Does the guilt of cheating ever go away? Most people faced with the responsibility of an affair often ask themselves, yes, the shame of infidelity may take a little longer to go away, but it does fade depending on how you handle it.
Did you cheat intentionally? The feelings will always be there because you’ve betrayed your partner’s trust. The feelings of guilt never go away completely; it will take a lot of time to cheat, your relationship is likely to destroy, and if you realize how much you betrayed your partner.
However, the guilt still disturbs you, and you can get over the responsibility by talking things out with your partner. It is only bad when you don’t feel guilty, so no one is perfect.
Do Cheaters Suffer Guilt?
Cheaters live with the fear of being caught, fear that society may know their deeds, fear that the family will be disappointed, and fear that their relationship will destroy when their partner knows about it. Their lives are filled with fear, and that’s the first point of suffering guilt.
They live in regret; now that the deeds have been done, there is no way they can turn back the hand of time to erase it; all they do is regret everything that made them betray their partners.
Why Do People Cheat?
There are many reasons why people cheat, not to justify their actions; most partners cheat because of a lack of commitment; that’s when the partner isn’t committed to them; at that point, they will feel disconnected and don’t feel their partner anymore.
Lack of communication can make a partner cheat because they may need someone to talk to, someone that, express their feelings to, someone that will give them attention and listen to them, someone that will understand them and not judge them, once they find such a person they are likely to cheat but their conscience won’t let them rest.
Signs That You’re Feeling Guilty
If you’re cheating on your partner and feel guilty over it, your conscience keeps blaming you; here are the signs of feeling guilty.
1. Feelings Of Shame
Shame comes when you do something and realizes that what you did isn’t good; after cheating and betraying your partner, you will lose the courage to face them, and at that point, you feel ashamed of yourself.
Some married couples who indulge in extramarital affairs with someone outside when they come back don’t dare to face their partner; that feeling of pain is constantly draining. A
2. Living A Double Life
Cheaters go from living a real life, free from unnecessary emotional unrest, to living a double life filled with emotional stress; after cheating on your partner, you feel guilty about it as such, it will pivot you into living a double life; you will now become conscious about everything you do or say in order not get hurt.
Why Do People Cheat
People cheat for many reasons, but the most common reasons are lack of communication, love, sexual urge, and lack of commitment.
When you are emotionally distant from your partner, you no longer feel them. You’re likely to cheat, and it will affect the relationship.
Some partners cheat because of their sexual desire; you will likely look outside when your partner can’t satisfy you in bed again.
Most people cheat when they feel disconnected from their partner; they don’t find their partner interesting or love them again; they are likely to cheat, and the guilt will be there, but will the feelings ever go away?
Furthermore, it is hard to get rid of the guilt of cheating because, by cheating, you’ve betrayed your partner’s love and trust, and it takes a toll on the future.
Does The Guilt Of Cheating Ever Go Away (7 Ways To Get Over It)
Is feeling guilty a good thing? Feelings of guilty are a sign that you have realized you’re wrong; it is good to feel guilty and take responsibility for it.
What are those things you need to do in other for the feelings of guilt to go away? Here are a few tips to follow:
1. You Should Forgive Yourself
The guilt of cheating may never go away if you don’t forgive yourself; the only thing you owe yourself after realizing your mistakes is forgiveness and taking responsibility for your actions; if you don’t ignore yourself, the feelings will hunt you even in the future, you won’t have the courage to face your fears.
You’ve cheated and are glad you didn’t deny that fact; that’s why the guilt is there, but you can’t hurt yourself forever; forgiving yourself will make you feel less guilty.
How can you forgive yourself?
Forgiving yourself is one of the essential things to do for the guilt to go away; how can you forgive yourself?;
Let go of unkind words, yes! You’ve cheated and realized it; if not, you won’t feel guilty; you don’t have to blame yourself or think of yourself as the worst; keep those unkind words aside; no one is perfect.
Don’t wait to be forgiven, and you won’t know if you’re forgiven; when you stay for your partner to forgive you first, you may die of guilt.
2. Confide In Someone
Talking to someone can help you handle the guilt; it is said that “a problem shared is a problem solved” go to people who won’t judge you for cheating but understand that things can change.
No one is perfect, go to them and confide in them, let them know why you did what you did, and with that, they can prefer a solution to you.
It may be a member of your family or your close friends, but not your partner, because it will only get worse if you go to your partner and meet someone different from your partner so that they can help you with the necessary advice on how to walk through it.
3. Seek A Therapist
This is the same as confiding in your close friends or family; a therapist has more experience. Go to a therapist; they can help organize a session for you and your partner to discuss things for the guilt to disappear.
Things may get overwhelming, and you may not know what to do anymore; going to a therapist can go a long way in solving 99% of it.
4. Accept The Reality
The feelings will keep hurting when you don’t accept the reality of things, we are humans, and at times we don’t possess to promises; something changes, and it changes us.
What you need to do is to accept the situation of things, admit it and take responsibilities over it whether the cheating was intentional or otherwise.
5. Telling Your Partner
Keeping secrets from your partner will make you feel more guilty because you’ve betrayed your partner; you will be anxious about everything so that your partner won’t find out, will telling your partner help you overcome guilt?
It is a significant advantage to you when you open up to your partner; notwithstanding, after realizing how badly you’ve betrayed your partner, the best thing to do is to go to them and tell them the truth rather than making them find out by themselves.
Are you still with your partner? Or the relationship ended because you cheated?; If you’re not still with your partner, you can seek the help of a therapist to organize a session for the both of you with that you can walk things out.
6. Put Effort Into Proving You’re A Changed Person
It is difficult to trust someone again after betrayal; as such, the relationship is likely not to last, but as for the guilt of cheating to go away, you need to prove to your partner that you’re a changed person by being more committed to them, do something that will make them trust you again tho trust doesn’t just happen, it is built so it will automatically take some time for your partner to trust you again.
7. Go To Counseling With Your Partner
Are you struggling to move on with your partner? Are you experiencing some slack in the relationship? Sometimes bringing in a third party is okay.
You can contact the help of a therapist to organize a session for both of you with that more vital issues can also be discussed peacefully and settled.
In Conclusion
Does the guilt of cheating ever go away?
Yes, the guilt of cheating goes away, but it requires time in the process; it is good for one to feel guilty about the action because you have realized how badly you hurt your partner; that’s why the feelings are there; it would have been worse if you don’t feel at all.
After cheating, you put your relationship at stake by living a double with fears and regrets. When the feeling of guilt starts popping up, it is advisable to deal with it immediately.
keeping those feelings can take a toll on your future, and it may affect you in so many ways or instance, maintaining guilt will make you emotional stress because when the feelings pop up you think about it, it makes you live a life of regrets because the feelings are there every day of your life. It can also obstruct you from going to another relationship or continue with your partner because of the fear that it may happen again.
They are many steps to take to make the feelings of guilt go away, forgiving yourself; if you don’t forgive yourself, then you are not just ready to chase those feelings out.
You have to accept responsibilities and living with regrets won’t help either way, you may not know if your partner forgave you or not. You can equally talk to your partner about why you did what you did and ask for their Forgiveness.
