a physical affair. That is why it is important to address the issues in your relationship with your partner. Seek professional help to resolve them together if needs be. Pay attention to your partner and learn to trust them with your emotions. This is how to build a healthy relationship. Trust has a lot to do with affairs in a relationship. What might help you recover is taking the trust quiz. A simple way to work on your relationship and get better.
Sincerely Yours
