Disclosure: The Problem with Reassurance

In recovery, disclosure is an important and difficult undertaking for the addict, the partner, and the relationship.  For the partner, disclosure is often traumatic to varying degrees.  As the addict, there are things you can do to make the disclosure process easier and there are things you can do that make the disclosure process more traumatic for your partner.  One thing that often makes the disclosure process more traumatic for the partner is reassuring them about the content of the disclosure.

bombs, sex addiction, pornography, SASH, tim Stein,It can seem reasonable to reassure your partner prior to a formal therapeutic disclosure that they know everything about your past behaviors and that there are no new behaviors to disclose.  Couples sometimes refer to these unknown behaviors as "bombs."  Sometimes this reassurance is offered by the addict when they believe there are no “bombs” coming.  Sometimes this reassurance is asked for when the partner experiences anxiety about what they might not know.  On the surface, reassurance seems like a reasonable thing to offer or request.  So, why is providing this reassurance to your partner problematic?  It is problematic because you are reassuring your partner about something is that typically untrue and, additionally, it is manipulative.
In recovery, assumptions are always problematic.  If you assume your partner knows everything and reassure them that there are no “bombs,” you are playing with fire.  When (not if) your partner learns something new about some of your past behaviors in disclosure and if you have reassured them that they knew everything, it will be more traumatic to your partner.  In my clinical experience, partners almost always learn about new behaviors or they learn new information about behaviors. This may include behaviors that the partner genuinely did not know about, behaviors the partner knew at one time but had forgotten, or nuances of behaviors the partner was unaware of.

"you are playing with fire"

People forget things. And having previously known about something does not eliminate the trauma of remembering.  This is similar to you, as an addict, being in an environment that beings up memories of a past addictive situation or trigger and again feeling shame, guilt, or an addictive urge.  The feeling may be less intense than it was originally but it has not gone away.  sex addiction, pornography, SASH, tim steinIf someone who knew about your addiction had reassured you that there was nothing to be worried about, you would likely feel some level of resentment regardless of whether the person was intentionally lying or honestly believed everything was safe. Likewise, if your partner previously knew about a behavior but has forgotten about it, it will still be traumatic for them to be reminded of the behavior.  Also, if you have reassured them there would not be any “bombs” in the disclosure, they will likely feel resentment toward you whether or not you were completely honest in your reassurance.  A similar pattern plays out if your partner had not previously framed a behavior as part of your addiction. Again, it does not seem to matter that your partner had previously known about the behavior.  Cognitive knowledge does not protect your partner from a traumatic experience.  Having this known behavior shared as an aspect of your addiction can still be traumatic.  If you have reassured your partner there would be no “bombs” in your disclosure, the trauma will be worse.

Sometimes the addict forgets.

Sometimes the addict forgets.  While working with your therapist to prepare disclosure, you might remember a behavior that was linked to your addiction that you had honestly forgotten about. Or, you might realize a past or present behavior you had never considered part of your addiction is actually important to disclosure and, for whatever reason, your partner is unaware of this behavior.  This constitutes new information for your partner.

If you have reassured your partner there would be no “bombs” in disclosure, you have just increased your partner’s trauma.

More often than addicts care to admit, they have lied about or not shared some sexual behavior with their partner, their recovery community, and their therapist.  While significant omissions are not an every time occurrence, I am no longer surprised when this comes up in disclosure preparation.  If the addict holds onto secrets and does not include them in disclosure, they undermine the point of disclosure, minimize the potential healing disclosure offers to them and their partner, or, worst of all, further damages their partner and their relationship.  Disclosing hidden behaviors is essential.  This is one of the reasons we recommend a polygraph in conjunction with a formal therapeutic disclosure.  If you have reassured your partner they know everything only to disclose something you have been holding as a secret, you have just further traumatized your partner.

Part of the reason we recommend disclosure is that by providing your partner with a full account of your past behavior, you are providing them with all the information available to choose what to do with the relationship.  Repairing the attachment bond in your relationship can only happen with rigorous honesty.  Withholding information or refusing to provide a disclosure leaves doubt, which interferes with rebuilding trust and healing the relationship attachment. Reassuring your partner that there are no “bombs” creates the potential for further damage to your relationship’s attachment and your partner’s trust.

