After Being Cheated On: When We’re Told to “Get Over It”

Posted on by stilllearning2b

Why “Get Over It” is Misdirected

We Wish We Could

When we’ve been betrayed, we want nothing more than for the pain to go away. We try to bargain with it, under the desperate illusion that if we can just unlock the secret code, everything will go back to the way it was. Often, we try to escape from it, looking for those brief moments of respite provided through distractions. We plead with others and ourselves to please just make the pain stop.

We see ourselves, both manic and depressed, driven half-mad with the heart-stopping realization that we’ve been trapped in an illusion, and we hate what we see. We don’t want to be that person, and yet we don’t know how to escape the pain that binds us. And so “get over it” feels like being told to simply walk away and yet we have no legs.

 

It Often Assumes One Bad Moment is Reflective of Every Moment

Triggers – and overreactions – are a part of healing. And by their very nature, they tend to be visible to others and attract attention. It may be that this sort of reaction is rare, yet for the person on the outside telling you that it’s time to “get over it,” they may perceive this as being your normal, everyday state.

 

It is Dismissive of the Magnitude of the Pain

From an outsider’s perspective, it can be easy to underestimate the impact of betrayal. They may see it as being only about the sexual relationship or think that you are better off without the cheater and that can dump them and move on as easily as you discard your trash after a picnic lunch.

Yet the reality is different. No aspect of your life has escaped unscathed. You now question everything and trust nothing. You grieve the life you thought you had and the future you imagined. You feel like you were not enough while you face the fear of being alone forever.

 

Healing Does Not Speak Calendar

Many times, “get over it” comes after a certain amount of time as passed, as though the calendar holds some magical healing powers. And while time does help to soften the memories and provide opportunities for healing, it is no panacea.

From Does Time Heal All Wounds:

Time Doesn’t Mean You Forget You will never forget. Time does not erase all memories, delete all pain. It’s still there, but there is also space for you to live alongside of it.

Provide Automatic Processing Time doesn’t do the healing. You do. If all you do is wait, you’ll feel much the same, only with more wrinkles. Time simply gives you the space and opportunity to work through it.

Time Doesn’t Provide Understanding Time won’t answer the “why” question for you. It won’t reveal why life is harder for some of us than others and why bad things can happen to good people. What time does give you is some perspective that suggests that maybe understanding why isn’t really that important.

 

This Trauma May Bring Up Past Traumas

Perhaps this betrayal has brought up childhood wounds where you felt abandoned by a parent. Or maybe this has reminded you of other situations in your past where you received the message that you were unlovable and not enough. Perhaps grieving thus loss has reignited the pain of other losses from your pass.

Regardless of the specifics, this trauma does not exist in isolation. Much like an iceberg with most of its mass below the surface, it may appear to others that you’re reacting only to the most visible injury, meanwhile you’re wrestling with everything that’s been buried for years.

 

 

Why People Tell Us to “Get Over It”

They Have Something to Gain From Our Silence

Sadly, the one who betrayed us is often the same one telling us to drop it already, as though they can reveal this bombshell and then escape unscathed. Sometimes they’re clueless, so absorbed in their own life than they neglect to consider how their actions have impacted you. Other times, they see our pain as weakness and our cries trigger them to be cruel. Consider the motivation behind the words. Does your silence somehow benefit them?

 

Discomfort With Our Emotions

This can happen either with the person that betrayed us or with others in our life. The emotions that follow betrayal are often strong and ugly, and people may be uncomfortable bearing witness to those feelings. They tell us to move on because they want us to be back to normal for their sake.

 

They Care and Want Us to Feel Better

Not everyone who tells us to ‘get over it” has bad intentions. Sometimes, those words, although hurtful, are coming from those who see us hurting and want us to feel better. They see that we’re holding on, turning the past over and over again in our minds as though looking for the secret that will unlock peace. They see us “pain-shopping,” scrolling social media to see images of the affair partner and they hear our fixation on what has happened. They know that we would feel better if we let go, but they don’t always understand why we’re not ready to.

 

Because They Haven’t Lived it, They Don’t Understand

From an outsider’s perspective, it seems so simple – dump the jerk and walk away with your head held high like some character bouncing off rock bottom in a romantic comedy. Their words aren’t malicious, they’re just clueless.

 

When We Need to Pay Attention to “Get Over It”

If It Pisses You Off, There May be Some Truth to It

Pay attention to your reaction to those words. If you find yourself particularly enraged or defensive, it may be because they are dangerously close to some truth that you’ve been trying to avoid seeing.  Often, we do hold on too long and sometimes those in our lives our trying to help us see the ways that we’re betraying ourselves.

