Emotional Affairs Explored and Explained so You Don't Have to Wonder

Relationships can be a tricky business, and there are many reasons that many relationships fail miserably. One thing is for sure, though - In order for a relationship to be healthy, both parties need to be able to trust one another.

We also know that love is the key fundamental aspect that makes a relationship great, it is what keeps it together when it enters stormy weather.

Yet for some reason relationships can crumble, and generally it happens due to affairs. We all know the normal definition of an affair, or at least we think we do. Most of the times when you think of an affair you automatically assume that the people having the affair are having sex.

Well, actually this isn't necessarily the case, as emotional affairs also exist.

What Exactly is an Emotional Affair?

It is is when your partner seeks out emotional comfort from someone other than yourself. Generally these types of affairs start with a mere friendship, but can quickly turn into something more.

The purpose of being in a relationship is to be able to share your life with your partner. When you seek the emotional comfort or the emotional involvement of a third party over that of your relational partner, you could step into the realm of emotional affairs.

Statistically speaking, men are more likely to engage in physical affairs, where as women are more likely to engage into emotional affairs.

Why Do these Affairs Occur?

Affairs normally occur when there is a lack of either physical or emotional substance within the relationship. The affected partner will then in turn try to fill the void of the relationship with someone else, someone who "understands" their situation.

As stated above, in the case of emotional affairs, it generally starts up as an innocent friendship that eventually will develop into an intimate emotional relationship. Even though there might not be any sex involved, it still does constitute as an affair.

When Does a Friendship Turn into an Emotional Affair?

When two people enter into a relationship it is generally because the person "gets you".

As your relationship grows you begin to learn more about the individual, what makes them happy and what makes them sad. In some cases though, people realize that the person who they "thought" they married turned out to be completely different in the end.

Hurt, confused and frustrated the affected partner might try to find someone who will listen, someone who will be there for them. As the affected partner spends more time with the "outsider", a new relationship is formed.

This still would not be considered as an emotional affair at this point.

The relationship turns into an emotional affair once the affected partner would rather spend time with the "outsider" than with his or her own partner, in other words using someone else to fill the emotional needs that are not met in the current relationship.

Gender really has little to do with emotional affairs, as physical attraction is not the prime motivator for the affair, but rather an emotional necessity is the driving force behind the decisions of the affected partner. Thus, when your partner spends more time with his or her friends than with you, and shares more intimate experiences with the "outsiders" than within the actual relationship, an emotional affair is not too far away.

How to Avoid Emotional Affairs

In order to avoid emotional affairs it is very important to maintain communication within your relationship. You have to be willing to listen to what your partner has to say, and truly be interested in the topics shared.

Even though you may not share the exact excitement emotionally for a particular topic, simply "being there" and "participating" in the experience will strengthen trust and emotional bonds between you and your partner.

Emotional Affairs occur when two people drift away and their deep needs are not met, as long as you meet the needs of your partner, you should be safe from falling victim to emotional cheating.

You can find more emotional affair definitions on my blog. We've prepared a nice little free guide for you detailing some more of the common signs you'll be bound to see when they're cheating emotionally.

Alternatively, if you're ready to skip to the actually catching of the affair, I'd recommend you check this out: Signs of Infidelity in Marriage

Either way you go, thanks for reading!