SurvivingInfidelity.com^®

Getting over it sounds oddly similar to rug sweeping to me.

If I had to use a specific term in its place I'd probably speak of learning to cope with my spouses betrayal.

Some may view this as debating semantics. The thing is. The precise meaning of words and phrases is so very important when it comes to how our brains process traumatic events.

Can't speak for anyone else. But I happened to have been asked about when I'd "get over it" (in various ways) shortly after DD. In my experience, "getting over it" has a selfish undertone to it. On the other side, I was never asked how or if I could cope with events. And had someone asked me *that*, I believe it would have indicated empathy from that person rather than selfishness.

Today, I actively work on coping with trauma of all forms that have affected me. This is personal growth that I know to be positive in all ways for me. I cope with and accept that which I never had control over as an effort in not allowing it to define me. Coping with the bad stuff keeps me from being stuck.

I can "get over" a bad umpire call as it has no real impact on my life. I can't "get over" intentional cruelty which shook the foundation of my core and caused a paradigm shift in who I am as a person forever more.

I "get over" all things inconsequential. Infidelity is anything but inconsequential.

[This message edited by NotMyFirstRodeo at 3:47 PM, Saturday, June 11th]

One more thought. And maybe it's a bridge too far but I toss it out there anyways.

If any of you had ever been physically abused by your spouse and were asked by another if it still bothered you that they beat you up. Could you ever imagine replying with, "I'm over it" ...as though it were nothing?

From time to time would you ponder to yourself, "will I ever get over it"? My guess is that you'd probably be asking yourself something different which allows the abuse to maintain its gravity.

Now instead of being physically abused, insert some other tragedy to you or another person. I've still not gotten over any instances of genocide, murder or intentionally vile behavior. I can learn to cope with those realities but they're far from things I get over in life. Those kind of acts deserve to be remembered for what they were so that signs of reoccurring are given due attention.

Well, no matter what, it will always be a part of your history. As will any other aspect that has happened in your life. Your future will never be the same because of it. For better or worse, we can't change the past.

What is your definition of 'getting over it'? As in, completely forget that it ever happened, or to a point of acceptance? I believe the prior is simply folly. For me, personally, I have accepted it. I have not forgiven her, nor do I think that I ever will. And I don't say that in a bad or punishing way. Forgiving, at this point, is a ME issue, and I can say the words, but not truly mean it. It would be the same of me saying that I am of a certain faith when I am not. I may wish to be that faith, and say the words, but who would I be kidding? Myself? It doesn't work that way. Infidelity will always be part of our past, but it doesn't mean that I don't enjoy the present or possible future. Like I stated earlier in this thread, we, the BS, ultimately have to be accountable for the choices that we make. If we don't try to make the marriage better, when our partner, over time, has shown that they are once again all in, who's accountable for that?

I ask myself if maybe it’s time to contact the OM and "bury the hatchet".

Why on earth would you feel the need to bury the reality of what he did to you? This is a man who eagerly helped destroy your marriage. He is not your friend. You are not over the hurt of what he participated in. Do you really think that pretending to forgive him (let's be real, you won't forgive and forget deep down) is going to make you feel better? It will only hurt you even more. Stay away from him for your own sake.

OP, it's been 5 years and you're still hurting, still asking yourself if you should stay. At this point, it ought to be clear either way. The fact that it isn't clear suggests that you should seriously consider ending the marriage. You posted in the reconciliation forum, so not many posters will steer you this way, but since you seem lost and asked the question, I'm answering it. How many more years do you want to spend feeling like this? If you split up, there will be pain, but then the ability to move on and out of this situation.

To help make up your mind, you might want to read Cheating in a Nutshell by Tamara and Wayne Mitchell. It might help you see through the fog you're in.

What does 'get over it' mean to you?

In a sense, I'm OK with saying, 'I'm over it.' I no longer think much about my W's A. It's almost always just a fact in my life story. I can look at posts on SI and not trigger. I can watch movies. I assume I can still trigger, with results ranging from wistful sadness to rage or grief, even though I haven't felt much anger since 2013 - but I assume I might feel rage again.

Here's the thing for me: I spent 3+ weeks in hospital starting on Christmas Day, 1966. Knowing I was near death was traumatic. I recovered. As time went on, I thought about it less and less. When I did think about it, I thought more about the positive aspects of recovering.

In 2015, my mom was in that hospital, having fallen at home (1000 miles away from my home). W & I took an emergency trip home, and we went directly to the hospital. We rushed from the parking lot to the doors ... and my steps got slower and slower and then stopped. The trauma of 1966 kept me from entering the building. I had to psych myself to enter.

My mom was in hospital for 4 or 5 days, on my old floor. It wasn't until the last day that I was able to view my old room, and even then I just got close enough to see the view from the window. It was exactly the view that I remembered it.

I don't think human beings get over trauma. We can tame it, though.