 

We Hold Onto Pain Because It is All We Have Left

The innocence is gone. The trust is gone. The marriage may be gone. But we still have the pain. It is a sign that we have been wounded that can become a strange badge of honor that we wear to honor the magnitude of what was lost. We fear letting go of the pain, because we no longer know who we are without it.

 

Sometimes We Neglect to Live While We’re Healing

It’s so easy to tell ourselves that once we are healed, then we will fully engage with life again. Yet life happens alongside healing, two intertwining and continuous paths. Perhaps the one telling you to “get over it” is really telling you to get out of the waiting room and start living even while you’re still healing.

 

If You’re Wanting to Heal the Relationship, You Have to Let Go

From After the Affair: How Much Should You Talk About It?:

You didn’t have a say in the affair and you have every right to have a say in how the recovery plays out. It is not your role to alleviate their guilt or to stay quiet in an attempt to keep the peace. Your emotions are valid. That being said, be mindful of your motivation when you bring up the affair. Are you looking for reassurances that it won’t happen again? Are you wanting to make them feel badly? Are you coming from a place of self-righteousness? Are you wanting the person that hurt you to be the one to heal you? These are all the relationship equivalent of a dryer being stuck in the tumble cycle – it will beat you both up, but won’t make much of anything happen.

None of what happened is fair. And if you’re committed to staying, you have to decide what you want more – to punish them or heal the relationship. You can’t have both.

 

Ultimately, what it comes down to is this…

You are never going to “get over it,” as though it was a minor slight that stung for a moment. This has had a profound impact on your life, leaving behind permanent marks and forever altering how you view the world.

Yet even though you are not going to get over it,

You ARE going to figure out how to live with it. You will each a point when it is no longer the first thing you think of when you awake and you no longer cry yourself to sleep. It will become part of your story rather than your entire identity.

You ARE going to heal, the incredible rawness of the aching void replaced with an echo of the pain. You will allow yourself to trust again, to love again, beginning with yourself.

You ARE going to learn from it. What has happened has opened your eyes, brought you gratitude for what you do have and showed you just how strong you are.

 

 

The 10 Worst Platitudes to Hear After Divorce or Infidelity

Posted on by stilllearning2b

As soon as the divorce or infidelity is public, the platitudes begin to rain down from loved ones and strangers alike. They can feel so off-base and tone deaf in the moment, even when they’re coming from a place of care and concern. What makes these platitudes sting and what wisdom might we gleam from them?

 

“This too shall pass.”

Why it stings – There is a complete lack of acknowledgment of where you are right now and the damage that has been done. It’s like focusing on the fact that the knife that has stabbed you is no longer in your body when the wound is still open and bleeding.

The wisdom within – The way you feel right now is not the way you will always feel. It will never be as though it never happened, but it will no longer be so raw and shocky.

 

“Everything happens for a reason.”

Why it stings – This can feel like a person’s bad behavior is being excused because it fits into some greater good or that a horrible experience is a positive thing because it allows for something new. It implies that you should be looking for silver linings moments after the lightening strike.

The wisdom within – You have the power to make this a starting point, to create good things from this situation. It is possible to both acknowledge how terrible something is and also recognize that there are indeed positive things that can arise from the ashes.

 

“God won’t give you more than you can handle.”

Why it stings – Being told you’re strong when you’re feeling incredibly weak and vulnerable only makes you feel ashamed that you’re struggling. Because no matter what God thinks, it certainly doesn’t feel like you can handle this.

The wisdom within – We are so much stronger than we realize. We tend to think that because something is hard, it is impossible and we fail to see the incremental progress that we’re making. You may not be strong enough today, but don’t discount how strong you’ll be tomorrow.

 

“It’s for the best.”

Why it stings – Then why is it the worst thing that has ever happened to me? From an outside perspective, it can be easy to see why the relationship wasn’t working. But from within? The loss of it overwhelms everything else.

The wisdom within – Sometimes we stay in a relationship simply because we fear losing it. And only once we’re out can we see how damaging it actually was.

 

“Time heals all wounds.”

Why it stings – You’re already feeling powerless and since time travel is still fiction, being told you have to wait some unspecified length of time to feel better, only adds to that lack of control.

The wisdom within – Time acts like a river over stone, slowly smoothing away the rough edges of the pain. You can’t force it to happen sooner, but you can appreciate it when it comes.

 

“There are plenty of fish in the sea.”

Why it stings – You don’t care about what you could have, you want what you lost. Besides, the thought of dating again is scary, exhausting and perhaps completely off-putting.

