Infidelity is one of the most devastating and complex challenges that can possibly come up against a relationship. When someone is cheating, besides breaking the other person’s trust, it has a way of leaving emotional hurts that take many years to even begin to cure. However, though the deed of cheating could seem simple or straightforward, as a matter of fact, what makes people cheat is often multiple and complex factors.
Understanding why people cheat in relationships needs a closer look at the psychological, and situational factors that leading to cheat on partner.
We will also examine various factors so as to explain the subtleties of infidelity, providing a much more sympathetic understanding of why people cheat and how relationships can rebuild after such a breach.
To seek revenge
Infidelity is often used as a form of revenge. This problem can be especially common if one partner cheated in the past, and the other partner cheated in retaliation. “Sometimes, infidelity is an equal opportunity event,” says Dr. David Matz, a clinical psychologist and director of the Center for Marital and Sexual Health of Annapolis. “I’ve worked with couples who were both the ‘victim’ or the ‘perpetrator.’ Both have been cheated on and both have cheated. It’s usually a tit for tat thing, with both partners trying to get even.” In these cases, cheating is not about getting sexual gratification from someone else; it’s about getting revenge on your partner. Sometimes, this can be a form of self-sabotage.
Also Read: What is Revenge Cheating? Why is it Not Good?
Being self-centred
Self-centeredness is the most common motivation for adultery in romantic relationships. When someone is selfish, they don’t care about anyone else’s feelings except their own. You won’t give up anything to make things right in your relationship if you don’t feel that something is. Instead of attempting to fix things, they choose to look for what they want outside of the relationship.
Ineffective communication
In most cases, infidelity in relationships can be traced back to a breakdown in effective communication. It may be too late when they realise the extent of their harm. Couples who are having difficulties should sit down and talk about their issues. A counsellor who can provide both parties with pointers on how to improve their communication might be an option down the road.
Cheating often occurs in many marital relationships. Communication is here the most problematic issue. For a myriad of reasons, partners get little time to talk about feelings with each other, particularly negative feelings. In some relationships, partners are not allowed to share unhappiness.
Lack of faith
Another big reason why people cheat in relationships is lack of trust. Because they don’t trust each other to do the right thing, they start looking around for someone else to satisfy those needs. Unfortunately, this implies they’re engaging in academic dishonesty without realising it.
Lack of Intimacy
A new study has found that cheating in relationships is often the result of a lack of intimacy. Researchers say that when couples don’t feel close to one another, they’re more likely to seek out intimacy elsewhere.
The study, which will be published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, surveyed nearly 500 people who had been involved in an affair. The participants were asked about their relationship satisfaction, how often they argues with their partner, and how often they felt sexual desire for their partner.
The findings showed that those who felt less satisfied with their relationship were more likely to cheat. And, interestingly, the participants who reported feeling less sexual desire for their partner were also more likely to cheat. This suggests that it’s not just a lack of physical intimacy that can lead to infidelity, but also a lack of emotional intimacy.
Feeling Unhappy
When a person is dissatisfied in a relationship, he or she will not hesitate to end communication with their partner and seek emotional fulfilment elsewhere. This doesn’t mean they don’t love their current partner, but they start enjoying the company of a new person.
A heightened level of pressure
When you’re under a lot of pressure, everything changes. Sometimes, a person might cheat to escape a certain situation. Maybe he or she was under pressure at school, and now they’ve decided to take advantage of that opportunity. Or perhaps they felt compelled to cheat on their partners because of peer pressure. It doesn’t matter how much pressure you’re under; it’s still not an excuse for cheating.
Guilt
One of the most common reasons for cheating in relationships is a sense of shame. People get this feeling when they mistakenly believe that they have done something wrong when, in fact, they have not. They think that they deserve punishment for something they haven’t done, so they find comfort in cheating on their partners. Thus, they end up cheating on their partners or spouses.
Summary
Cheating occurs when people fail to prioritise their relationships by putting time and energy into them. Another major reason is the failure to understand the issues that led to infidelity in the first place. Many people do not want to analyze their role in the failure of a relationship. In most cases, they blame others for wrong things rather than look inward for complete understanding.
People who cheat often do so because they feel like they are not getting what they need from their current relationship. This can be due to feeling neglected or unappreciated. Oftentimes, people who cheat feel like their partner is not meeting their needs. Whether it is emotional or physical needs, when these needs are not being met, it can lead to cheating. Another common reason why people cheat is that they want to experience something new. This can be due to boredom or wanting to spice up their love life.
