Archives for November 2008

Practical Tips on Healing the Marriage after Infidelity

Healing the marriage after infidelity is a daunting task.

Read these practical tips on how to heal the marriage after the affair:

1. List 2-3 things you did to help you as a couple heal the wound.

Wound STILL healing but holiday away together helped us. Text messaging each other just once a day with ‘how’s your day going’ type comment makes me feel like he cares again. Breaking out of our routine and being spontaneous – just going out for a weekday meal instead of arguing over who was going to cook it (and leaving food in fridge, chores etc when HE suggests it)

1. Talking about the affair. 2. Finding time to be together 3. Read your book and Dr Gunsburg’s books and articles.

Initially split and took time living apart to understand each other, “dated” during this period so we were not allowed to be judgmental. This helped us both regain our self confidence, and see what it was in each other that initially attracted us. When we got back together we allocated specific times when we could ask each other questions, sometimes hurtful, but we had to promise to listen and not be reactionary or judging.

1. Told my husband that our marriage was over, and that what we were working on is a new relationship. With all the expectations of any new relationship, and we have both put together a list of non-negotiable rules for the new relationship. 2. We each have a notebook in our bedside tables to list good/bad issues in, and we discuss them each Tuesday night, when we have a two hour break from children in the house. 3. I have learned to “bite my tongue” rather than become angry when he says he doesn’t know why he had an affair, that he has always loved me (!) and is sooooo sorry for what he did. It is just not helpful to tell him that if he loved me he would not ever have hurt me the way he has. I am learning accept that he doesn’t really know what he got out of the affair. 4. We accept that our marriage became bogged down in achieving material wealth (both of us), me helping our son who has a learning difficulty, running our business etc. Our relationship lost its romance and intimacy – and was not ever based on trust. I accept that no marriage will ever be truly happy under those circumstances.

Types of Affairs

I identify 7 types of affairs in my ebook: Break Free From the Affair.

I did a survey recently and asked my readers to identify the type of affair facing them.

Here are the results of the survey:

My Marriage Made Me Do It 44.4%

I Don’t Want to Say No 20.0%

I Can’t Say No 13.3%

I Fell out of Love…and just love being in love 20.0%

I Want to Get Back at Him/Her 15.6%

I Need to Prove My Desirability 33.3%

I Want to Be Close to Someone…but can’t stand intimacy 18.9%

Healing the Marriage After Infidelity

Read what my readers say helped them, or is helping them, repair and heal their marriage after infidelity:

>>>>>Huges, a lot of hugs, no kissing or touching just hugs. Write letters to each other.
>>>>>Accountability; we both are held accountable for our actions. Communicate more. We make an effort to talk to one another throughout our day and when the work day is over. Admitting when one is wrong and being able to say sorry.

>>>>>I called and spoke with my husbands Other person. I checked his emails to her.

>>>>>I stopped talking about it. I tried making him feel really special. and I tried to always know where he was.

>>>>>We participated in a couple’s retreat – Retrouvaille – which is all about re-learning how to communicate and repairing the damaged relationship. Through this program, we have figured out the issues that led to the affair and completely rediscovered each other. I was ready to separate on Friday afternoon, but by Sunday night I was ready to re-commit and start to forgive. Our weekend was 3 months ago and we are still using all of the principles we learned. After 10 years of marriage, we are finally starting to get to know each other.