Emotional cheating is THE WORST form of cheating.
Loyalty. Commitment. Faithfulness. These are basic principles in all relationship that you should never compromise. Any violation of these principles could spell heavy trouble for any relationship. There is just no suppressing the pain that is brought about by betrayal and deceit. It doesn’t matter whether you’re just starting out in a new relationship or if you’ve been together for a long time. If you’ve been cheated on, whether emotionally or physically, it’s always going to sting substantially. Now it’s very important to make that delineation because the idea of having different forms of cheating still manages to escape a lot of couples.
One can practice infidelity in more than just one way. There is the physical form of cheating and then there is also the emotional one. People can have emotional affairs just as they can have physical ones. All of the negative aspects of being in a physical affair with a third party are still consistent in an emotional one. In an emotional affair, you are still going to find some form of deceit, betrayal, mistrust, and dishonesty. You must also consider the amount of emotional investment that goes into emotional affairs; these are investments that one could be making for the legitimate relationship.
Instead, the emotional cheater is dividing his emotional energy in more ways than one. So while it can be harder to catch a person in the act of emotionally cheating on you, it’s not exactly impossible. The signs are still going to be there and you just have to be vigilant and introspective. You have to be able to look at your relationship objectively. You can’t allow your love to blind you to the infidelity of your partner. You never deserve to be lied to especially when it comes to the state of your relationship. You should never be kept in the dark about anything and that’s why you must continually look out for yourself.
1. You are the only one who is emotionally invested in the relationship.
If you feel like your partner just isn’t making the effort in the relationship anymore, then that is a definite cause for concern. In an ideal and healthy relationship, both people involved should always be investing equal parts of themselves into the relationship. Both people must always be willing to give just as much as they’re getting out of the relationship. However, lately, you find yourself to be the only one giving; but you’re never receiving. If your partner just isn’t putting the effort in your relationship anymore, it may be because he’s putting it someplace else.
2. Your partner acts excessively irritable and defensive lately.
He’s got something to hide and you know it. All the signs are there. He’s always jumpy. He’s very irritable. He gets very defensive whenever you ask him questions. He acts as if he’s being interrogated even though all of your questions are perfectly reasonable and innocent. Instead of answering your questions directly and honestly, he’s going to deflect as much as possible with the use of his emotions. He’s going to try to shift your attention from your questions to his mood. He’s going to want to turn things around on you and make you feel pressured with his responses. This is a typical defense mechanism for people who are trying to hide something.
3. You don’t really have quality time with one another anymore.
All of those fun moments that you used to have lots of times in the past are no longer prominent in your relationship these days. Every opportunity that you have to spend time with another is no more valued or given importance. In fact, you feel a certain toxicity that’s there whenever you’re together these days. It’s as if you’re perpetually arguing or being awkward about something. There’s just no more fun and joy in your relationship even though in the past, there was never a shortage of good times for the two of you.
4. You notice that they are being more protective of their phones and computers.
He used to just let you borrow his phone whenever you wanted without him wanting to delete a few things beforehand. He used to just leave his laptop lying around open without a password and easy to access. But nowadays, you’ve noticed that he’s made some substantial changes in those areas. He’s a lot more secretive now. He’s more protective of his communication devices. That may be because he’s trying to protect some vital information from falling into your hands; vital information that concerns his emotional infidelity.
5. Your gut is telling you that there’s something wrong.
Always learn to trust your instincts. It’s there for a reason. It’s there to protect you. It’s there to keep you safe. Your instincts have gotten you this far in life and you always have to pay attention. If your guy is telling you that something is off, then you can most likely bet that something really is wrong.
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