When you reassure your partner that there will be no “bombs” in your disclosure, you are performing a manipulative act.  This is true no matter how altruistic you claim your reassurance is.  You are an addict.  Your behavior has had an impact on your partner.  And, your partner has a right to their emotions about this, which may very well include anger, pain (sadness), and fear.  These emotions may be uncomfortable for your partner but are almost assuredly uncomfortable for you.  When you reassure your partner there will be no “bombs,” you are taking away their right to have their own emotional reaction about your addiction, the information in the disclosure, or the disclosure process itself.  Your partner may experience positive growth from having and exploring these emotional experiences.  Your reassurance robs your partner of this potential growth.  In reality, when you reassure your partner there will be no “bombs,” you are actually manipulating your partner so their emotional experience is more comfortable for you.bombs, sex addiction, pornography, SASH

"dig in with your therapist and work"

If your partner is angry, afraid, hurting, or overwhelmed, please do not reassure them there will be no “bombs” in your disclosure.  Instead, tell them you are committed to making sure they get all the information about your addiction and your behavior in order to support them in their own healing process.  Tell them you are committed to seeing this full therapeutic disclosure process through to the end.  Then dig in with your therapist and work to provide your partner with a full therapeutic disclosure as soon as possible so your partner can continue their own healing process with a clear understanding of the reality of your addiction.  You cannot eliminate your partner’s trauma.  That was created by your past behavior, which you cannot change.  But, by committing to provide a full therapeutic disclosure as soon as possible instead of reassuring your partner about the contents of the disclosure, you can minimize their disclosure trauma.

SASH, Tim Stein, sex addiction, pornography, partners, disclosure
Tim Stein, sex addiction clinician, author, presenter

Tim Stein is a well-known expert in the field of sex addiction.  His work as a clinician, lecturer, consultant, supervisor and author keeps him on the cutting edge of sex addiction treatment.  Tim is a regular presenter at national and international conferences and is dedicated to offering information, providing clinical and recovery guidance, and advocating for the understanding and treatment of sex addicts and their partners.  Tim’s professional life is guided by his passion to heal the lives and relationships of individuals and families impacted by sex addiction.  Through his writing, lecturing, and clinical work, Tim strives to help those impacted by sex addiction to find self-love, emotional resilience, integrity and joy in recovery whether this is through personal insight or information and tools Tim provides to other professionals.  Tim is a co-founder of Willow Tree Counseling in Santa Rosa, CA and was integral in the development and evolution of their treatment programs for sex addicts and partners of sex addicts.


Blog Disclaimer

The Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH) sponsors this blog for the purpose of furthering dialog in the field of problematic sexual behaviors and their treatment. Blog authors are encouraged to share their thoughts and share their knowledge. However, SASH does not necessarily endorse the content or conclusions of bloggers.

Information in blogs may not always be complete, up-to-date, accurate, relevant, or applicable to all situations. Legislation, case law, standards, regulations, descriptions of products and services, and other information are often complex and can change rapidly. Always double-check and confirm that any information you find on the internet is accurate, current, and complete in regard to your specific situation, question, concern, or interests.

This website and its agents make no promises, guarantees, representations, or warranties, expressed or implied, and assume no duty or liability with regard to the information contained herein or associated in any way therewith. No legal or other professional services are being rendered and nothing is intended to provide such services or advice of any kind. The inclusion of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or approval of those sites or their contents. This website bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external sites or for that of subsequent links. Those who visit or use this website, links or any other information assume all risks associated therewith.

Intimate Betrayal: A Unique Trauma

If you are reading this blog then you are likely here because someone you love has betrayed you with his or her harmful or compulsive sexual behavior. Perhaps the person who has hurt you is someone you deeply love and trusted most in this world - your husband or wife, or your fiancé or partner.

Discovering that your significant other is sexually compulsive and has been deliberately deceiving you with a secret sexual life is beyond heartbreaking; it shreds the relational fabric of connection and often leaves one feeling victimized, discarded, devalued and alone. betrayal, sex addiction, gas lighting, pornography

Intimate partner betrayal is a unique wound that is bone deep. The trauma that the partner of a sex addict deals with is different than that of the spouse of a drug addict or alcoholic – not more or less painful, it is just a different type of emotional injury. Please understand that my intention is not to minimize the experience of any partner who has an addicted spouse. All addictions create suffering and have their distinct pain points.

