Five reasons to avoid cheating in a relationship

A relationship or marriage is best enjoyed when there is mutual understanding and trust between the parties involved. One major threat to contemporary relationships is cheating.

While it doesn’t mean such hasn’t been in existence before now, it has gained more attention in recent years due to increased awareness and technology.

There are many dangers that come with cheating on your partner. Below are a few of them:

1. You’ll be been as a liar

Sadly, people who cheat are not only called “cheaters,” but they’re also popularly known as “liars.” Now think to yourself: Do you want others to label you as a liar or a cheater? And more importantly, whether others do it or not, you will see yourself as a liar and a cheater. And when you do see yourself in that negative light, you’ll end up regretting your decision to be unfaithful to your partner. Avoiding negative perceptions of yourself is one of the reasons not to have an illicit affair.

2. Relationship misery

Another important reason why you shouldn’t cheat is relationship misery. Yes, cheating will make your relationship absolutely miserable. Yes, it may be true that your relationship may have some big problems. However, after you cheat, those problems will just become bigger! Infidelity can lead to many explosive arguments and negative feelings. It just facilitates misery.

3. Loss of respect

If you’re confused about whether to cheat or not to cheat, remember that if you do cheat, it will result in a complete loss of respect. When you get caught, which you will, your partner will see the multiple times you lied to them to cover up, and that will not sit well with your partner.

4. Loss of moral authority

There’s no doubt that cheating on your spouse is wrong. And here’s the thing: if you do decide to have an affair, it’s going to wreck your moral compass above and beyond anything else. if you are married, your kids too lose respect from you and some might even live by your example in their relationship.

5. Emotional dysfunction

Here’s another hard-hitting truth about infidelity: you might be considering it to make yourself feel better, but it’s going to end up damaging you. When you cheat, you’ll end up feeling shame, guilt, and other negative emotions.

This can cause emotional dysfunction or dysregulation. Recurrent and intense experiences of such emotions can affect your personality.

It also leads to a broken relationship and put the health of one’s partner in danger because one can contract deadly diseases like HIV, tuberculosis, and STDs. Cheating can also bring about untimely death. So, let’s be guided.

We must dissipate more effort in building relationships and abstain from things that will put our loved ones in danger. To achieve this, it is key that you discipline yourself because there is no excuse for cheating — be it a man or a woman.

By Mary James