Drumerboy,

I am 5 years out. I just passed the date of Dday in April. Im still with my H. Im always on SI. Just reading other peoples stories and also trying to help in anyway I can. It has been a rocky road for everyone on SI. Ofcourse the pain I felt on Dday has subsided but I cant help but feel anxiety every year around the same date and also when I pass locations and areas that they visited together. Its horrible what we have been through but we just have to get through day by day. Life is so much better 5 years and his actions have shown that he wants to continue to be in this marriage. I do as well.

Youre doing really well especially if youve made it this far. So keep doing what youre doing. Be in charge of your own happiness. Remember to do things for yourself.

Drummerboy,

Your answer to first question: Is there anyone that is this far out from D-day, still in the relationship, and still frequenting this site?

Yes, and farther out than 5 years.

Second question: How long is too long try to hold on to your marriage?

You decide, I assume you made a vow, ‘better or worse, health, etc’. Has your spouse stayed true after a ‘one off’? Can you deal with it? Is she trying and taking responsibility for her actions?, on and on. What’s your integrity level? (no right or wrong answer here)

As for myself and my wife’s infidelity: it sometimes gets easier, it is almost always is present in the background running deep in my mental processor, her affair that is. Her affair, if I believe her, has been over for decades, her deceit has not, after lying for so long even the truth can not be true.

Analogy: When I was a young man I had the opportunity to catch my right arm on fire with gasoline. Both hands, right arm, both shoulders burnt very badly. I put my self out in a mud hole full of water. I had lots of flesh stay in that mud hole replaced by mud. The smell came first, then the pain. The pain stayed for months. I hope I am just graphic enough for you to get the picture.

Debridement is a thing, google it. I was told the scars would never leave, the skin would never tan in summer. But, I would get full use of everything back. It took years actually.

Full use came quickly.

The skin would change all sorts of colors during wintertime.

The skin did tan after a few years, even hair grew back.

Now, useless someone knows where to look that can’t even tell of my injuries. (I think)

But the scars are there: more in my head than on my skin. Sometimes I can see them and the pain seems to return, even the smell. The warm water of the mud hole, the warm water of the debridement.

Now, I like my hands and I like my arm. They serve me well and I am blessed to have them. I trust them. But they do have scars. Only I see them. I am trying to deal with what I see.

(side bar and unrelated to you question, I would gladly experience the burn as opposed to infidelity, but hell, I wasn’t given the option)

I wonder if it’s healthy to have a relationship where I always have one foot out the door: Because I still do everything in my power to make sure I don’t get cheated on again.

I don't know if I'd characterize it as having "one foot out the door" this far out (7 years), but I think recognizing that we're where we choose to be at this moment is empowering. That also means recognizing that we're not trapped and we have the option to make another choice if things change. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't feel like I've made a commitment, but my commitment is no longer "at all costs". I'll do "in sickness and in health" but I won't do "abusive and selfish". Does that make sense?

In terms of "doing everything in your power", I'd recommend a gut check to see if you feel like you're doing "pick me" dancing or marriage policing. If you feel like you are, that's something you'll want to work through. There's no guarantee that a fWS will never repeat. Once you've been intimately betrayed, it's toothpaste which doesn't squeeze back into the tube, right? You can't UN-see what you've seen. But you can't control other people either, and THAT is what "pick me" dancing and marriage policing really are.. an attempt to take control. So it stands to reason that you'd start with the only person you can control, YOU. Once you've made sufficient investment in YOURSELF, you know that there's someone you can always rely on, someone who always has your back. The trick is developing some REAL appreciation for that person. You ARE enough and once you really know that, you also know that you're perfectly capable of handling whatever might come next.

I do think that part of our trepidation is fear of the pain we've experienced. We tend to think that if the bad thing happens, we'll fall apart the same way we fell apart before. But I think maybe what's happening is that we're afraid of FEAR. I want to say I was four or five years in before I realized that no matter WHAT happened next, I actually did have the tools to deal with it. I had survived. In some ways, it seemed a miracle that I had made it through. The pain and depression had seemed insurmountable at times. But the experience was in the past, and just like every other experience, good or bad, it was going to stay there. That's the thing about trauma.. the past feels present. But feelings aren't facts, and the facts are that when my emotional reliance was severed by my fWH's adultery, I was plunged into crisis and dealing with the leftover vestiges of the Fear of Abandonment I'd carried around since birth. That reflex is necessary for infants. We're born helpless and we need care. When we're grown though, we tend to subconsciously transfer that reliance onto our primary relationship. At the time when my fWH cheated, I was in such a state that even I would have thought I could care less. I didn't know that I'd invested that leftover reflex with him, that HE was the embodiment of my abandonment fears. I was devastated.

Surviving infidelity forces us to deal with that fear of abandonment. For me, I eventually realized that I had resolved it by processing the betrayal. IOW, when I really boiled it down, I wasn't afraid that my fWH would hurt me again, I was afraid of returning to that state of pain. What I hadn't realized was that because I had resolved the source of that pain, the fear of abandonment, it meant that no matter what my fWH does, I'm never going to experience that kind of pain again. That's not to say I wouldn't be hurt and disappointed if he flaked out again. But wrecked?.. no. I'm not that person anymore. I'm stronger than I've ever been. I'm free to simply enjoy my relationship (or not). I don't NEED it in order to feel whole.