ARE YOU HAVING AN EMOTIONAL AFFAIR?

Emotional Affairs occur when the primary relationship has become dead or cut off in some way. Often these affairs start up in compensation for some real intimacy at home. Many big life events trigger these affairs as people feel more needy than usual. A death in the family, children coming or going, turning big marker ages 40,50,60, job reentry, school reentry, financial stress, illness etc......... can all be triggers for a change in the primary relationship and an opening for an emotional affair.

SIGNS OF AN EMOTIONAL AFFAIR

1- Your friendship has secrets

2- You confide in your friend more than to your spouse

3- You have more excitement to meet/talk with friend than spouse

4- You feel more your self and freer with friend

5- You take better care of yourself before contact with friend

6- You have sexual fantasies about friend

7- You hide the amount of contact you do have from spouse

8-You give your friend special gifts and treats

9- You get into fights with your spouse about your friend

10- You want exclusive time with your friend and you keep your spouse separate from your friend

11- When you think of getting away or taking a day off you think of doing it with your friend and not your spouse

12- You are defensive about your friend's faults to your spouse and get extra heated about any criticism

13- You are feeling more and more distant from your spouse and don't want to deal with it

14- You start talking more to your friend about your problems in your relationship

15- You are much kinder and more forgiving with your friend than your spouse

16- You find yourself telling more and more little lies to your partner

If you can say YES to more than 6 of these signs then odds are you are on the slippery slope to an EMOTIONAL AFFAIR. The best remedy is to fully acknowledge the lapse in your primary relationship and turn all attention to repairing the primary intimacy. Everyone needs close friends and close friends are not ever a threat to a truly intimate relationship.

Jennifer Freed Ph.D. Psychotherapist and Educator in Santa Barbara, California

Author of rave reviewed "LESSONS FROM STANLEY THE CAT" a mature audience book published by Penguin.