Sexual Addiction: How Does it Cause Extramarital Affairs? Part 2

In this second part of the two-part series on sexual addiction and infidelity, we will continue to list down more things you need to watch out for from your partner, or anyone else you know, to be able to identify whether or not his or her infidelity is caused by sexual addiction.

Here are a few more insights and observations on sexual addiction and infidelity:

1. Sex for someone who is sexually addicted is actually tied very closely with fear. He or she is afraid, most of all, of getting caught or discovered. This person is afraid of being faced with the consequences of his or her infidelity. He or she does not want to be looked down on, to lose the respect of the people around him. He or she does not want to alienate himself, and lose his family and his friends.

2. Because of this fear, he or she develops a different view of the world. This person begins to rationalize his or her actions and behaviors, and convinces himself that there is nothing wrong with the things he or she is doing. He or she will also be able to hide his or her addiction from those around, and convince them that there is nothing wrong. He or she will be able to lead a kind of double life – one where his or her addiction exists, and one where it doesn’t.

3. There is also a cycle of making and breaking promises, and failing to keep his or her word when it comes to sexual activities. Usually, after a bout of infidelity, that guilt persists and this person makes promises to not do it again either to himself or his or her partner. This promise usually only lasts until the next time he or she feels the urge to act out on his or her addiction again, in which case he or she will most likely will. And the cycle continues.

If you see any of these on anyone you know, encourage them to get help as soon as possible. It won’t be easy, of course, because no one would admit right away that they are sexually addicted. But try to convince him or her that living without this addiction will create much better relationships with other people, especially with his or her partner. And that he or she should explore and discover the world without sexual addiction.

Emotional Affairs: What Are the Clues?

What do you need to watch out for when you suspect that your partner is having an emotional affair with someone?

The following is a compilation of information gathered from the comments on the newsletter received by our subscribers – men and women –  who have experienced and observed the changes in their partners as they went through emotional affairs, as well as from their emails and responses to the various articles and blogs posted on our website.

And here is what they had this to say about clues to emotional affairs:

1. My husband started coming home late a lot. (This is one of the most common clues of emotional affairs.)

2. Our sex life changed. It wasn’t what it used to be.

3. We started having fights and arguments over little things.

4. I noticed that she pulls away when I try to kiss her or touch her.

5. She started to make more of an effort with her appearance and clothing for work.

6. Another common clue of emotional affairs that almost everyone experienced: He would get phone calls late at night and he would always answer them in a different room. The calls usually lasted for hours.

7. He set up a password on his computer, and there were files that I couldn’t view.

8. My wife always had excuses to get out of the house, usually at nights and during the weekends.

9. He suddenly started to work more and more, or always had a work-related outing he had to go to.

10. I was shocked when he said all of a sudden that he “cares for me a lot but isn’t in love with me anymore.”

So have you experienced any of these things recently from your partner? Or is he or she doing something else that you just find odd? What other clues of emotional affairs can you add to the list that you think is important and that people have to watch out for? And what should you do when you notice these changes from your partner? Don’t hesitate to leave your comments or thoughts.

Keeping Secrets: Why They Can Ruin a Marriage

Is it alright for you to be keeping secrets from your partner? In what instances or situations is it okay to do so? And in when is it not? Read on to see why secrets in a marriage can break the trust you’ve worked hard to build, and what you can do to fix it.

Keeping secrets from your partner, no matter how little you think they are, can be very damaging to your relationship. Which means that you have to be very, very careful about this.

Most of the time, your partner will be able to sense that you are keeping secrets, or at least something, from him or her anyway, and although he or she may not ask you directly what it is, there could be hints that will be sent your way asking you to divulge whatever it is that you are hiding. And the more you avoid answering or divulging what it is, the more your partner will suspect you of doing something wrong, and he or she will start losing trust in you.

Usually in extramarital affairs, what hurts your partner most is the fact that you betrayed his or her trust, kept things from him or her and lied constantly to cover things up. These things — the keeping of secrets — more than the fact that you had sex with another person, is what is most damaging for relationships.

But this does not mean that you have to talk about every single detail of your affair with your partner, that you have to describe in full detail what you and the other person did, where, when and how. No, it does not mean that at all. Your partner may ask you to reveal some details of the affair but you don’t have to be very specific about it.

What you need to do, though, is to resolve these things and find a way to forgive yourself because it’s the first thing you need to do before you can really move forward with your relationship.