Are you having an affair with your feelings? Find out whether your feelings for a friend go beyond platonic with this list of indications of an ongoing emotional affair.
In your own words, please define an emotional affair and describe the symptoms of an emotional affair. Although this isn’t “cheating” in the traditional sense, it is a relationship issue, and if you’re watching out for these indicators, you can fix things before they get worse.
Even the closest couples of today have to spend time apart from one other. Most couples only spend a small fraction of each day together, outside of the weekend. It means that the needs of many of us will go unmet.
And as human beings, we have a universal desire to be acknowledged and appreciated. As a result, we may try to find happiness in our professional or academic pursuits. The individuals you get to interact with on a daily basis are a major perk of working somewhere.
But excessive pleasure can result in a passionate liaison. You should avoid that at all costs if you care about the future of your relationship.
Define an emotional relationship.
Knowing what it’s like to be in an emotional affair might help you appreciate why it’s wrong and why people get involved in them in the first place.
An emotional affair is a “relationship” in which the two people involved feel a stronger emotional bond than they do with their respective partners.
That’s the nutshell version; for additional nuance, see our story on what exactly constitutes an emotional affair.
How to read the emotional signals of an affair to learn more about your covert partnership:
Is it possible, then, that you can be unknowingly engaging in emotional adultery with your partner? Yes, and many of us experience this, so you’re not alone.
However, if you are aware of the warning signs of an emotional affair, you can put a stop to it before it has a negative impact on your love relationship.
If you want to know if you’re having an emotional affair, look for these red flags. After you find out the solution, the next significant question is… And so, what are your plans? After all, there isn’t always a simple solution.
You’re acting in an unacceptable manner.
You tend to be both warm and sensitive toward this pal of yours. Still, when your sweetheart is nearby, instinctively, you both put up barriers.
When your boyfriend is there, you tend to act more formally and awkwardly in conversation. Why? No reason to alter your actions if you have nothing to conceal.
Excitement.
If you can’t wait to tell your friend everything you’ve been thinking, whether it’s your thoughts on the latest movie you saw or the dirt you heard at work today, it’s a good sign that you’re emotionally involved.
You’re not keeping anything to yourself.
Is this person close enough for you to trust them with your deepest, darkest secrets? Some of the things the two of you are discussing may be kept hidden from even your partner. Interestingly, revealing personal information to a close friend might boost your mood.
You’re trying to get their attention.
If you contact a friend late at night and they’re on the phone with someone else, it can be frustrating. If they start dating someone else or speak favorably of someone else in your presence, you may experience feelings of jealousy. You’re not dating, but you enjoy the spotlight in each other’s eyes.
It becomes an addiction.
You can’t seem to get enough of this pal. The two of you are overjoyed to see each other again after the weekend. And if you don’t get to spend some time chatting with this person, you feel like you’ve lost out on a nice time.
Sexual tension.
Many people are feeling sexual tension. You can feel every part of each other’s bodies that is contacting, even when you’re sitting quite close together. We all find certain people more appealing than others, but when that attraction begins to cause doubt in your relationship, it may be indicative of more.
To flirt comes easily to you.
Even if neither of you is aware of it at the time, you probably have a lot of flirtatious exchanges when the two of you are alone together. Others may remark on how comfortable you appear to be with one another. It’s possible that onlookers will assume you’re in a relationship.
Compliments.
If you’re showing signs of having an emotional affair with a friend, you probably give them a lot of weight.
Fantasies.
Your acquaintance frequently appears in your sexual daydreams. Even when you’re enjoying sex with your spouse, you can’t help but fantasize about the sensation of making love to your best buddy. If you’re feeling this way, you should probably do something because it suggests an emotional affair.
Wanting something in private.
You think a lot about how different your life would be if you and your friend had met before you started dating your spouse, even though you are in a committed relationship with your partner.
Defensiveness.
You not only downplay but openly reject any sort of connection to this person. If your significant other brings them up, you may even become irritated. You are on edge to the point where a simple question about how they are doing might set you off.
When you’ve done wrong and are feeling guilty about it, you get defensive and angry.
Secretive.
You’ve put away your electronic devices, including your phone and your email. You wouldn’t want your significant other, or just anyone, to look through your photo album. Even if you attempt to tell yourself that the signs of an emotional affair aren’t significant, you know that they are.
At this fork in the road, you have only two options. You should end your relationship. Or call it quits on your passionate affair. Relationship indicators like these don’t lie about how you’re feeling. Stop delaying the inevitable and make up your mind already.
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