The soul-searing wound for the spouse of a sex addict cuts so deeply because a six-pack of booze does not have a vagina, a penis or breasts. And a cheating spouse cannot have sex with a bottle of pills, or fall deeply and emotionally in love with a marijuana pipe.

Partners of sexually compulsive people often share the following feelings when learning that their beloved has been misleading them, cheating on them, or otherwise sexually betraying them:

*Shock *Confusion *Fear *Anxiety *Rage *Shame

*Numbness *Depression *Grief *Humiliation *Suicidal Thoughts

As a Licensed Psychotherapist and Certified Sex Addiction Therapist  I have seen the traumatic impact of deceptive and sexually compulsive behaviors on the partners and families of sex addicts up close. And I am a woman who has gone through my own healing from betrayal. I understand the enormous pain that the partner experiences first hand. I am especially empathetic toward the heartache that hurting partners deal with. I also understand just how important it is to seek support with a qualified therapist who is trained in sexual addiction. Isolating is not healthy – there is no need to hide.

Finding a counselor who understands the unique impact of intimate partner betrayal trauma and the subsequent agony that partners’ of sex addicts experience is a first important step in the healing journey.

Emotional Abuse: The Traumatic Injury of Gas lighting

betrayal, Mari Lee SASH, sex addiction, pornography, partners, APSATSIntimate betrayal trauma often feels like the death of a thousand cuts. Why? Because gas lighting is usually part of the sexually deceptive ritual of the addict.

Perhaps “Gas lighting” is a term that is new to you, or perhaps you’re all too familiar with this pattern of emotional abuse. Either way, you’ve likely experienced this if you are in a relationship with a sexually compulsive person.

Gas lighting is a form of emotional terrorism where the sex addict manipulates his or her partner by creating doubt – a verbal smoke and mirrors that leaves the partner feeling confused and paranoid.

In order to cover their tracks, sex addicts manipulate conversations and lie to their significant other in an effort to hide their deceptive behaviors, affairs, and addictions. By repeatedly denying the victims reality, they intentionally sow seeds of doubt – and do so very convincingly. The result is that the partner begins doubting his or her own perception.

Eventually, the betrayed spouse starts to distrust his or her own memory and sometimes, depending on the level of gas lighting, they begin to question their own emotional stability and sanity.

This brave partner shares her gas lighting story, a nightmare that spans several years,

“My husband would look me straight in the face, with tears in his eyes, and swear on our children that he would never cheat on me. Even though I had credit card statements from motels, and text messages from call girls, he would promise me that someone was trying to break us up. He was such a good liar! This went on for nearly 3 years.

After his constant gas lighting, I began to believe that what he was sharing must be true because he was so convincing. The stories that seemed so far fetched at the start became more and more believable. He would even show me notes that were written in lipstick by a “female stalker” threatening him and demanding money. This is how he covered his lies with the cash withdraws from our bank account. I started to believe that some awful woman was trying to set up or frame my husband. I was terrified that she would hurt him, or me and our children.”

After about a year of this, the hang-ups, the lies, the half-truths, the tears, the promises, I started experiencing insomnia, paranoia, and stomach problems. My doctor shared that I was under extreme stress and prescribed medication that left me feeling like a zombie. You would think that him seeing my health disintegrating would have created enough guilt and he would have stopped acting out with prostitutes and call girls.

Nope!

 Instead, he took advantage of my fragile condition and began staying out later and more frequently. His excuse was that he wanted me to have peace of mind knowing that the “crazy woman” who was stalking him would not be spying on our home if he wasn’t there.

Only when irrefutable proof arrived through a phone call from a trusted friend who had video taped my husband at a strip club, did I finally wake up. I know that some people will think I was a fool, but he was so manipulative. And I was blinded by my love for him.  

