Everyone has different ideas on what is and isn't cheating 'emotionally.' The simplest way to define it I believe is as follows: Are you engaging in any action(s) which you know your partner wouldn't like, but are still willing to do and just are aren't telling them? Then you are cheating emotionally.
In some cases, this can hurt just as badly as the ultimate act of cheating on someone does. I mean, if you think they're overreacting about you occasionally talking to your ex, or you spending a considerable amount of time confiding in some other guy, then something is awry.
Either they see it as: you're having your cake and eating it, or they're just being too sensitive to be in a relationship with someone in a properly 'adult' sense. It's that unfairly simple. And its not really going to last if there's a pull like this from either side. It's called 'Cheating' if one of you feels 'Cheated on.' Did you ever consider yourself a 'Cheater?' No? Then maybe you should bring your love life to a place where you can do your thing without worrying that what you are doing is potentially inappropriate.
Here are the signs to see if indeed you are 'Emotionally Cheating':
1. You Confide More In Some Other Male Figure In Your Life About Things You Would/Should Normally Tell Your Boyfriend.
Like, as in stuff that is personal enough... Why wouldn't you tell your Boyf? Why do you feel a need to tell this other guy? That can be classed as emotional cheating.
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2. You Talk To Other Guys In Your Life That Your Boyfriend Has Expressed Concern About Or Has Felt Threatened By.
You know your relationship with these guys are strictly platonic, and that you wouldn't ever dream of going there with them, but you know your significant other feels wary of them. If the person that has been 'cheated on' (In their eyes at least) is important to you, then why engage in such carry on?
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3. You Feel Sexually Attracted To Someone That Isn't Your Partner.
That doesn't mean that you've acted on it... Or that you would! But the simple fact is that on some level, being highly sexually attracted to someone you engage with regularly can be viewed as the onset of 'Emotional Cheating'. Everyone does go through this, but if it becomes completely overpowering, then alarm bells should start going off. It can also result in you approaching your partner differently, i.e., being resentful that they aren't this other person, not feeling attracted to them sexually or otherwise...
4. You Find Yourself Keeping Secrets To Keep The Peace.
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It could be reasonably harmless stuff to keep from them, but you have to ask yourself 'Why do I feel like my partner can't know this information?' If you know they'd have a problem with it, either you should stop doing it, or they should seriously stop worrying about it, but something needs to stop here if you are both gonna last...
5. You Think About Another Person In The Way You Used To Think About Your Current 'Bae.'
Emotional cheating can usually lead onto the real thing, so you have to consider what you stand to gain/lose here at this point. Why are you 'Emotionally Cheating?' Are you happy with your current relationship? Is your partner? You need to sit down and talk it out I'm afraid, so that no one gets really hurt in the long run...
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Look, emotions can't be helped... You feel what you feel. (Most obvious statement ever!) To struggle against that, is to struggle against the very instincts that make us human. You're not a bad person for feeling this way, or for 'emotionally cheating'. You just need to either stop it now before it's too late, or make the significant other in your life see that you'd never act upon such things, and do care for/love them. If not, you'll need to have the 'talk.' Good luck!
Video: 10 Reasons Why...You Shouldn't have Sex
Credit: Emily Hart
