Myths About Infidelity |
The Challenges of Infidelity
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Infidelity is extremely common, no matter how you define it.
There are many common myths about infidelity, which make dealing with it more complicated.
People cheat for many reasons; sex is only one, and often not the most important one.
As long as there have been committed couples, there has been infidelity. Broken vows of sexual exclusivity is a recurring theme in Greek tragedy, the Bible, medieval literature, Shakespeare, and the modern tales of Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Sinatra, and Taylor Swift.
Survey data regarding cheating keeps changing as social definitions of cheating evolve. And the invention of cars, telephones, and the internet—not to mention mixed-gender schools and workplaces—have multiplied people’s opportunities for a broader range of physical and emotional relationships.
Infidelity is one of the top reasons people see a therapist, either alone or with a partner. Most people think they know something about infidelity as a general subject, but when it actually occurs in someone’s life, they need to shed any common myths about it quickly.
Here are challenges to some common myths about infidelity.
MYTH: A vigilant partner can prevent infidelity
Is your mate going to cheat? It’s less likely if the relationship is enjoyable, your mate is healthy, the two of you can talk about everything, and the sex is satisfying.
There’s no guarantee. But some partners try to create one. They examine their mate’s mobile phone: records of texting, geo-locaters, email, and actual phone calls. What Sherlock Holmes wouldn’t give for that source of clues! Or they tell their partner “no one-on-one dinners with anyone of the other sex.” Or they demand to check in on a partner at will. When all else fails, they hire a........