Once I realized that he was lying, I had him followed, and attached a GPS to his car. Within 2 weeks I had all the proof I needed that every thing I had suspected and worse was happening. He had secret profiles on hook up sites, he had a PO box, he had a second phone, and even a secret credit card. He’d been acting out with prostitutes – male and female – for over 5 years, maybe longer.”

I filed for a separation and I kicked him out. We’ve both been in therapy and 12 step support groups over the last year. I still don’t know if I can forgive him or ever trust him again. These days, with the help of my therapist who is experienced in partner trauma, I am focused on healing all of the damage he has caused me. He is working with his own sex addiction therapist, is in an SAA 12 step group, and is focusing on his own recovery work. If he would not have done this, I would have divorced him.

Time will tell if our marriage will survive. It will depend on how committed he is to his recovery and to being completely truthful with himself and with me. Until then, I continue to use the tools that I am learning in therapy.”

 First Important Steps in Healing

betrayal, sex addiction, pornography, SASHPartners often say, “Why should I go to therapy, I am not the one with the addiction! I did not cause this mess!” Or, “My story is not as bad as his/her story, maybe we don’t really need therapy at all.” I understand the resistance and resentment; I said the same thing at the start of my own healing process.

However, being in an intimate relationship with a sexually compulsive person is a traumatic wounding, and it is emotional abusive. You deserve to have the opportunity to heal and focus on yourself for a change, instead of being consumed by and focused on your partner’s addiction – walking on eggshells, and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

You deserve to have your pain validated. And you most certainly deserve to work with a supportive counselor who is both empathetic and experienced in helping partners of sex addicts heal.

A compassionate therapist will help you learn the tools you need to move forward in order to step out of the darkness of despair – whether or not you choose to stay in your relationship or marriage.

No matter how broken you are feeling right now, you don’t have to do this healing work all by yourself. As I often say to my clients, “The most important relationship that you’ll ever be in, besides the one with your higher power, is the relationship with yourself.”

In closing, I hope this blog has been a beacon of light during this stormy chapter of your life. Perhaps what you’ve read here today is a first small step in taking back your mental and emotional well-being. Every little step counts!

As I wrap up, know that I wish you all the best on your journey forward. It’s not an easy road, but healing is possible – please trust that.

With kindness,

Mari A. Lee, LMFT, CSAT-S

 

 

Mari Lee, SASH, sex addiction, pornography, APSATSMari A. Lee, LMFT, CSAT-S is a therapist, speaker and coach in Glendora California.  Her books, retreats and therapeutic practice has helped many partners recover from betrayal. www.GrowthCounselingServices.com

If you are would like to learn more about what you can do next to support yourself in moving forward, get her e-book, “Healing Betrayal: First Steps for Partners and Spouses of Sex and Pornography Addicts”.

It will offer you a focused road map, a check list, a boundaries exercise, a sample letter, resources, and includes a chapter on sex addiction and first steps for the addict. Download that here as a support to your own recovery: http://www.thecounselorscoach.com/healing-betrayal-e-book-partners-of-sex-addicts

References
Carnes, Lee, & Rodriquez (2012), Facing Heartbreak (1sted.),Gentle Path Press.
Rosenberg & Curtiss Feder, (2014), Behavioral Addictions: Criteria, Evidence and Treatment, Academic Press.
Hentsch-Cowles & Brock, (2013), A Systemic Review of the Literature on the Role of the Partner of the Sex Addict, Treatment Models, and a Call for Research for Systems Theory Model in Treating the Partner, Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity The Journal of Treatment & Prevention Volume 20, 2013 - Issue 4


Blog Disclaimer

The Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH) sponsors this blog for the purpose of furthering dialog in the field of problematic sexual behaviors and their treatment. Blog authors are encouraged to share their thoughts and share their knowledge. However, SASH does not necessarily endorse the content or conclusions of bloggers.

Information in blogs may not always be complete, up-to-date, accurate, relevant, or applicable to all situations. Legislation, case law, standards, regulations, descriptions of products and services, and other information are often complex and can change rapidly. Always double-check and confirm that any information you find on the internet is accurate, current, and complete in regard to your specific situation, question, concern, or interests.

