Mental health issues such as depression and anxiety have been linked to infidelity. A person may also experience relationship anxiety, which often results in a person feeling more insecure about themselves. It can also induce doubt towards one's partner, and excessive worry that one will be cheated on again.
Being cheated on sucks. It's as simple as that – but the feelings that come with it are hardly ever simple. You feel betrayed, angry, embarrassed and completely heartbroken. It can make you question everything about yourself, your relationship and your life.
Infidelity can have lasting impacts on partners and children the couple may have. Grief, brain changes, behaviors down the road, and mental health conditions such as anxiety, chronic stress, and depression can result.
Cheating Pushes Your Brain Into PTSD Territory
Just as with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cheating can trigger symptoms that linger in your life. Flashbacks, nightmares, and obsessive thoughts about the situation are some of the most frequent symptoms.
Analysis revealed on the whole, women who cheated reported an increase in self-esteem and life satisfaction after the affair. Meanwhile the opposite appeared to be true for men, who suffered more after committing adultery.
The most important thing to remember is what cheating says about a person. They're insecure, impulsive, selfish, and immature.
Does the pain of infidelity ever go away? Although cheating can have a lasting effect on your mental health, it's possible to heal after infidelity, says Babita Spinelli, a psychotherapist licensed in New York, New Jersey, and Florida. Spinelli offers couples coaching for partners recovering after infidelity.
The person who was cheated (sexually or emotionally) on may meet the criteria for PTSD and experience trauma-related symptoms such as rage, humiliation, intrusive images and flashbacks, preoccupation, emotional numbing, heightened anxiety to triggers, erratic behavior and sudden mood swings, and difficulty with sleep ...
There is no doubt that having someone you love and care about cheat on you is hurtful. People who have experienced infidelity report feeling betrayed, losing trust, rage, and damaged self-esteem. These are just some of the feelings a person can experience because of infidelity.
Many say that it's because it is one of the worst forms of betrayal of trust. Others say that it's because your rights have been taken away from you, at least temporarily.
Shame, guilt, anger, regret, paranoia…all these negative thoughts and emotions may be triggered when recovering from infidelity.
For example, someone who cheats in a relationship may feel guilty because they're being judged for what they did. They feel bad for doing something bad. Although this is a valid emotion, it's probably not enough to rebuild a relationship. However, remorse is a deeper emotion.
Once the excitement and the newness of the person they have cheated with wears off, they feel an entire gamut of emotions. Shame, guilt, even anxiety, and most importantly the fear of losing their beloved. Cheaters start to feel ashamed, they begin to fear being judged by the people they love and value most.
Research shows that betrayed partners, after learning that their significant other has strayed, typically experience stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms characteristic of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
They experience crushing guilt
The thought of someone finding out what he has done makes it hard for him to focus on his work and distracts him from time with his family. Deep regret is with him all the time, and he may even stop (or try to stop many times) the affair due to his feelings of remorse.
Now that they're caught they lose the comfort of being comfortable in a relationship with you – so yes, they do feel grief over losing that. In some very rare cases, the person who cheats takes the time to understand what pain their actions have caused – and they do regret everything.
Cheating on a spouse or significant other is sure to cause feelings of jealousy and hurt in the spurned partner. But men and women differ on what part of cheating they think is the worst: Men tend to be more bothered by sexual infidelity, while most women are bothered more by emotional infidelity.
In surveys of individuals who have cheated, falling out of love, seeking variety, and feeling neglected were the most commonly cited reasons, followed by situational forces, a desire to raise self-esteem, and anger with a partner.
A Rough Timeline. People need to understand that it takes at least two years for the shock waves of the infidelity to subside. That doesn't mean it's all bad for two years. In fact, couples may find they're doing better than ever during that period, but, at any given moment, reminders and triggers can still occur.
Symptoms of Post Infidelity Stress Disorder
Trauma recall: You may have painful memories, flashbacks, or nightmares that cause you to relive the traumatic experience. Numbness: While some people are filled with anger and hurt upon discovering their partner's betrayal, other people go numb and feel emotionless.
While some are willing and wanting to stay, others may consider walking away from a relationship after infidelity. Some reasons for this include a lack of interest, lack of commitment, interest in other people, and other indicators that show one or both partners are already checked out of the relationship or marriage.
You'll likely ask yourself repeatedly whether staying after cheating is the right choice. That's okay and only you can answer that for yourself. Just take your time, work through your thoughts and emotions with solid support. And please know that it isn't a sign of weakness if you choose to stay.