The wisdom within – Love is not, “Limit one per customer.” When you’re ready, you may just find that you not only can love again, but that this love is even better than before.

 

“When one door closes, another one opens.”

Why it stings – Why are you telling me about a door when I can barely stand? This platitude makes us feel like we need to be pushing at a time when we’re still nursing our wounds.

The wisdom within – Struggles always come with opportunities. After the initial grief passes, you may find yourself on a new – and exciting – path.

 

“Others have it worse.”

Why it stings – This hurts on two levels. First, it dismisses our experience, which although it may not be the worst in the history of the world, it is the worst in our history. Secondly, it can make us feel guilty, thinking that we shouldn’t feel the way we do.

The wisdom within – Gratitude is powerful stuff. Simply acknowledging the gifts you do have can go a long way to making you feel better.

 

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

Why it stings – I don’t want to be stronger; I want to have a partner that treats me well. I may be stronger because of what has happened, but I’d prefer not being victimized thank you very much.

The wisdom within – This has changed you. You have found your inner strength, gained wisdom and compassion. And even though some days it felt like you were dying, it didn’t kill you.

 

“Forgive and forget.”

Why it stings – Don’t we wish we could have selective amnesia and the peaceful mind of a Buddhist monk? This stings because we so desperately want it to be true and yet we can’t seem to make it happen.

The wisdom within – I’m not sure forgetting ever happens, but you can find a peace with it. You don’t get over it, you learn from it.

After the Affair: How Much Should You Talk About It?

Posted on by stilllearning2b

The affair has been uncovered. The decision has been made to try to save the relationship. There’s a constant tension though – the one who has been betrayed feels the need to talk about it all of the time (“I want you to understand the pain you have put me through”) and the one who cheated wants to put it behind them and move on (“If you keep punishing me for the past, we’ll never make it”).

As with everything, there is no one-size-fits all answer here and both perspectives have some valid points.

 

If you cheated on your partner,

When they first discover the affair, expect the tears and the anger to be ever-present. Their entire world has just collapsed. They though that you were their rock, that they count count on you, and that foundation has just been abruptly pulled from beneath their feet. They will probably say some very harsh things. It won’t be rational because they have been thrown into full-on fight or flight. This is not the time to be defensive or to try to correct assumptions, even if they’re off-base. Your role right now is just to take it (as long as it doesn’t move into threatening territory).

And yes, it sucks to be attacked, to be villainized. But guess what? It sucks to be cheated on too. They didn’t ask for this. You made choices and those choices have consequences. It’s time for you to take responsibility, and some of that is being open and willing to listen to their pain.

Now obviously, if this emotional intensity continues and the affair is an ever-present topic of conversation, the relationship cannot heal. But you don’t get to control your spouse’s reactions or dictate the timeline of their healing. You’ve already taken away their agency by having the affair. You don’t get to tell them how to move on. There is a difference between you being uncomfortable because you cannot hide from your poor choices and your spouse deliberately using your past to hurt you.

You don’t have to stay in a position where you are feeling constantly punished for an extended period of time. Just like they have the right to say, “I just can’t get over what you have done and I think we should end things,” you have the right to set your boundaries around this too.

 

If you have been cheated on,

In the beginning, you need to talk. Your pain demands to be heard, you are desperately seeking understanding and you’re trying to process this enormous thing that has completely upended your life. Obviously – and understandably, some of this will be directed at your spouse. Yet make sure that they are not your only outlet. These feelings you’re carrying are big and are best distributed. Seek out a therapist or support group, a trusted friend or two and a journal. These become especially important as time passes and your healing is on a different schedule than the one the relationship is on.

It’s natural to want to know every detail about the affair as you try to regain some sense of control over your life. Yet this information has diminishing returns and focusing too much on the play-by-play keeps the energy in the past. It’s also understandable that you have the impulse to share every time you’re triggered. After all, they are the ones that planted that seed to begin with. It makes sense to share these when they first emerge so that you can talk through them together. Yet if it’s the tenth time that you’ve driven by a certain spot and your stomach plummets, it may not need mentioning. After all, they already know that this location bothers you and they can’t make that association disappear for you.

You didn’t have a say in the affair and you have every right to have a say in how the recovery plays out. It is not your role to alleviate their guilt or to stay quiet in an attempt to keep the peace. Your emotions are valid. That being said, be mindful of your motivation when you bring up the affair. Are you looking for reassurances that it won’t happen again? Are you wanting to make them feel badly? Are you coming from a place of self-righteousness? Are you wanting the person that hurt you to be the one to heal you? These are all the relationship equivalent of a dryer being stuck in the tumble cycle – it will beat you both up, but won’t make much of anything happen.