This website and its agents make no promises, guarantees, representations, or warranties, expressed or implied, and assume no duty or liability with regard to the information contained herein or associated in any way therewith. No legal or other professional services are being rendered and nothing is intended to provide such services or advice of any kind. The inclusion of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or approval of those sites or their contents. This website bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external sites or for that of subsequent links. Those who visit or use this website, links or any other information assume all risks associated therewith.

The Many Gifts of Disclosure

Helping couples dealing with sexual betrayal navigate the process of getting to, going through, and healing after disclosure is a complex process, demanding a high level of skill, wisdom, adaptability, and structure on the part of the therapist.

Disclosure, as a key phase in the recovery process for both the cheating partner and the betrayed partner, should not be simplified and reduced to the task of ‘telling all the secrets.’ While the process does center around fully disclosing secret behaviors and information, the intention, purpose, and benefits of disclosure far exceed this single necessity. Disclosure, presented and experienced in a broader context, creates pivotal opportunities for healing on multiple levels for both individuals and potentially the relationship.

Disclosure allows the cheating partner, perhaps for the first time, to fully confront his or her sexual behaviors and the negative impact those behaviors have had on self and others. This facilitates healing of the compartmentalized, distorted thinking created by infidelity and creates an opportunity for a fuller integration and acceptance of the self. Disclosure provides an opportunity for the cheating partner to ‘unmask,’ beginning a process of discovering his or her true self and allowing that self to be known and encountered by others in often unprecedented ways.

In addition, by preparing and reading the disclosure document, the cheating partner learns how to take responsibility for his or her behavior, and to make amends for the impact of that behavior. Responsibility-taking that allows true connection with guilt, pain, and remorse while staying out of toxic shame is a key element of personal growth and long-term recovery. The disclosure process provides a meaningful and practical framework for learning this vital skill.

The process of preparing the cheating partner to read the disclosure statement is rich with opportunities for growth and healing. Learning how to regulate his or her emotional self in the face of great anxiety and trepidation, learning how to identify when coping responses of anger or defensiveness are hijacking the ability to stay present, learning how to connect feelings of empathy and compassion and  risk, revealing those feelings to the partner, learning how to individuate by holding onto his or her own reality while hearing and responding to the partner’s reality: These are all essential relational skills, and disclosure provides a crucible for accelerated experiential learning and development of these abilities for the disclosing client.

When the betrayed partner receives full disclosure about the secrets and lies that have marred the relationship, he or she often experiences a profound validation of his or her inner reality. Things that previously were unclear and confusing are now clear and make sense. This validation provides a path to restored and repaired self-trust for the partner. In this way, the partner’s sense of agency and empowerment in making decisions, taking care of the self, and wisely discerning the path forward are supported and strengthened.

The process of preparing the betrayed partner to hear the full truth is rich with opportunities for growth. As the partner anticipates the information to be revealed, he or she can identify areas of betrayal blindness that are rooted in attachment fears. At the same time, the partner can strengthen his or her resilience and ability to face the full reality of the relationship. Preparing the betrayed partner to respond with questions, boundaries, and information about the impact of the infidelity creates opportunities for the partner to learn how to use his or her most empowered voice while staying grounded in the deepest truth.

Finally, as the betrayed partner grapples with the blow to self-esteem created by being cheated on and lied to, there is an opportunity for the partner’s understanding of true and inherent worth to develop—for an unshakable core sense of self to grow and expand. The hidden gift in the blow of betrayal is the potential for true self-esteem, rooted in inherent worth, to blossom and change the partner’s life in innumerable ways going forward.

As therapists, it is our job to look beyond the surface of disclosure and to think deeply about how we can utilize this tender process to create and foster significant growth, behavioral change, and spiritual and relational transformation in the lives of our clients. Disclosure is a process that is endlessly rich with opportunities we can leverage to facilitate a wide spectrum of healing. But this only happens when we, as therapists, slow down and think about the deeper meaning and opportunities that are being presented to us and our clients.

 

Michelle Mays, SASH, trauma
Michelle Mays

 

Michelle Mays LPC, CSAT-S is the founder and Clinical Director of the Center for Relational Recovery with offices in Leesburg, VA and Washington, DC. She has developed two new resources to support therapists and clients with the process of disclosure: the Relational Recovery Disclosure Prep Manual and the Relational Recovery Disclosure Prep Workshop Kit. She is also the founder of PartnerHope, a resource site providing hope and help to betrayed partners.

