Infidelity is one of the worst things that could happen to someone in a committed relationship. Imagine being with someone who you could not imagine hurting, but they decide to bring a third person into the picture. Infidelity affects everyone involved, though the impact is often the same—negative. What does infidelity do to a person? It has a broad reach that changes not only the dynamic of the relationship but how you feel about yourself.
What Infidelity Does To A Person
Whether you have been betrayed or you did the deed, you are undoubtedly feeling a certain kind of way right now. Whatever the circumstances, infidelity spells trouble in more ways than one. Handling infidelity after it has been found out is hard for both the cheater and the one who was wronged.
The Emotional Impact Of Infidelity
One-night stands and emotional cheating will have the same initial fallout. There may be trauma, one that greatly impacts the amount of trust you and your partner have built. Emotional insecurity, anxiety, and reduced self-esteem are all problems that can begin immediately after the affair is discovered. Others may feel infuriated or determined. Some feel guilt or liberation.
Too often, when someone is dealing with the shock and trauma of infidelity, they begin to question if they matter. You find yourself what would have happened if you had just been better. Would your partner have gone and cheated on you if you were stronger, thinner, curvier, more muscular, wealthier, or smarter?
You start comparing yourself to others who are in happy relationships. This could become a significant problem for some people, one that affects every relationship they have from here on out.
It’s undeniable—where there is infidelity, there is pain.
Infidelity’s Impact On Health
There are some cases where infidelity seriously impacts someone’s mental or physical condition. It doesn’t matter if you cheated on your partner or if you found out they were cheating on you. Infidelity can make both people feel depressed and anxious. The stress of keeping the affair under wraps alone can put someone into a persistent state of high alert. In turn, all that stress causes illness.
People may develop unhealthy coping mechanisms to combat the stress caused by infidelity, including substance abuse or disordered eating.
In fact, there is a mental health condition associated with infidelity that is nearly identical to post-traumatic stress disorder. Infidelity has also been linked to heart conditions, including heart attacks from “broken heart syndrome.”
As you can see, infidelity is not without struggle. The pain of maintaining the ruse can be just as hurtful as dealing with the betrayal. Realizing how much your partner is hurt by your actions can be just as shocking as finding out you were cheated on.
How Infidelity Impacts A Person’s Sexual Health
What does infidelity do to a person? It makes them feel broken. Now imagine the implications such a thing could do to intimacy. Once trust has been crushed, there leaves little room for intimacy.
The mental effects of infidelity may change how someone sees themselves. Someone betrayed may no longer find themselves desirable or worthy of love. Those who had an affair may find themselves denied.
Let’s also touch on the fact that risky behaviors associated with infidelity also increase the risk of STIs, particularly during one-night stands without any protection involved.
An Unanticipated Positive Impact Of Infidelity
Infidelity is unjustifiable, regardless of how or why it happens. The emotional and mental pain that it brings leads to a swell of negativity. However, there is one potential positive outcome of infidelity: you heal your relationship.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Sometimes infidelity is a catalyst that gets you to look at the problems in your relationship. You now have a way to discuss those issues. There is something to focus on. Infidelity often makes two people realize how much they have been taking one another for granted, that they were bored with the way things were, but that they never meant to do as much harm as they did.
You stay together and, with a marriage counselor or couples therapist, you start out on the path to accepting your flaws and working through the problems that drove you two apart.
Infidelity Does Not Mean The End
What does infidelity do to a person? It affects them negatively. Hurt, self-loathing, grief, and distress are common in both the betrayed and the betrayer. Affairs are one of the hardest things for people to get through. Most couples do not survive such a betrayal. But that does not mean your relationship is doomed. If you face this trial together, you can not only overcome the negative feelings, you can come out as a stronger couple in the end. Couples Academy can help you face this challenge head-on while helping you contend with your emotions.
Get in contact with Couples Academy today to learn more about how we can help you heal after infidelity.
