Confronting Your Partner: Sudden Changes Should Not Be Ignored

Is your partner acting strange? Do you feel like something is off with him or her? Do think that he or she is hiding something from you? And, if you do, should you ask him or her about it?

An increasing number of men and women have engaged in an extramarital affair at some point in their marriages, and chances are, someone close to you is a part of that number since there are quite a few affairs that never even get discovered.

Although it is a vital part of any relationship to trust your partner, you should always remember that you have to trust in your own instincts as well. There are some telltale signs that will give away your partner if ever he or she is indeed having an affair, and you shouldn’t ignore them once you see them.

A few of them are pretty basic, such as a sudden change in his or her daily routine and behavioral patterns. Others take a while to get noticed, like a lack of focus in work or any activity he or she is doing, a detachment or disinterest in things related to your relationship, or a change in habits.

Signs like these should not be ignored, and should be confronted right away, especially if for some reason you find it very out of character and uncomfortable. The way the confrontation will go will, of course, will depend on the status of your relationship. Make sure that you do in a way that will bring reconciliation and understanding to the relationship, and not cause conflict or fights. Confronting your partner with your suspicions is very different from attacking him or her with them, so be careful with the way that you do it. Remember that knowing the truth of what is going on in his or her life is better than being filled with questions that don’t get answered.

Emotional Affairs: A Harmless Type of Affair?

What would you rather your partner’s affair would be? Would you rather that it was only about the sex? Or would you prefer that your partner had feelings for the other person?

“Are you in love with him or her?” That is usually the first question you ask your partner when you discover that he or she had an affair. Most people would dismiss sexless or emotional affairs like they’re nothing compared to physical affairs, but what would you rather hear your partner say – that it was only about sex or that he or she has developed feelings for another person?

When there’s no sex or physical intimacy involved in affairs, it’s somehow looked at as an unimportant and harmless event or mistake.

Sharing secrets, goals, problems, thoughts and feelings with someone who is not your spouse can only lead to trouble, and will most often lead to deeper feelings for the other person and probably even lead to physical intimacy eventually. You may not even notice that your friendship with this other person is getting deeper and deeper, and then all of a sudden you become attached to him or  her and forget all about your partner.

Most clients who have suffered going through emotional affairs are those who had the hardest time dealing with their partners’ betrayal. So, if you see yourself going through something like this or if you find that you are hiding a particular relationship with a person or anything else that you wouldn’t want your husband or wife to know about, it’s time for you to stop. Make an effort to stay away from this person, at least until you are certain that there is nothing going on other than friendship. Save your marriage.

Marriage After Infidelity: When Working on the Relationship Is Not Working

Rebuilding a marriage after infidelity is never easy, and couples who are in a “polarized” relationship, where one needs to talk things through and the other just wants to move on, are faced with the added problem of having to deal with this barrier of not being able to communicate. Communication is one of the biggest tools that you need when rebuilding a marriage after infidelity.

The following are some of the other common issues that “polarized” couples have to deal with:

1. Usually, one or even both of the partners feel the need to kind of sacrifice their needs for the other because they want to be able to make their partner happy. This only really works for a little while because having to set aside one’s personal needs for a long period of time eventually causes resentment and anger. You might see it as admirable that you are setting your needs aside for you to be able to cater to your partner, but it is actually cowardly. Having the courage to ask, not demand, for your needs to be met will come a long way in restoring respect and trust in your marriage.

2. Also, the couple sometimes takes for granted the opportunity to really look into their issues, take them apart and try to fix them. They tend to have a let’s-start-over attitude about the whole thing and ignore their problems instead of finding solutions to get through them. Although it is easier to “leave the past in the past” and forget everything that’s happened, there is no guarantee that those issues won’t resurface after some time. In fact, they most definitely will sooner or later. So it is much more beneficial for your relationship to dig into those issues and face them as soon as you are able.

3. And lastly, what occurs in most instances is that after the initial efforts made in working on the relationship, the couple reverts back to their old ways and loses the progress they make. They go back to the way they used to be – how they acted, talked and treated each other in the past becomes the norm once again. This is a crucial part in rebuilding a marriage after infidelity — to maintain the progress and the changes  that you’ve made. And it takes real, conscious effort — at least for a certain time — for you to really be able to make those changes a part of your routine and a part of your life.