When the unthinkable happens, how do you respond? The most natural response is to just act on whatever feels good at the moment. There are many responses to discovering that your partner has cheated – and all of them feel valid at the moment.
However, in the days and weeks after the discovery, some reactions hinder healing. This holds whether the choice is to stay together or separate. I would like to advise you of a few things NOT to do after discovering that your mate had an affair. (Take our advice. We see these happen frequently…and it’s never helpful).
The 7 Deadly Sins: What Not To Do After an Affair
Tell Your Entire Family & All Your Friends
After discovering the affair, it may seem natural to want to talk to others about it – whether it is to turn to others for support or to embarrass your partner. However, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding your relationship. There is no clear answer if you are going to stay together, break up, hate each other, love each other, etc. If there is any chance of repair in this relationship, it is important to make the best decisions now to keep from hindering the healing process. Imagine six months to a year from now: you and your partner have worked hard to repair your relationship, but now your close friends and family have a lot of hate and resentment. This makes the road to reconciliation far more difficult.
Allow some time to pass so that you and your partner can determine the state of your relationship before sharing it with others. When it is time to share, it is best to develop a plan of what to share and with whom. This is especially important regarding what and when you are going to tell your closest relationships (i.e., parents, children, siblings, friends, neighbors, and co-workers).
The exception to this is a therapist or physician. These professionals are bound by laws of confidentiality. They will protect your privacy while helping to guide you through the next steps of your mental and physical health.
Blast Your Partner on Social Media
I get it…you’re hurt. Your first reaction is to get angry and want revenge. However, putting demeaning comments about your partner or spouse on social media is not helpful. Remember, social media lives forever. Once you put it out there, you can never get it back (even if you delete it from your timeline or feed). It is very important to protect yourself and your partner by what you put on social media. When you are calmer, you will likely regret what was posted on social media. But your 2,754 friends will remember that your partner had an affair as well as all the nasty mud-slinging that occurred between the two of you for the entire world to see.
Make Life Altering Decisions
Once you find out that your partner has cheated on you, your life gets turned upside down. Nothing is certain. There will be many emotional reactions that happen all at once. Making huge decisions while you are flooded with emotions is not advised since clear thinking is difficult amid such uncertainty. After a while, once you have begun to process some of your emotions and can think clearly, then you can make decisions that are the best for you and your family. Some decisions to avoid are:
*Having an affair of your own in retaliation.
*Filing for divorce.
*Making large purchases.
*Changing the locks on your house after kicking your partner out.
*Draining the joint bank account and hiding the money.
The healing process after an affair takes time, patience, and a lot of difficult, emotional work. Some of these quick, large decisions can make the healing process more difficult than it already is and can mask the real issues. Take the time to take care of yourself emotionally so that you can think through large decisions.
Place All Blame on The Other Affair Partner
The first thing that needs to happen on the road to recovery is that your partner needs to take 100% of the responsibility for that act of betrayal toward you. Yes, there may be other relationship issues that need to be addressed, but in the moment of discovery, those are secondary. If your partner does not accept full responsibility, then it is very difficult to assure you that it will not happen again. If the partner can blame someone else (their affair partner), it becomes that person’s fault. Then it becomes an uncontrollable action that can be repeated.
Obsess Over the Other Affair Partner
After discovering the affair, most people say they hate the “other person.” However, your reaction to that person could lead to behavior that may cause more harm for you than good. Many people consider finding the affair partner, confronting him/her, and perhaps “outing” them by telling their spouse or significant other about the affair. Other hurt parties find the affair partner on social media and “stalk” their social media pages to find out more information or begin obsessing about this person, wondering, “why did he/she choose this person? What do they have that I don’t?” These thoughts or actions do not help you or your relationship–they only make things worse. Many people hyper-focus on the other affair partner because that is a person or factor out of their control. Remember to only focus on yourself, your partner, and your relationship.
Blame Yourself
You have been betrayed. You are hurting. This is not your fault. You are not to blame.
Have you been perfect in your relationship? No, no one has. But at this moment, your mistakes are not an excuse for your partner’s betrayal. Protect your sanity at this moment and repeat this after me: “It is NOT my fault my partner betrayed me.” Repeat this as many times as it takes until you can believe it. This is the time to heal and help yourself begin to work toward making the best decisions for your family.
Think You Can Recover On Your Own
When your relationship has been through the betrayal and hurt that comes with an affair, it takes professional help to properly heal and move forward with life. I would love to tell you that you can do this on your own, but for lasting recovery, professional help is almost always necessary.
We can help. At Family Therapy Associates, we specialize in infidelity recovery. We would be honored to help you not only survive an affair but thrive in your relationship. Our clinicians are trained in evidence-based practices (models that are proven to work) that will help guide you on a path to recovery. You don’t have to work through this alone. If you have discovered an affair, give us a call or schedule an appointment today.
In addition, we recommend completing this course, as a first step to working through infidelity recovery. Please note, this isn’t therapy, but it’s an educational course, designed to help you process your feelings, learn what to expect in the days and weeks ahead, and teach you some coping skills so that you can walk through the process effectively.
This course is an excellent starting point, and can be helpful regardless if you engage in therapy or not. In addition, if your partner wants to repair the relationship, he or she can complete this similar course as the unfaithful partner, so that you can start the healing process together.