Online, or cyber infidelity, involves engaging in sexual or emotional affairs online, via chat rooms, messages, texts, and exchanging of photos and sexual fantasies. Some people consider viewing pornography without engaging with others a type of cheating, while others do not. Impact of Infidelity
Infidelity can have serious impacts on relationships and on the individuals involved, including those who are cheated on, and those who do the cheating. When infidelity impacts a relationship, it can leave the people in it feeling highly distressed, depressed, and out of sorts. It can cause heightened anxiety, suicidal ideation, and signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).3
The person who was cheated on may feel deeply betrayed, and suspicious of their spouse’s activities going forward. They may experience nightmares, flashbacks, and may have images of the affair playing in their head as if on a movie reel. Trust may be severed, and difficult to repair.3
Finally, infidelity can strain or break apart relationships or marriages. Infidelity is one of the top reasons that couples go to relationship counseling, and it’s one of the most common reasons for divorce.
Coping With Infidelity
Although the impacts of infidelity can’t be minimized, and it is not recommended to remain in a relationship with someone who betrays trust repeatedly without remorse and avoids taking responsibility, there is some hope. Relationship counseling with a licensed therapist can be effective at helping couples heal, move on from affairs, and establish firm boundaries so that infidelity does not become a chronic problem.3
