Finding Hope for the Future – the Silver Lining – in an Extramarital Affair
This is another article from Dr. Huizengas “Quickie” Coaching series. With this coaching client, the issue of hope and healing from the affair and infidelity is explored. Guidelines and personal goals are suggested.
Want to feel normal again? The chat room is a normalizing experience for many.
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Infidelity Quickie: Hanging on to the Silver Lining in infidelity
Learn from these real life extramarital affair coaching scenarios.
In the first section the person struggling with the marital infidelity summarizes the scenario or concern and what he/she would like to say to his/her cheating spouse.
I then outline some goals that help him/her break free from the affair.
The last and important section gets at shifting the focus away from the spouse/partner to him/her self. In other words, what does all this mean for the person on the receiving end of an extramarital affair? After that mental shift (which is NOT easy for someone in the pain and turmoil of perhaps losing one’s spouse, family, and home) I, the coach, offer phrases that he/she can relay to his/her spouse in a way that speaks directly of his/her concern and has the best chance of being heard and getting positive results.
Section #1: The “offended spouse” says:
Even though I know the affair is not my fault, I think about ways I could make myself better. I continue to try and push away the negative and think about what positive has come out of this. Weird thing to say but I can breathe easier knowing that some positive things have come of this. My life is completely different, my husband has decided after 45 days of me finding out and not seeing or speaking to me about anything that he wants a divorce. Needless to say I was absolutely crushed, my family is destroyed or feels that way, we have two children of our own and my nephew who we are guardians for. Our son is 7 and our daughter is 18 mos old. All of a sudden, the dream I thought we both were striving to achieve was on pause while he was put on active duty to support the war. Instead I find that he had an affair with a married woman who has four children, he didn’t even cheat right, he told her he was divorced that his wife, whom he still loved left him. I am torn inside in a way that I have never felt before. Our friends and family were surprised but I wasn’t and that is the part that hurts. Through this I have found faith to help me through the rough days and family and friends support is always good. I spend my time trying to stay busy.
Section 2: Personal goals suggested by the coach:
- Continue to work on self improvement goals.
- Journal or reflect on your internal dialogue. Be aware of the part that has negative thoughts. Try to understand the intent of this part and what this part wants for you.
- Continue building your support system (family, friends).
- Allow yourself to grieve the loss.
Section 3: What the affair means for the “offended spouse” and what he/she REALLY wants to say to his spouse/partner having the affair:
- This seems so sudden. I hope you know what you are doing. Looks like you might be buying yourself a bucket of responsibility and perhaps trouble.
- I wonder some days why you need to hide (the truth).
What is your situation? Describe your situation. Let it flow. Don’t hold back. Then, ask yourself, “What does this marital mean for ME?” What impact does his/her extramarital affair have on my feelings, thoughts and actions? Then rehearse approaching your spouse/partner with phrases that convey the meaning and impact of the infidelity for YOU.
How to Feel Normal
You don’t have to go this alone. Going it alone increases your tendency to believe there is something wrong with you. You need the input of others in your situation to help you stick with the belief “Maybe I and my responses are normal!”
We set up a new chat room for you to get support and encouragement from others and to learn from others. I sincerely hope you will try it out.
Go there. Look it over. Don’t feel compelled to participate, if you are not ready. If so inclined, welcome others who enter the room.
The chat room is new. I’m testing it. It offers private rooms and instant messages, which are optional. You need to register to enter. I provide this to discourage hackers and undesirable souls! You privacy is solidly protected. You can divulge what you wish about your situation or self.
To ensure that a significant number of people are in the chat room at a given time, we set up a schedule whereby volunteer moderators will be present to welcome people and keep the room rolling.
If you want to volunteer reply to this email with your first name and email address in the first line of the body. I will get in touch with you as we develop the room.
OK. Ready? Go here to login to the chat room.
Should You Stay or Should You Go?
Are you wondering what you should do? Stay? Go? Ask him/her to Go? There is often a “knee-jerk” response when confronted with the extramarital affair. Feelings of hurt, anger, rage, sadness, disbelief predominate.
“Should You Stay or Should You Go?” is an “action book” filled with hundreds of questions, stories and insights that will help you consciously determine whether to stay in your present relationship or to move on.
In this book we take you through a powerful process of discovery about yourself, your partner and your relationship. By going through this process, the decision about what’s best for you actually reveals itself to you. Click on the link above for more information
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