 

 


Blog Disclaimer

The Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH) sponsors this blog for the purpose of furthering dialog in the field of problematic sexual behaviors and their treatment. Blog authors are encouraged to share their thoughts and share their knowledge. However, SASH does not necessarily endorse the content or conclusions of bloggers.

Information in blogs may not always be complete, up-to-date, accurate, relevant, or applicable to all situations. Legislation, case law, standards, regulations, descriptions of products and services, and other information are often complex and can change rapidly. Always double-check and confirm that any information you find on the internet is accurate, current, and complete in regard to your specific situation, question, concern, or interests.

This website and its agents make no promises, guarantees, representations, or warranties, expressed or implied, and assume no duty or liability with regard to the information contained herein or associated in any way therewith. No legal or other professional services are being rendered and nothing is intended to provide such services or advice of any kind. The inclusion of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or approval of those sites or their contents. This website bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external sites or for that of subsequent links. Those who visit or use this website, links or any other information assume all risks associated therewith.

Michelle Mays, SASH, trauma
Michelle Mays betrayal trauma specialist.

Denial or Betrayal Blindness?

The impact to attachment

Many betrayed partners enter therapy in a state of shock and disbelief, reeling from the discovery of their partner’s extracurricular sexual behaviors. They sit on my couch and tell me they had no idea, not even an inkling, of what their significant other was doing. They have been caught off guard, unaware, and they can’t believe this is happening to them.

I listen to their stories, and I know that their shock and bewilderment is real and they truly did not know what was happening. But, at the same time, I also know that they did know.

I know this because in the weeks that follow they inevitably tell me stories about their relationship and various clues they overlooked. I hear about previous infidelities; about finding pornography, condoms, and secret Internet accounts; about changes in the nature of their sex life and their sense of emotional intimacy; about conversations, conflicts, accusations, and denials all indicating the presence of a problem.

Yet they still did not know. Even though they knew.

How does this happen? How do betrayed partners know but not know? And where does the part of them that does know go?

In the past, this type of behavior has been labelled “denial” and addressed as a form of codependence on the part of the betrayed partner. Today, thanks to an enormous amount of research on attachment, affect regulation, and the mind-body connection, we have new models that help us dig deeper and better understand the function and purpose of these knowing-but-not-knowing behaviors.

Jennifer Freyd, PhD, one of the seminal researchers on the topic of betrayal trauma, has spent years investigating why people don’t allow themselves to see the betrayal that is unfolding right in front of their eyes and why they do not remember the traumas after they have happened. In short, she has explored the question, “What would make someone literally not see and not know that which is easily seeable and knowable?”

To answer to this question, Freyd has connected what we know about the nature of human attachment with what we know about the ways in which humans are hardwired to respond to traumatic events.

Getting Attached

When we pair up and enter into a long-term relationship, we begin a process of bonding with one another that is a beautiful and profound intertwining of two lives. In this mysterious attachment, we start to physically operate as one biological organism. As attachment experts Rachel Heller and Amir Levine write, “Numerous studies show that once we become attached to someone, the two of us form one physiological unit. Our partner regulates our blood pressure, our heart rate, our breathing and the levels of hormones in our blood.”[1]

As our bond grows through perhaps getting married, combining our homes, having children together, and working toward common goals, we become more and more interdependent with one another. And this is not codependency. This is healthy, normal, mutual dependency – the basic interconnectivity that makes relationships fulfilling and sought after.

If it is true that when we attach to someone healthy and functional, it feels good and provides a sense of security, grounding, safety, and wholeness, then the opposite is also true. When we attach to someone who is less than healthy – sexually addicted, for example – it can affect our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health in teeth-rattling ways.

Instead of grounding us, it puts us in freefall. Instead of security, we experience fear. Because our partner has caused us such deep pain, that individual now feels like a threat to our wellbeing rather than a source of comfort and safety. This danger is often experienced as a primal threat to the our emotional, psychological, and perhaps even physical survival.

