As a society, we have decided that if you aren't in a romantic relationship, you are alone. It's fine to prefer having a partner (or partners) over not having one. However, it's time to start creating that feeling of contentment for yourself without relying on a relationship in order to feel positive.

Discover how to generate contentment without relying on a romantic partner to help you create it. Learn how to spot the thoughts that lead to unhelpful beliefs about the necessity of having a romantic partner, and how to pursue what you want from a place of being content without it.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://mariemurphyphd.com/141

When it comes to infidelity and loneliness, there are two distinct-but-related problems. One is that as humans, we don't like feeling lonely. The other is that people will go to pretty extreme lengths to avoid loneliness, like getting into or staying in relationships that they don't actually enjoy.

Discover the role that loneliness might be playing in your infidelity situation. Dr. Marie Murphy is discussing how to see whether you're engaging in or continuing a relationship you aren't actually excited about in order to avoid the feeling of loneliness, the beliefs that cultivate a fear of loneliness, and how to deal with loneliness in a way that doesn't create undesirable consequences.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://mariemurphyphd.com/140

Comparison is a normal human behavior, especially if you're romantically involved with multiple people. There is a time and place to make comparisons, but are the comparisons you're making between your spouse and your affair partner (or between any two people in your life) helping you in any discernable way?

Discover the problem with comparing your spouse to your affair partner. Dr. Marie Murphy is discussing why making comparisons doesn't make decisions easier, how to see where you're stuck in an unhelpful and ineffective comparison loop, and 3 simple tips for doing things differently if comparing your romantic partners isn't helping you make a decision about your infidelity situation.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://mariemurphyphd.com/139

You get to decide what you share about yourself with other people. If you're considering telling a new partner about your history with infidelity, make sure you're doing it for the right reasons. Dr. Marie Murphy is discussing the work you need to do with yourself before you start disclosing your past infidelity to someone you're dating, and how to see the end of a past relationship as something other than an indication that you're horribly flawed as a human.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://mariemurphyphd.com/138

Discover how to deal with the idea that there's something wrong with you because you don't feel guilty about cheating. Dr. Marie Murphy is discussing why you always have the option of changing what you think a particular behavior means, and why guilt isn't an effective motivator for doing something about your infidelity situation. She's sharing an exercise to start clarifying your thoughts and feelings about your cheating so you can decide how you want to deal with your situation.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://mariemurphyphd.com/137

When you're feeling stuck in your infidelity situation, it's easy to think that the situation is out of your hands and change is becoming increasingly more difficult. What you need is a little tough love so you can see that no matter how long it's been going on, you are not stuck and you do have the ability to resolve your infidelity situation.

Discover what to do if you've been stuck in your infidelity situation for a long time and you feel like you've already tried everything to resolve it.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://mariemurphyphd.com/136

No matter how your infidelity situation began, when you decide that whatever you've been doing counts as infidelity or cheating, that moment feels like a pretty big deal. You may be totally freaked out, and you may even consider yourself an objectively bad person.

The topic of what to do right away when you realize that you are most definitely engaging in infidelity is of the utmost importance. Dr. Marie Murphy is sharing how to stop yourself from freaking out at this moment so you can handle your infidelity situation in a way that feels right for you in the long term.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://mariemurphyphd.com/135

Discover the options available to you if your partner has decided you've cheated in your open relationship. Dr. Marie Murphy is discussing both sides of the argument, sharing how to empathize with your partner if their view of your open-relationship agreement is different to yours, and she's laying out how you can move forward together if you decide you want to.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://mariemurphyphd.com/134

When someone in a committed relationship has been cheating on their partner and they feel stuck in deciding what they want to do, they sometimes get the idea that they should tell their committed partner, even though they don't know how they want to move forward.

Feeling like you can't make a decision is excruciating. If you've been thinking about disclosing your cheating in the hopes that your partner will break up with you and the expectation that you'll feel better, tune in this week because the reality is not as simple as you're telling yourself it is right now.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://mariemurphyphd.com/133

Is sex important to you in a relationship? If you can honestly acknowledge the extent to which good sex (however you define that) is important to you, making relationship-related decisions you actually feel good about becomes simpler and easier. Dr. Marie Murphy is showing you why you're not doing yourself any favors when you attempt to deny, minimize, or devalue the significance of a great sexual connection, and telling yourself sex shouldn't be important to you only makes matters worse.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://mariemurphyphd.com/132