Limerence is an emotional state where a person experiences intense and often obsessive feelings of infatuation towards someone else. It's a romantic attraction that goes beyond typical, healthy attraction and often becomes obsessive and all-consuming. When someone is experiencing limerence, they may be more likely to act on their impulses and take risks, which can make them more vulnerable to an affair. View Post

Post Infidelity Stress Disorder (PISD), also known as betrayal trauma, is a condition that affects individuals who have experienced infidelity in their relationship. It is characterized by a range of symptoms that can significantly impact an individual's daily life, including their ability to function in their relationships, work, and other important areas of their life. The development of PISD is often related to the severity of the betrayal and the individual's personal history of trauma.

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Have you found that your straying partner does not want to increase transparency to rebuild trust? Or is your partner still talking to the affair partner and is only kind of, sort of doing some of the trust-building steps? If so, the Diamond Strategy is for you. Let me tell you Amy’s story. Amy went on a romantic vacation with her husband as they were trying to rebuild their marriage. The vacation was okay, but she felt like her husband..

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Most of us wish we could erase our bad memories. Unfortunately, bad memories are common and a normal part of life... but some memories hurt a lot more than others.This is especially true for someone who's experienced a trauma in their relationship, like an affair. We have developed a memory erasing technique called EMDR and I've modified the technique so you can do it at home. View Post

The first step in healing from an affair is ending the affair.  It's truly impossible to start making a relationship better while an affair is ongoing, so we have to stop the affair first.  To end the affair, I suggest that you and your partner sit down and write a letter together to the other person (affair partner). The letter should mostly be written by the person who had the affair, because it's critical that he/she starts to take responsibility for the choices that were made. View Post

While it's difficult to say exactly how common it is for couples to stay together after an affair, most couples who experience infidelity actually want to stay in their relationships. Recent studies find that infidelity affects 1 in every 2.7 couples and most (65%-70%) DO stay together after. Willingness to stay depends on a variety of factors such as the severity of the affair, the underlying issues in the relationship, and the willingness of both partners to work on the relationship.

 

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While some relationships that start as affairs MAY be able to overcome the challenges and difficulties that arise as a result of the affair, the vast majority do not survive. Only 5 to 7% of affair relationships lead to marriage and of those, approximately 75% end in divorce.So if we assume only 25% of the initial 7% last, this means that less than 2% turn into long-lasting marriages.This is a grim statistic for couples hoping an affair will be a permanent relationship.

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I'm thrilled to announce the release of my new book, The Courage to Stay: How To Heal From an Affair and Save Your Marriage. This book on infidelity is packed with all of the strategies and tools I've learned over the last 22 years as a relationship psychologist. Get the proven and practical advice that you need to truly heal from cheating. Free preview available exclusively on Amazon. View Post