The Third Person: Just How Special Is He/She?

It’s easy to see why most victims of infidelity point a lot of the blame and anger on the third person – most people would react his way. And while it’s easier to believe that the affair is all the third person’s fault, what you have to realize is that if it didn’t happen with that specific person, then it probably would have happened with someone else.

Most people believe that the other person is someone who is so special, someone who is way better than them, or someone is more beautiful in every way. But if the affair could have happened with anyone, does that still make the other person that special?

The appeal of extramarital affairs does not really depend on the specific person but on the role that person plays which is, in most cases, that of a lover. People who engage in extramarital affairs are drawn into the relationship because it gives them a chance to be the person they want to be, and not necessarily who they are. It becomes a channel for them to live a fantasy life where they have no responsibilities, no priorities other than themselves, and no obligations to anyone else.

Understanding that your partner did not engage in an affair because of a specific person will make it easier for you to get past his actions, and move on to deal with the reasons behind his actions.

The Key to Saving Your Marriage: Identify the Type of Affair

Having had plenty of experience with couples and individuals going through extramarital affairs over the past two decades, Dr. Huizenga has classified 7 different kinds of affairs. While most affairs arise from a perceived inadequacy from the marriage, there are some that are caused by a personal conflict by the offending partner.

There are some people who feel some kind of entitlement in having the perfect partner, and tend to move from one person to the next in the pursuit of that. There are also those who are so in love with the idea of being in love that they neglect actually working on their relationships to stay being in love, and look for that feeling elsewhere instead.

Another type of affair could be caused by a partner’s need for revenge for some reason. It could be because of something you did or something you did not do. It could also be caused by anger of some sort over a conflict you had.

Some tend to engage in affairs to kind of affirm their desirability, not always to other people, but most of the time to themselves. And there are those who are confused about the balance of intimacy and distance, and tend to look somewhere else for help in that area.

Whatever the reason is behind your partner’s infidelity, understanding it will be the key in discovering and developing the right approach in your pursuit to save your marriage.

Healing the Marriage after Infidelity: Baby Steps

Ever see the movie, “What about Bob?” Enjoyable movie that I’ve taken a bunch of flak for over the years… in a good way.

Baby steps… remember? Sage advice really.

And, how many of us in the throes of infidelity want to take “baby steps?”

Not many.

We want the pain to go away now and we want resolution now.

That’s not reality, however.

It’s the small steps that begin the process and build on each other. Read what this person says while beginning to delve into my ebook: Marriage Makeover:

“(we are just starting and he still knows nothing about this book or info) 1. The process has just started by my getting the book, and trying to gain the needed information, reading it, understanding the affair, and putting everything into perspective, trying to absorb all of the info and putting into practice the things that I learned and watching the results. 2. we took a vacation…. the op still tried to call his cell, but he ignored it…, but we just had fun and spent time…. “neutral” so to speak, just doing something different to see if we still enjoyed each others company or not…. We had a good time, part of it I would go ahead and go swimming by myself and shopping by myself, and just left him in the room. Or I did window shopping by myself so he could see that I didn’t have to be “attached” to him to have a good time… it helped me too… also, I stopped holding his hand instead I would just walk beside him. He started to reach out for me more often. I learned to not “expect” anything and to bite the sides of my mouth if I had to in order to be more control of what I really want to say… 3. my changed responses and reactions to his typical insults and rudeness did cause him to have to change his responses…. and actions. He doesn’t know that he is not the one in charge of the situation right now…. He still thinks that he is in control, but he is still so out of control and focus…. this does give me the strength I need to take care of myself and my daughter and to make a plan and decisions that I need… so as a couple we have a long way to go, but he has started to make future plans for “us”, like a 10 year commitment in a time share, a new security system that will take time to pay off, and up-grading our health insurance policies for better coverage… and talking about his possible upcoming promotion and the possibity that I may be able to work less and be home more… (which is one thing he really needs and that is for me to be home for him when he is off work.) Note * your information is right on…. while no one else seems to think that a marriage can be saved or worth it…. you and your information does offer another solution to choose from… thatnks… the things that I have tried do work… I still don’t know if it will work, but it is certainly worth a try…. I have already invested 16 years into this “relationship” and so why not try something new that might help… thanks for all you do.