None of what happened is fair. And if you’re committed to staying, you have to decide what you want more – to punish them or heal the relationship. You can’t have both.

 

 

It’s Not You, It’s Them: 10 Signs You’re NOT the Reason They Cheated

Posted on by stilllearning2b

Even though our heads know we’re not the reason they cheated, sometimes our hearts can get confused.

We wonder why we weren’t enough for them. We hear their words blaming us for making them vulnerable to an affair. And we even face accusations from others, accusing us of doing (or not doing) something that caused them to stray.

Yet no matter what you did or didn’t do, no matter the issues in the relationship, you are NOT the reason they cheated.

Here are 10 signs that it’s not you, it’s them –

 

1 – They Have Had Multiple Affairs

When a person has multiple affairs, they are often searching for something outside of themselves to fill something missing inside of themselves. Because this is a fruitless hunt, they keep looking for the “right” person to make them feel whole and alive. In this case, you can’t be enough for them because nobody is enough for them.

 

2 – They Cheated in Other Relationships

Since you were variable that changed and yet the outcome remained the same, it’s very clear that you were not the cause of the affair. Apparently cheating is their default setting no matter who they promised fidelity to.

 

3 – They Did Not Disclose Any Unhappiness in the Relationship Until They Were Caught

“I haven’t been happy for a long time” is a common phrase uttered by those caught in an affair. There’s often an undercurrent of, “You should have known,” as though you should have been a mind reader. If they were unhappy with some facet of the relationship, it’s THEIR responsibility to bring it up BEFORE they make any decisions to act on their unhappiness. As a side note, often they weren’t unhappy; it’s just another excuse they tell themselves and others in an attempt to justify their behavior.

 

4 – They Use Projection to Make Assumptions About You

Are they accusing you of the very things that they have been doing? It feels horrible – and confusing – to be on the receiving end of this, but if you cut through the gaslighting, you’ll see that they are telling you what they have been up to.

 

5 – They Blame Anyone and Everything Other Than Themselves

Maybe it was a bad childhood. Or the nagging pain of an injury. Or the jerk of a boss that has it out for them. There’s always a reason and it’s never their responsibility.

 

6 – They Have a Pattern of Leaving Jobs or Friendships On Bad Terms

Do they tend to blow things up before they exit or simply walk away without a word? Those that cheat often lack the courage to have difficult conversations in a mature and healthy way.

 

7 – They Criticize Qualities in You That the Affair Partner Shares

They claim that they are not happy with you, yet they select an affair partner that mirrors you in some key ways. Either they are delusional, or those qualities they criticized in you are not really at fault here.

 

8 – They Have Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms

Those that cheat on their partners often exhibit unhealthy coping mechanisms in other areas of their lives. Instead of dealing with a situation head-on, they generally lean towards escapism – using substances, video games, or other people in an attempt to self-regulate.

 

9 – They Are Prone to Falling For “Quick Fixes”

Instead of digging in and having the discipline to see something through, they look for the easy road. They not only jump from one money-making scheme or weight-loss program to another, but also leap from one bed to another.

 

10 – They Have a Drive to Be Admired

They want to be liked because they do not like themselves. They thrive on that early relationship energy where they are more fantasy than reality and the affair partner is blinded by both limerence and bullshit.

 

 

 

We Didn’t Have a Choice

Posted on by stilllearning2b

It’s happened again.

A person who is cheating on their spouse tried to justify their actions to me.

I empathize up to a point.

I mean, marriage can be hard. And we can end up in situations way more complicated and difficult than we ever imagined when we said, “I do.” Situations that don’t always have an easy answer or even an obvious “right” path.

I don’t think that all people who choose to cheat on their partners are evil or completely callous. I get that they have their own pain that they are trying to alleviate.

But no matter how challenging their situation, and no matter how much I can empathize with their pain, I always come back to the same thought –

The betrayed didn’t have a choice.

Nobody asked us if we thought an affair was a reasonable response to the situation. In fact, so often we were kept in the dark so that we were unaware that there even was a situation that needed addressing. We had no say in the choice of the affair partner or the resources (both time and money) that would be reallocated that direction. We were never consulted about the associated health risks of multiple partners or given a choice about protection. We never agreed to be lied to and we certainly didn’t sign up to be gaslighted.

The one who cheated made all of those decisions. Decisions that had a major impact on our lives.

And they did have a choice.