If having an affair is the last thing you want to do, you better heed these six warnings signs. They indicate that you are heading down a slippery slope. One more step could be too late to prevent a disaster.
1. A call from an old friend. A phone call from an old flame? How risky! As one fellow explained to me, "When she contacted me via LinkedIn, there was a sense of titillation, and then she continued to reach out to me."
The moral of the story: If you don't want to catch fire, stay far from the sparks. They are fun and often prove too dangerous to be worth the mini-delights of minor sexual pleasures. The two highest risk categories for dangerous connections are old flames and current business associates, especially ones that you spend a lot of time with.
2. A fragile relationship situation. When a relationship or marriage feels frustrating, it can be all the more tempting to slide into connecting with someone who seems kind, easy to talk with or appreciative of you. Have you two communicated effectively about the blockages to smooth sailing with each other? If not, it's time to start!
3. Hiding that you are already taken. If in the course of our talking with a lovely person of the opposite sex, you find yourself avoiding mention of the fact that you have a stead or are married, you are heavily already into the danger zone. Beware especially because as sexual feelings toward a new person grow, your recollections of how and why you chose that person as a mate will fade.
That's because of the nature of old versus new sexual feelings and new potential sexual partners virtually always evoke more intense sexual feelings. That says nothing about how good a match they could be for you; it's just a biochemical thing about how sexuality works. New trumps familiar -- but for sex only. Intense sexual appeal only does not a good match make.
4. Enjoying and then craving flirtatious talking. If you find yourself tempted to become increasingly flirtatious, emotional infidelity is already taking place. If you are fishing for affection and appreciation, beware because you are likely to be the fish that gets hooked. Sexual feelings with a new person become like an addiction that you are likely to keep wanting more and more.
5. Meetings in private places; talking about personal topics. Are tempted to meet for lunch or dinner? Are you ready to claim that you are at work when you are setting up playtime? If so, you're almost guaranteed to fall eventually, so leave now, or don't say I didn't warn you!
Titillating interactions may seem fun and harmless, but they are not so. Sliding down the slippery slope from monogamy down and off an infidelity cliff ends up being both self-destructive and extremely damaging to loved ones.
6. Add liquor to the mix. Woops! This is likely to be the last big mistake before you've fallen from an emotional affair into a full physical connection.
Better to stay far from the cliff's edge! Make your marriage the best it can be, and avoid a mistake that could destroy it.
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Click through the slides below for the telltale signs someone is cheating, according to the Twitterverse.