How To Recognize the Signs of Emotional Cheating. What Is Emotional Cheating?

There is a common misconception that cheating is a purely physical act with emotions left out of the entire thing. That is not always the case, though, especially in the modern world, where mobile technology makes contact with someone else just a Wi-Fi connection away. The fact of the matter is that just because communication has broken down within the relationship, the need to communicate may not have. If your partner does not feel that they can share their deepest thoughts and feelings with you, they will find someone lese willing to listen.
Once your spouse takes their emotions to someone other than you, they will have taken the first baby steps into emotional cheating. It’s worth noting here that an emotional relationship may not always turn into a physical one, as that is not what your spouse is stepping outside of the relationship to look for. This doesn’t make the revelation that they are sharing their deepest, darkest feelings with someone other than you, and the level of pain and lack of trust that you feel can be almost as bad as if they had engaged in a physical relationship.
The big question here is how to figure out if your partner may be engaged in an emotional relationship with someone else. One of the biggest signs is that they start to become overly possessive of their mobile technology. Cell phones are suddenly hidden, passwords are changed, or made off limits to you all together. Your partner may start moving to a different room to use the phone, or will suddenly stop a conversation when you walk into the room. You may also find that they start to become even more detached from you than before. Not only will the communication grind to a halt, the physical aspect of your relationship may also do the same thing.
When your partner is having their emotional needs met elsewhere, they may deem you surplus to requirements. This may manifest itself in them becoming verbally abusive to you, which is often something that is done out of guilt. They know that they are doing something wrong, but they will try to shift the blame onto you in order to somehow justify their actions. On the other hand, they may also become happier or start behaving in ways that are totally out of character. A spouse involved in an emotional relationship may display all of these traits or none at all. It often comes down to nothing more than a gut feeling on your part. If you have spent years with the same person, you can very quickly get the sense that something is not quite right.
Both people in a relationship will have played a role in the evolution of this emotional relationship, and often times, the most effective way to get to the heart of the issue is to talk to a couple’s therapist. Therapy is a place where you can be open and honest, which means laying all the cards on the table for your partner to see. If they can do the same, real progress can be made towards getting your relationship back on track.

If you are looking for individual therapy or couples therapy in Long Beach, please give me a call to ask me a question or to set up an appointment.