Responding to Threat

When we experience events that create a sense of threat or danger, whether physical or emotional, the threat center in our brains (the amygdala) lights up and we react to the threat in one of three hardwired ways. We fight, confronting the threat in order to remove it and return to safety, or we flee, withdrawing from the threat to a place where we are safe, or we freeze, staying in place while our body shuts down and our minds go numb. Generally, if we can fight or flee, we will. When fight and flight are not available (or are perceived as unavailable), our freeze response kicks in.

Based on her research, Freyd has argued that the behaviors of not seeing and not knowing in those dealing with betrayal trauma are forms of the freeze response.[2] Rather than confronting the cheating partner or withdrawing from the relationship, betrayed partners go numb and fail to witness and process information about the betrayal. This allows them to continue operating in the relationship as though it remains safe. It allows them to preserve the relational bond that they often unconsciously believe they need to survive.

Bringing It Together

When we bring together what we know about attachment theory and how our threat response system operates, it creates the following equation for betrayed partners:

Freyd has called this survival-based form of not seeing and not knowing “betrayal blindness.”[3] One of the most important things to note about betrayal blindness is that it is an unconscious process. Betrayed partners are not consciously saying to themselves, “I don’t think I’ll let myself know about that.” Instead, their bodies register danger before the information moves into conscious awareness. Their coping strategies instinctually move to protect them by blocking out the information, rationalizing it away, or in some way keeping it from landing in conscious awareness where they would have to deal with it. This instinctual survival response ensures that one plus one does not ever add up to two in ways that would rob them of their primary relationship and the sense of safety and connection it provides.

Understanding the internal unconscious mechanisms driving betrayal blindness is imperative in order to treat betrayal blindness effectively while avoiding further unintentional, traumatization of the betrayed partner. Betrayed partners need active intervention balanced with empathic support to move out of the state of simultaneously knowing but not knowing into a state of fully integrated conscious awareness.

My experience working with betrayed partners has shown that clients come out of betrayal blindness as their internal capacity to cope with the information they have been avoiding grows. Often, the initial therapeutic task is to grow the person’s internal strength, confidence, and sense of self to the point that they are able to look fully at what is happening in their relationship and survive it emotionally, even when it is incredibly painful. This is a slow and gentle process, requiring a skilled therapist who can balance challenging the client’s defenses with nonjudgmental empathetic support.

This process begins to move the client into a more conscious form of knowing but not knowing. They become aware of the not knowing and the purpose and function of that coping mechanism. With support, they are able to consider what it would be like to allow themselves to know and they start to imagine a world in which they can tolerate the information, survive it emotionally and begin to integrate it fully into their experience.

Michelle Mays LPC, CSAT-S is the founder and Clinical Director of the Center for Relational Recovery with offices in Leesburg, VA and Washington DC. She has spent the last 16 years specializing in treating sex addiction, betrayal trauma, relationship issues and childhood trauma. She is also the founder of PartnerHope, an online resource for betrayed partners and has recently published the book, The Aftermath of Betrayal.


References

[1] Levine, A. & Heller R. (2010). Attached: The new science of adult attachment and how it can help you find—and keep—love. Penguin.

[2] Freyd, J., & Birrell, P. (2013). Blind to betrayal: Why we fool ourselves we aren't being fooled. John Wiley & Sons.

[3] Ibid.


Blog Disclaimer

The Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH) sponsors this blog for the purpose of furthering dialog in the field of problematic sexual behaviors and their treatment. Blog authors are encouraged to share their thoughts and share their knowledge. However, SASH does not necessarily endorse the content or conclusions of bloggers.

Information in blogs may not always be complete, up-to-date, accurate, relevant, or applicable to all situations. Legislation, case law, standards, regulations, descriptions of products and services, and other information are often complex and can change rapidly. Always double-check and confirm that any information you find on the internet is accurate, current, and complete in regard to your specific situation, question, concern, or interests.

This website and its agents make no promises, guarantees, representations, or warranties, expressed or implied, and assume no duty or liability with regard to the information contained herein or associated in any way therewith. No legal or other professional services are being rendered and nothing is intended to provide such services or advice of any kind. The inclusion of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or approval of those sites or their contents. This website bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external sites or for that of subsequent links. Those who visit or use this website, links or any other information assume all risks associated therewith.

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